Retaining lobbyist is a must
At Issue: New set of challenges leaves no room to grease propensity for quick fixes.
Our View: Must regroup and face difficult decisions that would net
lasting answers.
Since the first US Congressional Oversight in 1993, detractors have tried to compromise the basic tenets of the Covenant Agreement for all the wrong reasons. Our sentiments are inconsequential for an obvious reason: CNMI US Citizens aren’t a constituency by any stretch of the imagination.
It wasn’t until four years ago that the CNMI was able to connect with the powers that be in the US House of Representatives through Preston Gates. Yes, we had to pay for lobbyist fees. But such is the nature of Washington politics whether we like it or not.
To think that we can instantly change it is to resort to the wisdom of a fool. We need not go further than read recent news of Guam’s non-voting delegate’s failed efforts to bring Pacific-wide issues to the Nerve Center of the world. It’s a tale that illustrates that even as a participant at the bottom of the totem pole, there’s the constancy of the need to educate and re-educate members of Congress about these isles.
It’s a mammoth responsibility working the 500-plus members of the US House of Representatives, not to mention newcomers after an election who have no inkling whatsoever of our existence. And, this doesn’t include the 100 member US Senate.
It’s a bicameral system of over 600 members inundated daily with other lobbyists pushing for legislation to protect their interests.
The point is: The CNMI must retain a powerful lobbyist to protect its interest. It’s a no options issue that all must come to grasp if we want to constantly guard destructive legislation that may simply destroy all that we have worked for or placed in the basic tenets of the Covenant Agreement. It’s all up to us, friends. Si Yuus Maase`!
