OIA PRESS RELEASEOffice of Insular Affairs Awards Guam Grant to Improve Fiscal Management (September 12, 2003, Washington, D.C.) Guam Governor Felix Camacho and Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior David Cohen yesterday signed a grant that will provide $800,000 to upgrade Government of Guam computers as part of a project to improve financial management. Of the total grant award, $600,000 will be used by the Guam Department of Administration and $200,000 will be used by the Guam Department of Revenue and Taxation Cohen discussed the need for the upgrade in a letter presented to Camacho at the Office of Insular Affairs during the grant signing. "We understand the current computers in the two departments are obsolete and consequently, they are costly to maintain," Cohen said in the letter. "In addition, they have exceeded their recommended life cycle and it is questionable how much longer they will last." Cohen said that the grant could also be used to train workers to use the equipment purchased with the grant. The Office of Insular Affairs will consider providing additional funding for similar purposes in the future, according to Cohen. Additionally, Cohen approved Camacho's request that an additional $181,232 of unexpended funds from grants previously awarded by the Office of Insular Affairs be made available for the improvement of fiscal management in various Government of Guam agencies. During Camacho's last trip to Washington, D.C. in July 2003, the Office of Insular Affairs awarded the Government of Guam over $1.1 million in grants to support Guam's economic recovery efforts, to fund the Guam War Claims Review Commission, to improve operations in the Attorney General's office and for other purposes.
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