KOROR, Palau (June 10, 2024) — Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. signed a supplemental budget bill into law yesterday, increasing the total budget for fiscal year 2024 to $133,629,954. A second supplemental budget is anticipated to bring the total to $140 million.
Whipps said the budget arrived “just in time” to fund urgent matters, including Palau’s participation in the Micro Games. Athletes are scheduled to depart this Wednesday, and the budget was enacted yesterday. “I had to talk to Nauru Airline’s executives, telling them that we will make payment on June 10th, having faith that it will pass in time,” Whipps said, emphasizing the budget’s timeliness.
The budget also allocates funds for Palau’s participation in the Festival of Pacific Arts (FestPac) in Hawaii this week. Participants left last week before the budget passed, utilizing funds from the Ministry of Human Resource, Culture, and Development (HRCTD). With the bill’s passage, those funds will be reimbursed, Whipps confirmed.
Whipps highlighted several social programs authorized and funded under the supplemental budget, including an increase in the Child Raising Subsidy, a tax refund for individuals earning $15,000 to $30,000, a $480 tax benefit for retirees, and support for medical retirees.
However, not all of Whipps’s budget requests were granted. The Olbiil Era Kelulau (OEK) increased funding for some ministries and programs while reducing others. Whipps plans to submit a second supplemental budget, expressing hope that the OEK will restore critical funding, such as that for the Ministry of Health.
Whipps noted that $7 million from the Compact Review Agreement remains for infrastructure and maintenance, which must be budgeted for this year. He intends to address this in the second supplemental budget bill for FY 2024.