Previous Story
Senate commends four US senators
|
Posted on Jun 02 2006
Four U.S. senators received commendation from their local counterparts for advocating the Commonwealth’s economic issues.
The CNMI Senate has adopted a resolution lauding Hawaii Sen. Daniel Kahikina Akaka, New Mexico Sens. Pete V. Domenici and Jeff Bingaman, and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
The four senators recently threw their support behind two of the CNMI’s most crucial economic recovery initiatives—amending Head Note 3(a) and the tax cover over.
“In…advocating [CNMI issues] on behalf of the people of the Commonwealth, whom [they] do not represent, [the four senators have] distinguished [themselves] as honorable [senators] willing to do the right thing not for personal or political gain but, simply, because it is the right thing to do,” stated a portion of the Senate resolution.
On May 9, 2006, the four senators sent a joint letter to the U.S. Finance Committee where they noted that both the CNMI’s garment manufacturing and tourism industries are in decline and that there are actions which the Congress can take that would help to mitigate the impact of the current crisis and stabilize the economy.
Specifically, the senators called for the passage of the Head Note 3(a), which is pending in the U.S. Senate’s Finance Committee.
The proposed legislation would reduce the local content requirement from 50 percent to 30 percent for products that would be eligible for duty-free entry into the United States and would grant the products of the Commonwealth equal tariff treatment as products imported from U.S. free trade partners.
The senators also asked the Finance Committee to immediately pay the “cover over” taxes due to the Commonwealth pursuant to a provision of the Covenant. (Agnes E. Donato)
