US lawmaker vows to help NMI vs takeover

A visiting U.S. congressman has pledged his commitment to support efforts by the CNMI government to stave off federal takeover of local immigration, minimum wage and custom standards as he hailed “improved working conditions” on the island.

Rep. George Radanovich (R-California), a member of the U.S. House Resources Committee and chairman of the Western Caucus, said the attempt to strip Commonwealth powers over these functions is a result of the fact that issues on the island have been caught up in the larger issue of labor movement in the mainland.

This is “unfortunate”, he said, but added the CNMI must ensure that reforms implemented in the past two years by the government continue to benefit the islanders.

“The CNMI is kind of being used in the bigger issue in the United States and that is the resurgence of the labor movement concerned about loss of jobs [for Americans],” Mr. Radanovich told reporters in an interview after the installation of new Saipan Chamber of Commerce officers at the Hyatt Regency where he was the keynote speaker.

“If the garment industry were shut down here [so] that … all those jobs will go back to America… is all baloney. It’s not true,” added the lawmaker.

Good mix

Mr. Radanovich, however, believed there should be a mix of “moral” and “financial” issues in doing business on the island as he noted that failure to do so would mean losing the “special privileges” granted to the Commonwealth under its political relations with Washington.

“It’s up to the islanders to make sure that that does not happen. Nobody’s perfect but you have to make sure that you have a society that benefits everybody because you have a good benefit in your circumstances,” he explained.

A first time visitor to Saipan, the Republican legislator from the state with the largest representation in Congress pointed out also that he has seen the result of the local reforms put in place by the Tenorio administration on the heels of allegations of labor abuse involving the thousands of foreign workers employed in the CNMI.

According to Mr. Radanovich, who owns a winery business in California’s Central Valley, he does not see the poor working conditions on the island portrayed oftentimes in the mainland media during his brief stay here.

“That may not mean that it may not have happened 10 years ago, but from what I see right now, there are greatly improved working conditions,” he said.

Upbeat

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio, in a separate interview, also expressed optimism that the visiting congressman has taken note of the improvement that his administration has been pushing since assuming office in January 1998.

“This visit [has given him] first-hand information as to what is really happening in the CNMI,” he told reporters in an interview after the Chamber’s event last Saturday.

The local chief executive held talks last Friday with Mr. Radanovich in which they discussed issues confronting the CNMI, particularly the bunch of federal takeover legislation and their impact to the island’s development.

The meeting, which both described as “friendly and cordial,” also tackled efforts by island leaders to work with the federal government in addressing the labor and immigration issues which have widened their differences in the past.

“The congressman understands some of the issues now before us,” explained Mr. Tenorio. “Of course, he’d like to help us.”

Mr. Radanovich added that they also discussed about the fact that “many people have tried to influence [the governor] on what is the right thing to do” as he is confronted by day-to-day issues.

Several bills are pending in both houses in Congress which will severely cut the island’s access to foreign labor pool, clip its powers to set the minimum wage level and impose duties on garment exports — measures CNMI officials say will devastate the local economy and send the government scurrying for federal subsidies.