Fitial's statement before House subcommittee

Opinion
Friday, August 17, 2007

By Benigno R. Fitial
Special to the Saipan Tribune

Editor's Note: The following is the complete text of the statement delivered by Gov. Benigno R. Fitial before the House Subcommittee On Insular Affairs on August 15, 2007, during a field hearing held at the CNMI Supreme Court on Saipan.

I am Benigno R. Fitial, the Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and I represent the government of this territory of the United States, and the people who elected me into public office. I appear before you today to testify on H.R.3079, legislation to amend the Joint Resolution Approving a Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands.

Hafa Adai, Madame Chairwoman and Members of the Committee. Welcome to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. We appreciate your time and personal commitment in visiting our islands.

Before I turn to H.R. 3079, I would like to thank Rep. Flake and Delegate Fortuno for their introduction of H.R.3165, amending Headnote 3A. Enactment of this legislation would greatly assist the Commonwealth in its efforts to preserve and develop the diversified economy required to meet the needs of its citizens.

H.R. 3079 is virtually identical to Senate Bill 1634 with respect to its immigration and labor provisions. Lt. Governor Villagomez and I have each testified before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources this year and set forth our reasons for opposing S.1634. We have supplemented our testimony with extensive materials and met with Members of both Houses and their staffs to discuss these proposals. Let me summarize some of our main concerns.

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