Local lawmaker relieved of US senator’s commitment to CNMI

The Torres administration chose not to release a comment on the recent scuffle between the Northern Marianas Business Alliance Corp. and Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) during the corporation’s first meeting in Washington, D.C. last week while a local lawmaker feels relieved with the commitment of a U.S. senator to the CNMI.

Rep. Angel Demapan (R-Saipan), who is vying for the delegate position this coming 2018 election, feels a “sense of relief” knowing of U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-AK) commitment to “introduce and pass legislation that will address the longterm workforce challenges facing the CNMI.”

Murkowski chairs the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

“I am also pleased to learn that chairwoman Murkowski has welcomed Governor [Ralph DLG] Torres’ involvement in the working group,” he added.

In a past press release on their social media account, NMBAC described their first meeting in D.C.—a meeting with Sablan—as “disappointing.” According to NMBAC, Sablan expressed “unwillingness” to support proposals that enjoy “widespread support in the Commonwealth.”

NMBAC proposes to extend the CW-1 program, or the CNMI-Only Transitional Worker program by 10 years with 15,000 to 18,000 slots, among others, which Sablan describes in his letter to the editor last Dec. 15, 2017, will be “difficult to sell in this anti-foreign worker, Republican administration and U.S. Congress.”

Sablan explained in his piece explained that he was not at liberty to disclose details on the discussions in the working group led by Murkowski since they were “preliminary, sensitive, and confidential” after NMBAC stated in a past press release that they believe the delegate appeared to “prefer working with other members of the Congress without consulting with the CNMI government or the business community.”

In response, Demapan told Saipan Tribune that he was thankful that discussions were “more fruitful” between NMBAC and American Samoa Delegate Amata Radewagen (R-AS).

An NMBAC past press release said the group met with Radewagen, who in turn offered her support in the CNMI labor plight.

Radewagen is a member of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs, which is under the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources, which Sablan is also a member of.

The CNMI Congress last week passed House Joint Resolution 20-07, which was authored by Demapan, in order to support Gov. Ralph DLG Torres’ efforts to discuss the CW-1 program extension and its surrounding provisions.

Both the House and Senate unanimously passed H.J.R. 20-07.

The Tinian leadership, consisting of Tinian Mayor Joey Patrick San Nicolas, Sen. Jude U. Hofschneider, (R-Tinian), Sen. Francisco Cruz (R-Tinian), Sen. Francisco Borja (R-Tinian), and Rep. Edwin Aldan (R-Tinian) also voiced out their concerns over the CW-1 program expiration and went public in supporting Torres as well.