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Joint resolution in support of CW extension heads to Senate
The House of Representatives unanimously passed Wednesday a joint resolution that supports the bill to extend the expiration of the CNMI-Only Transitional Worker program from 2019 to 2029.
House Joint Resolution 20-08, which supports U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-AK) S. 2325, passed the CNMI House on a vote of 18-0.
Murkowski’s bill extends the CNMI’s transition period by another 10 years, ultimately extending the CW program and other programs with it.
Introduced in the U.S. Senate last Jan. 19, 2018, Murkowski, who led a working group tasked with setting up parameters of the extension, worked with Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, the Northern Marianas Business Alliance Corp., and Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) to craft the bill.
Simultaneously, Sablan introduced in the U.S. House H.R. 4869, which contains the exact language as the bill.
“We believe [S. 2325] is a product that is going to be helpful to the economic livelihood of the Commonwealth, so through this joint resolution, we are supporting S. 2325,” said Rep. Angel A. Demapan (R-Saipan), the author of H.J.R. 20-08.
Demapan said the CW extension is a “time-sensitive” matter. Current law provides a 180-day or six-month renewal period per CW permit every fiscal year. With U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services cutting the CW cap for fiscal year 2019 to just 4,998 slots, the CNMI economy is at stake, Demapan said.
CW workers make up the majority of the CNMI workforce.
In S. 2325 and in H.R. 4869, a 10-year extension is being proposed while bumping up the CW annual cap for fiscal year 2019 to 13,000 instead of the 4,998 as set by the USCIS.
In order to avoid the large reduction of slots, full support and unity must be displayed at the U.S. Senate public hearing on the bill on Feb. 6, 2018 in Washington, D.C.
While the cap limit is increased, 500 slots are reduced annually starting fiscal year 2020. CW-3 permits are renewable every three years.
“Without any legislative fix, USCIS has to operate with the presumption that the CW permit would be zeroed out,” said Demapan. “It’s going to be very detrimental to the business community.”
