Burton upbeat on delegate bill

U.S. congressman Dan Burton said he is hopeful that the CNMI delegate bill would pass the U.S. House of Representatives within the year.

In an interview during his brief visit to Saipan early this week, Burton said that the bill would likely be tackled on the floor next month.

“I supported the bill in the committee level. In fact, I co-sponsored it. I’m hoping to see it passed when we hold our session… This can be done before the end of the year,” said Burton.

Burton stopped by Saipan and Guam from a business trip to Taiwan.

The U.S House of Representatives Committee on Resources had unanimously approved the bill that calls for a CNMI nonvoting delegate in Congress.

The CNMI representation bill also received backing from long-time CNMI critic, Democrat congressman George Miller.

Miller said improvements in the CNMI in recent years “merit recognition and, in my view, representation in this House.”

Washington Rep. Pete A. Tenorio, himself said that “there is a chance we can get this bill passed into law.”

“If not, we will begin again early in the next Congressional session,” he said.

If enacted into law, H.R. 5135 would provide for the first election of a CNMI Delegate in the federal general election in 2006.

The bill was introduced by the Resources committee chair himself, California congressman Richard Pombo, and ranking member Nick J. Rahall.

Pombo led a congressional delegation visit to the CNMI in January 2004 and held an oversight hearing in February this year that examined the potential for a Delegate in Congress for the CNMI.

The bill currently has 16 co-sponsors, including Roy Blunt, majority whip; Don Young, chair of the House Transportation Committee; Dan Burton, chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness; the three territorial delegates: Madeleine Bordallo, Eni Faleomavaega, and Donna Christensen; members of the delegation that visited the CNMI: Jeff Flake, Dennis Cardoza, and Dennis Rehberg; Hawaii Rep. Neil Abercrombie and Ed Case; David Scott, Wayne Gilchrest, Tom Cole, and Greg Walden.

The bill didn’t make it to a vote before the entire House before the scheduled recess on Oct.8. This means that the CNMI must wait for the lame duck session scheduled for late November through January 2005.