House denounces OIA for report

Members of the House of Representatives fired two resolutions on Friday strongly denouncing the U.S. Department of the Interior over a federal report that largely ignored recent reforms initiated by the CNMI government on local labor and immigration.

The resolutions also called on the U.S. Congress to reject what CNMI lawmakers consider is another attempt by some Washington officials to press for a federal takeover through rehash of allegations leveled against the Northern Marianas.

According to the House, the DOI report on the Federal-CNMI Initiative on Labor and Law Enforcement is “inaccurate, misleading, inflammatory and otherwise contrary to the current situation” on the island.

Rep. Oscar Babauta, author of the first resolution, said it was a rehash of earlier reports fed by biased views of Allen P. Stayman, director of the Office of Insular Affairs which has jurisdiction over U.S. territories.

“I don’t think that Mr. Stayman seems to recognize the efforts of this government… to improve relations with the federal government (by addressing) their alleged concerns on our labor and immigration policies,” he told in an interview.

House Majority Floor leader Ana S. Teregeyo, who proposed a joint resolution with the Senate during session last Friday, echoed their frustration that many of the points raised in the report were not substantiated and did not reflect ongoing reform measures.

“We want to express our real grave disappointment that despite the measures we have taken to reform major concerns of the Congress and DOI, our actions still fell on deaf ears,” she said in a separate interview.

“It’s totally uncalled for,” Teregeyo added. “I don’t want to acknowledge that we have done nothing and we just sit down in our pink beautiful behind.”

The House actions followed similar defense taken by Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio against the annual report — the fourth since 1995 and released late last month — which cited inadequacies and failure of the island government to improve its labor and immigration standards.

Many CNMI officials have maintained the report, which was submitted to the Congress, is aimed at pressuring U.S. lawmakers to hasten White House’s agenda of stripping local authority on immigration and minimum wage.

According to DOI, problems spawned by poor implementation of labor, immigration and trade laws remain “troublesome” in the commonwealth despite the reforms. It also noted the continued reliance of CNMI on foreign workers and the high poverty rate among locally-born U.S. citizens.

But the House said the claims included in the reports were “attempts to paint a deceptive picture of these paradise islands as being evil, governed by abusive people, controlled by alien tycoons, and has exaggerated the social problems associated with the recent economic boom.”

Members urged that the insular affairs office be “honest and sincere” in the reports and that it should acknowledge the “tremendous benefit that the United States has received from the Commonwealth” as provided under the Covenant Agreement which established bilateral relations.

They also asked the Congress not to act on the report until island officials are given the opportunity to refute the allegations, which they said could have serious negative impact on the local economy.

“… the U.S. Congress is hereby requested to continue allowing the Commonwealth to work on its internal problems and to not take away control of immigration, but to uphold the intent and integrity of the Covenant,” according to one of the resolutions.