Teno hopes Congress shoots down takeover bill

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio yesterday expressed hope again that legislation extending federal minimum wage and immigration laws that are pending in the U.S. Congress will not pass despite renewed efforts by some members to revive these measures.

“It’s been our desire that [they], and we have always asked Congress to please, help us and hopefully the bill will not go through,” he told reporters in an interview.

The governor was referring to S. 1052 — which seeks automatic takeover of CNMI’s immigration by the federal government — that was passed by the U.S. Senate last February and is still awaiting action in the lower house.

Rep. George Miller (D-California), a staunch critic of the CNMI’s labor and immigration system, has asked the U.S. House Resources Committee to hasten passage of the bill amid failure by the island government to implement badly-needed reforms.

But Resources Chair Don Young (R-Alaska) has vowed to block its passage as he noted success by the Commonwealth in managing its own affairs.

His committee has oversight of the CNMI and other insular areas. Last week, the panel held oversight hearing on the Office of Insular Affairs following allegations of on-the-job political campaign by some of its officials in a bid to unseat Republican members sympathetic to the Northern Marianas’ conditions.

Mr. Tenorio declined to comment on the outcome of the probe detailing the alleged efforts by high-ranking OIA officials to smear both the Republican members in Congress and the CNMI which were revealed by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Inspector General.

The hearing also uncovered role of former OIA Director Allen P. Stayman and his deputy, Ferdinand Aranza who now heads the federal agency, as they allegedly pushed the federal takeover agenda espoused by the Clinton administration against the Commonwealth.

S. 1052, a bipartisan measure, is the first legislation that passed one chamber of the bicameral body in Washington D.C. tackling amendments to the Covenant which guarantees local control of labor, immigration and customs.

Island leaders have opposed such measure due to devastating impact on the economy which relies on guest workers and foreign investments due to limited human resources here.

In recent weeks, another bill, HR 222 which seeks to deny the CNMI of the privilege to use “Made in USA” label and to impose tariff on U.S.-bound goods from the islands, has gained support in Congress, drawing closer to voting on the House floor.