Fitial reports progress • But House speaker says, ‘We’ve got a long way to go’

Looking back on eight months at the helm of the CNMI House of Representatives, Speaker Benigno R. Fitial said he was both pleased and relieved to be able to report major progress on the ambitious agenda he laid out when he took office last January.

Mr. Fitial recalled his goals which he compared to the four pillars of the traditional latte stone house. With the first pillar being better economic opportunities for CNMI people and the others education, protection of the environment and preservation of the island way of life.

“But if we allow the federalization effort in Washington to go forward, all our pillars will fall down,” Mr. Fitial said.

He added that he was pleased that the seriousness of the situation had finally been met with a specific plan to halt federalization efforts through the recent administration decision to hire the Preston Gates to lobby for the CNMI.

“I want to thank all my colleagues in the House of Representatives and members of the upper body as well as the administration for following us to put the matter in good hands and allow us to turn our attention to other pressing matters equally deserving of attention,” Mr. Fitial said.

“The goal of defeating a federal takeover requires that we set aside partisan differences and present a united front to Washington,” he added.

Stressing the sweeping nature of the widely supported “Franks bill” which would strip the CNMI’s duty free privileges and ban use of the “Made in USA” label, he said that members of the CNMI Senate would be unwise to rely only on assurances from Senator Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska) that he opposes the legislation.

“This is an ongoing battle,” Mr. Fitial explained, “and we can’t afford to be complacent when we hear comforting words in Washington.”

Omnibus

The Speaker said that while far from perfect, the Omnibus Labor and Business Reform Act just signed into law by Governor Pedro P. Tenorio “should go a long way toward showing our business community that we are more interested in promoting their interests and generally rejuvenating the CNMI rather than figuring out new ways to complicate their lives.”

He said he was pleased that employees and employers were given a more flexible hand in dealing with each other with the advent of a wider application of consensual transfers.

“I continue to believe that the courts and not the Department of Labor & Immigration should step in to handle disputes as they would for any contract dispute. Hand in hand with that goes the idea that the contract worker should exclude the Department of Labor & Immigration as parties to the contract.

“However, we have done away with some of the worst aspects of the moratorium by allowing replacements of those who have completed contracts and lifting the exit requirements,” he said.

Economic agenda

On other economic fronts, the House is preparing to introduce a simple ‘flat tax’ to replace the present complicated system, Mr. Fitial said. “This would be just one of a number of ways to build on the gains for business achieved to date.”

“We’ve made progress,” Mr. Fitial said, “but everyone in this community knows that given the state of our economy, we’ve just got to move forward and that means finding new industries and activities for the CNMI as well as enacting legislation to further support business concerns.”

Mr. Fitial said he was very excited about hotel prospects for the island of Saipan and establishing a school for foreign students.

On the environmental front, he praised the tireless efforts of House Natural Resources Committee Chair Rep. Dino M. Jones to bring the Tanapag PCB contamination situation and related problems into the spotlight after more than a decade of delay.

He said that the lack of action to date on the CNMI Scholarship program or any proposed alternatives to it has been a continuing disappointment, which he is hoping to overcome through measures currently being considered.