The reelected chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives\u2019 Natural Resources Committee has vowed to push for economic development and energy independence for the U.S. insular areas, including the Northern Marianas.<\/p>\n
The House Democratic Caucus voted last week to retain Rep. Nick Rahall as chairman of the Natural Resources Committee during the 111th Congress. The committee is one of Congress\u2019 primary committees overseeing the environment, energy, public lands, and the insular areas.<\/p>\n
In a statement released after his election, Rahall noted that the unique relationship between the United States and the five insular areas \u201cengenders a duty to ensure and effectuate federal policies that are mindful of insular needs and the challenges that encumber development.\u201d<\/p>\n
The statement adds, \u201cThroughout our country\u2019s periods of peace and war, U.S. territories, along with our relationships with other affiliated Pacific Islands, have been integral to both the security and growth of our democracy. As a nation, we have a responsibility to foster sustainable development; providing a path for energy independence, improving infrastructure, responding to economic challenges, and promoting self-government.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring the 110th Congress, the Committee took deliberative action to provide a path for political self-determination, consistent with the U.S. Constitution, for the people of Puerto Rico. We intend to, again, engage in this process for Puerto Rico and, when appropriate, work to provide a clear direction for all of her sister territories.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rahall also said he was pleased that, for the first time ever, the CNMI will have a delegate in the House of Representatives. He added that he looks forward to working with the new resident commissioner from Puerto Rico \u201cas we continue to engage in a process of political self-determination for that commonwealth.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The reelected chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives\u2019 Natural Resources Committee has vowed to push for economic development and energy independence for the U.S. insular areas, including the Northern Marianas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128278\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}