Bush backs NMI submerged lands quest

The Bush administration has come out in support of a pending bill before that U.S. Congress that addresses submerged lands in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

At the same time, CNMI Resident Representative Pete A. Tenorio said he has recently received positive reports from both the U.S House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate about the CNMI’s proposed delegate bill.

Nikolao I. Pula, the director of the Office of Insular Affairs, testified yesterday before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in support of the passage of S. 1831, which deals with two subjects: submerged lands and the settlement of claims arising pursuant to the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America.

Pula said that the department supports giving the CNMI jurisdiction over its submerged lands out to the three-mile limit, but it cannot endorse a provision that would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to decide the Commonwealth’s claims against the federal government. Pula noted that the CNMI can already use Covenant Section 902 consultation process to ask for review major issues with the federal government.

Pula also said the administration urges Congress to legislatively clarify that trust funds invested for the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands should not be subject to taxes in the District of Columbia, where the trust funds are chartered.

Meantime, Tenorio disclosed receiving positive reports from both chambers of the U.S. Congress about the islands’ proposed delegate bill.

“I am pleased and encouraged to hear that our champions for this bill are still hard at work on getting it passed,” he said.

The first communiqué was in the form of a letter from House Resources Committee Chair Richard Pombo (R, CA), where he stated: “As we move forward, our common goal of the bill’s passage will be met when Congress is able to schedule a vote for H.R. 873 by the House of Representatives. I also look forward to working with my counterpart, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman, Pete Domenici, to address any concerns he or his Committee may have.”

The second occurred at the beginning of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources hearing on Oct. 25, when Sen. Lisa Murkowski, sitting in for Sen. Domenici, said: “The committee looks forward to working with the Resident Representative of the CNMI and the House of Representatives as this [nonvoting delegate] legislation proceeds.”

“It is a matter of time now, I believe that we have everything in place, we have educated the members of Congress on the issue, and we are ready for the vote to be scheduled,” Tenorio said.