FITIAL TO REYES: “Are you sure Murkowski’s on our side?”

Speaker Benigno R. Fitial said Sen. Pete P. Reyes should tell CNMI voters exactly why he is so sure Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska) won’t support a U.S. House bill that would strip the CNMI of duty-free importation to the mainland and use of the ‘Made in the USA’ privilege, essentially defining the Commonwealth as a foreign country for other Americans.

“There’s no question that the ‘Franks bill’ is very bad for the CNMI, but Senator Murkowski and his staff have for five years been pushing legislation which would strip us of control of our labor and immigration,” Speaker Fitial said. “If Senator Murkowski is really on our side, then he would immediately repudiate this truly terrible measure or at the very least take another look at our situation and act accordingly.”

Sen. Reyes, along with some lawmakers, has asserted the Mr. Murkowski has changed directions on the CNMI and somehow would now become the territory’s protector in the Senate against actions taken in the US House of Representatives. Yet, no such comments have been forthcoming directly from the U.S. senator.

“No one would be happier than I if Senator Murkowski pledged to stop pushing legislation designed to destroy the economy of the CNMI, but we have not seen such a commitment”, said the speaker. “Instead, we have a very vague, unsupported assertion, designed to dissuade our people from defending ourselves against the coalition of union bosses, Interior Department activists, trial lawyers and congressional opponents who seek the termination of our Covenant. I just don’t understand how Senator Reyes can make these statements with a clear conscience,” Mr. Fitial said.

Even if it is true that Mr. Murkowski has decided not to support the proposed bill, “the efforts to impose new federal controls on the CNMI are ongoing and don’t rise or fall on just one bad bill. The previous underground federalization campaign at the Interior Department did long term damage to the Commonwealth and we had better get used to the fact we’re going to have to commit our time and money to heading off more misguided federal legislation for a long time to come.”

“Since Senator Reyes was one of a handful of CNMI government officials targeted by Interior’s smear campaign, I believe he should think very carefully before accepting the word of someone who has signed off on the worst piece of anti-CNMI legislation. Instead, Senator Reyes has to overcome his personal, political agenda and work for the good of all the people in the CNMI, and support Governor Tenorio’s efforts to protect us through aggressive activities in Washington, DC,” the House speaker pointed out.