House leadership thanks ‘friends’ in Washington

House Speaker Benigno R. Fitial said yesterday there should be no confusion about who deserves the credit for fighting off last minute efforts in Washington to force the U.S. minimum wage and other new federal controls on the Commonwealth.

In a letter to supporters of the CNMI and lobbying firm Preston Gates on behalf of the House leadership, Speaker Fitial said, “It is very difficult to convey the urgency of legislative matters taking place so many thousands of miles away and the threat to all of our citizens posed by the truly terrible legislation from which you have helped to defend us, but our leadership has been working to make this known and will continue to do so.”

He stressed, however, that the public should not be confused as to whom the credit should be given, as he made a pitch against CNMI’s Resident Representative to Washington Juan N. Babauta for claiming victory over the battle against minimum wage.

Speaker Fitial referred to efforts as the current Congress rushes toward adjournment to slip legislation sought by the Clinton administration into other bills as part of backroom deals. One such amendment would have imposed the full U.S. minimum wage on the CNMI in one jump, raising it more than 100 percent.

Another piece of legislation that is now apparently likely to die when members go home would treat the CNMI as a foreign country, imposing quotas and tariffs on products exported to the U.S. mainland.

Commenting on the performance of the CNMI’s elected Washington representative as pressure built to drive through the administration-favored bills, Speaker Fitial said that Mr. Babauta, “did not find [this] legislative assault on the Commonwealth sufficient grounds to interrupt his gubernatorial campaign and report in for emergency duty in the capital. That has not stopped him from giving quite a different impression in the local media and at political rallies.”

Mr. Fitial told the group he described as ‘friends and supporters of the CNMI in Washington,’ that the lesson learned locally is that, “we must remain constantly vigilant to protect the interests of our citizens.”

“The Commonwealth is a very tiny part of America,” Speaker Fitial wrote, “but nevertheless, your support gives us new confidence that our lack of effective representation and resources do not condemn us to being unfairly unpunished by the bullies promoting this punitive legislation. We don’t doubt they’ll try it again, but we’ll be better prepared the next time.”