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Selective application of law
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Posted on Jan 28 1999
The single most questionable aspect in the role of the US Department of Interior (as the lead federal agency of insular governments) is its obvious inconsistency in the application of federal law.
Since 1993, it has pushed for the application of US immigration and federal minimum wage laws in the NMI while it spares the same set of laws for American Samoa. The conditions in American Samoa aren’t far removed from the NMI. Yet it finds it perfectly acceptable to look the other way in the application of federal laws.
The subsequent approval of the Industry Wage now in place effectively pre-empts the application of federal minimum wage laws for obvious reasons: The US Congress acknowledges via this law that the application of federal minimum wage would instantly shut down the fish canning and garment manufacturing industries in that territory.
In much the same way, the last major economic sector that now generates appreciable economic activities would instantly close down if federal wages are implemented without the benefit of thorough review of its impact not only on the industry itself, but the revenue generation capability of the local government.
Interior must come to terms with the fact that the industry is responsible for more than 3,000 jobs in both sectors. With deepening contraction of the local economy, where would these people find employment to support their families? In the first place, Interior has done nothing except bash the NMI every which way imaginable, long on criticism, but shamefully short on realistic answers in terms of back-up plans to justify its ruinous agenda.
For the past several years, the US Department of Interior has been quite consistent with its agenda to try to kill the goose that lays the golden egg for the NMI. We seriously suggest that the President of the United States ought to examine this particular agenda of his administration to determine if it is consistent with his global policy to promote trade throughout the free world. We believe it is discriminatory.
