House leaders strongly oppose litigation

The top leaders of the House of Representatives spoke in unison yesterday to express their strong opposition to the administration’s request to support a lawsuit against the federalization law.

In an interview with Saipan Tribune, Speaker Arnold Palacios and Vice Speaker Joseph P. Deleon Guerrero echoed Rep. Diego T. Benavente’s position that the Commonwealth should engage the federal government in dialogue instead of pursuing an expensive but uncertain litigation.

“My position is that I don’t support this litigation option,” Palacios said.

He said there are other problems the CNMI is facing that need to be addressed such as worries about tourism and the economy.

“Why do we need to worry about immigration when we cannot even have our power system up? That’s the most basic stuff. No investors in their right mind would come here because of our power situation,” the Speaker pointed out.

He said the potential impacts of federalization and how the law is crafted could be dealt with through negotiation.

“I believe that from the beginning. I do have faith that we can negotiate with federal agencies. If we can properly articulate our position and show them where we believe its going to impact our economy, we can knock on doors as what Benavente says,” he said.

Palacios said the CNMI could obtain those concession without going to court right now.

He cited that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials were here with other agencies to hear the CNMI’s concerns.

“It is now up to us to begin to articulate some of the concerns,” he said. “Let’s negotiate. Try to sell our points, try to convince. I’m sure there are people in the federal government that are going to listen.”

Palacios said litigation is an expensive process and there is no likelihood the CNMI is going to succeed, not to mention how long this is going to drag on in courts.

For Deleon Guerrero, litigation should be the CNMI’s last resort in dealing with the federalization law.

“It is always good to pursue diplomacy first,” he said.

Deleon Guerrero said he already told Palacios that, even with special legal counsel Howard Willens’ presentation on the impact of the federalization law, some lawmakers are still unclear as to how it will interface with local labor laws.

Deleon Guerrero said he asked Palacios to invite Willens back, this time for more question-and-answer in order for them to have a better understanding of the issues.

The vice speaker pointed out that even though Willens talked about how much the lawsuit would possibly cost, the Fitial administration has not formally submitted a request to the Legislature for funding.

“I can’t say definitely right now what our decision is. We will probably be sitting down to make that decision,” he said.

Deleon Guerrero that, although there are merits to the administration’s concerns, he feels that most lawmakers believe there are other options they could pursue.

“Litigation may perhaps be a last resort. We do have the 902 negotiation. To my knowledge, under this administration, there has not been any 902 consultation with the United States,” he said.

The second recourse, Deleon Guerrero said, is the CNMI’s opportunity to be included in the halls of Congress with the election of a delegate this November.

“Once we understand fully what the impacts would be and we get a clear understanding of how to address those impacts, perhaps one other thing to do it is introduce legislation in Congress,” he said.

The third option, the vice speaker said, is to conduct further consultations with federal agencies that are promulgating the regulations.

“There’s now three alternatives that we can do. The last resort is litigation,” he emphasized.

It is just prudent on the CNMI’s part, Deleon Guerrero said, to show the federal government those alternatives that are available to the Commonwealth.

“That is not as costly. And when those alternatives have been pursued, and if we are not successful and we do see there is a severe adverse effects, then perhaps then and only should we consider litigation,” he said.

Willens conducted a closed-door presentation on Tuesday in the House’s chamber, where he tried to convince the Legislature to provide funding of about $400,000 that he said the administration will need to pursue the lawsuit.

Willens said Fitial is interested in pursuing litigation to protect the CNMI’s right to self-government under the Covenant.

He said the governor wants to consult with the Legislature before he makes the final decision.

Rep. Diego T. Benavente, chair of the House’s Committee on U.S. and Foreign Relations, said CNMI should engage the federal in a dialogue, instead of pursuing an expensive but uncertain lawsuit.