US Senate fails to pass increase in CW numbers

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Senate adjourned Friday without passing legislation increasing CW nonimmigrant worker permits in the Marianas for 2017. Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) was able to get his bill, providing a one-year lift in the CW cap, through the House on Tuesday. But a hold on all bills in the Senate by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) and objections to passage of immigration legislation from the Senate Judiciary Committee blocked action on Sablan’s bill in the final working hours of the 114th Congress.

“We were very fortunate to have been able to build bipartisan support in the House for legislation dealing with immigration—and win passage without any dissent,” Sablan reflected in the early hours of Saturday, as the Senate wrapped up.

“Immigration is one of the most difficult issues to manage in Congress, even if the direct effect of any legislation is confined just to the Mariana Islands, as was the case with the bill I got through the House this week. For that reason, even though we were successful in the House, I have been very cautious about raising hopes back home.

“As is always the case here in Washington, persistence is the key to accomplishment. And we are already planning on what next steps we can take when the 115th Congress convenes on Jan. 3.”

One factor that will come into play is a report expected this month from the Section 902 Consultations between Gov. Ralph DLG Torres and Special Representative of the President Esther Kia’aina. A congressionally mandated review of the labor situation in the Marianas by the Government Accountability Office due in April will also influence future decision-making.

“I do want to thank Gov. [Ralph DLG] Torres and Senate President [Francisco] Borja, the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands, [Strategic Economic Development Council], and the Commonwealth Healthcare Center, all of whom provided support for passage of my bill, H.R. 6401, in the House this week,” Sablan said.

“I hope to continue to be able to demonstrate that same unity as we move forward on finding a better system of providing sufficient labor for the Marianas economy.”

Sablan’s bill raised the cap on CW foreign workers from the current 12,998 back to the 2013 level of 15,000, but only for the current year. His bill also barred the use of the CW permits for new construction jobs, which caused the cap to be reached almost as soon as the application period opened this October. H.R. 6401 also raised the fee that employers must pay to help train local workers to replace foreign workers in the Marianas economy.

“There may have been lobbyists at work for special interests that want to save money by using CWs for temporary construction labor,” Sablan said, “or who do not want to pay more to train our local workers.”

“And it is always easier to block a bill than to get a bill enacted.

“That is one more reason to maintain a unified voice among our Marianas elected officials and our community at large, as we continue our efforts in the year ahead.”