Local education officials in natural disaster-affected areas told us the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exacerbated mental health issues and contributed to lost instructional time, staff burnout, delays in recovery projects, and financial strain in their communities. These officials explained that after the natural disaster, restoring students' mental health was a top priority.

Although the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) economy grew in 2016 and 2017, it declined in 2018. The U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reports that the CNMI's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 28.4 percent in 2016 and 25.5 percent in 2017, which reflected continued growth in visitor spending, particularly for casino gambling. However, BEA estimate

Under the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (CNRA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) established the nonimmigrant Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)--Only Transitional Worker program in 2011. Through the program, eligible foreign nationals can obtain CNMI-Only Transitional Worker (CW-1) permits to work temporarily in the CNMI. Under H.R. 560, foreign nationals w

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands' (CNMI) inflation-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) has grown each year since 2012, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In 2016, the CNMI's GDP rose by 29 percent, partly as a result of construction investment. While tourism has fluctuated in recent years, visitor arrivals in the CNMI rose by nearly a third from 2016 to 2017. After ne

Puerto Rico: Between fiscal years 2005 and 2014, the latest figures available, Puerto Rico's total public debt outstanding (public debt) grew from $39.2 billion to $67.8 billion, reaching 66 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Despite some revenue growth, Puerto Rico's net position was negative and declining during the period, reflecting its deteriorating financial position. Experts pointed

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands' (CNMI) labor market has begun to grow after years of decline, while continuing to rely on foreign workers. By 2015, the number of employed CNMI workers was about 8 percent higher than in 2013, and inflation-adjusted average earnings had risen by 18 percent from 2007 levels. By 2016, about 62 percent of CNMI workers were directly affected by CNMI's

If all foreign workers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) with CNMI-Only transitional worker (CW-1) permits, or 45 percent of total workers in 2015, were removed from the CNMI's labor market, GAO's preliminary economic analysis projects a 26 to 62 percent reduction in CNMI's 2015 gross domestic product (GDP)--the most recent GDP available. In addition, demand for foreign w

American Samoa employment and earnings have decreased since 2007, but employment increased slightly from 2011 to 2012. Since 2005, the American Samoa economy has had a flat or declining real gross domestic product (GDP). Average inflation-adjusted earnings of those employed fell by 5 percent overall from 2007 to 2012 and by 2 percent from 2011 to 2012. One of American Samoa's two tuna canneries c

In American Samoa, employment declined 14 percent--from 17,852 to 15,434--between 2006 and 2009, and average inflation-adjusted earnings of those employed fell by 11 percent over the same period. In addition, roughly 2,000 to 3,000 temporary federal jobs will end when funding is no longer available. Employers in the tuna canning industry attributed most of their past and planned actions, includin

In American Samoa, employment fell 19 percent from 2008 to 2009 and 14 percent from 2006 to 2009. Data for 2010 total employment are not available. GAO questionnaire responses show that tuna canning employment fell 55 percent from 2009 to 2010, reflecting the closure of one cannery and layoffs in the remaining cannery. Average inflation-adjusted earnings fell by 5 percent from 2008 to 2009 and by