Kimberlyn King-Hinds

[constituency_baseline] District summary: The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) is a U.S. territory in the western Pacific Ocean with a population of approximately 47,329 (2020 Census). The at-large congressional district encompasses 14 islands, with most residents concentrated on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. The CNMI is a majority-minority territory where Asian residents form the largest racial group (22,054 identifying as Asian alone), followed by Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders (20,665 alone). The Chamorro population — the indigenous people of the Marianas — is the largest detailed ethnic group, with 12,001 identifying as Chamorro alone. The Filipino population (15,456 alone) is the largest detailed Asian group. The median household income is $31,362 — less than half the U.S. national median — and approximately 38% of the population lives below the federal poverty line, while 33.7% of families were in poverty as of 2019. The homeownership rate is only 29%. The economy is dominated by tourism, which before COVID-19 accounted for approximately 42% of GDP, with nearly 500,000 annual visitors in 2019. By FY2025, arrivals had dropped to approximately 160,640. The CNMI relies heavily on the CW-1 visa program (capped at 14,999 annually) for foreign workers. The territory has a unique Covenant relationship with the United States established in 1976, and its delegate to Congress holds non-voting status — able to serve on committees and vote on amendments in the Committee of the Whole, but not on final passage of legislation. King-Hinds is the second person and first woman to hold this office, first elected in 2024 with 40.3% of the vote in a five-way race.

Voted sponsored on H.R. 3400 (Territorial Response and Access to Veterans' Essential Lifecare Act (TRAVEL Act of 2025)) on 2025-05-14: King-Hinds introduced her first bill — the TRAVEL Act — to authorize the VA to assign traveling physicians to provide essential healthcare to veterans in U.S. territories. The bill passed the House 371-21 on September 15, 2025, with broad bipartisan support. The legislation directly addresses a core constituent need: the CNMI's 1,937 veterans lack access to specialized medical care without traveling thousands of miles to Hawaii or the mainland. This is the most significant legislative achievement of her freshman term and exemplifies her focus on territorial parity. The bill was co-sponsored by both Republican and Democratic delegates from other territories.