“This is good news,” said a delighted Saipan Chamber of Commerce president Juan T. Guerrero upon learning of the public support of Democrat senators Jeff Bingaman, Daniel Inouye, and Daniel Akaka for the CNMI on the minimum wage hike issue.
“Our good friends from both the U.S. Senate and House have the support of our Commonwealth. We are grateful for this support,” said Guerrero yesterday.
The three senators have engaged the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations chair, Robert C. Byrd, in a colloquy to push for a change in the language of H.R. 1591 relating to minimum wage hike in U.S. insular areas, to ensure that both the CNMI and American Samoa be not required to comply with the federal minimum wage immediately.
“They [U.S. senators] seem to be heeding our request. It looks like they are sensitive to our economic conditions. It's a tremendous boost to the CNMI,” said CNMI House Speaker Oscar M. Babauta yesterday.
He said he hopes the senators' plea will be heard by their colleagues. “We're hoping it would be considered in the conference committee,” he said.
Babauta said that having the three Democrat senators defend the CNMI's situation is a positive development.
“This is good news, seeing the chairman [Bingaman] echoing our concerns,” said Babauta. Bingaman is chairman of the U.S., Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which held an oversight hearing on CNMI immigration in February this year.
The CNMI and American Samoa are currently included in the national minimum wage bill, which would require them to increase their minimum wages to $7.25 per hour over time as contained in H.R. 1591, the Supplemental Appropriations bill, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives this week.
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