‘Delegate bill safe from controversy’

Washington Rep. Pete A. Tenorio has assured that the CNMI’s delegate bill, which is now before the U.S. Congress, will not be affected by the ongoing controversy surrounding Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

“It is all about fairness, and this has been stated time and time again by members of the committee such as Rep. Flake from Arizona, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior Dave Cohen. I just don’t see how the ongoing controversy relating to Jack Abramoff has changed anything or that it will derail the delegate initiative,” Tenorio said.

He pointed out that Abramoff has been under investigation for several years now, “so this is nothing new.” Abramoff was hired to lobby for the CNMI during the administrations of former governors Froilan Tenorio and Pedro Tenorio. He is currently under investigation for his work with Indian casinos.

“Our delegate effort in Congress, which is overwhelmingly supported by our people, should not now be subject to local political debates. It is important that we remain united, demonstrating our firm stand on the need for representation in Congress,” Tenorio added.

He cited Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo as saying during last year’s Resources Committee hearing on the potential for a CNMI Delegate: “There are many issues regarding the CNMI that ought to be aired, and these issues point to the need for a delegate in Congress to speak for and answer for the CNMI. Representation should not be based on good behavior, and it should not be a reward for having one policy or another. Representation should be based on American values of democracy and fairness. Participation in a democracy is an inalienable right of citizens, and this right is not contingent on a litmus test.”

“I cannot agree more with our good friend the gentlewoman from Guam,” said Tenorio.

Since Tenorio took office in 2002 and made the quest for a Delegate a high priority, many critical events have occurred that have dominated the U.S. Congress’ time and attention. The U.S. began recovering from the devastating effects of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the country has gone to war with Iraq, they re-elected George W. Bush in a very tight and divisive election with Sen. John Kerry, and the country has reeled from the effects of an energy crises that has caused gas prices to soar over $2 a gallon nationwide.

Moreover, Tenorio has had to continuously educate and familiarize members of the U.S. Congress and the Bush administration about the CNMI. Many only knew of the CNMI through the negative press generated by the national media attention given to the island’s labor problems.

“We also had to convince influential members of Congress that we were taking labor reform seriously. These problems are what killed similar legislation in 1996, so we knew we had to demonstrate our commitment to enforcing labor laws, and ensuring our guest workers are treated properly,” said Tenorio.

“Once we felt that some of our more vocal critics were satisfied with our progress on labor, we were able to move ahead last year during the 108th Congress, and have the bill introduced and passed out of committee; unfortunately there just wasn’t time to get the bill approved on the floor of House. The 108th Congress spent its remaining days last fall approving an appropriations bill that was already several months late,” explained Tenorio.

The bill was re-introduced very early in the new 109th Congress. At the moment, the House Resources Committee is addressing vital energy legislation to reduce the price of gas.

“There should be a mark up of the delegate bill later this month or early next month, where it will be discussed by the House Resources Committee, and I have every confidence that it will be reported out favorably,” Tenorio said. “We have most of the House’s leadership behind us, including Speaker Hastert, Majority Whip Blunt, the chair of the House Resources Committee, Richard Pombo, and the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Jerry Lewis, as well as all of the territorial delegates, so I foresee no problems getting it approved by the House later this year. It is a matter of timing.” (PR)