Kilili upbeat on Dems’ chances

Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) is optimistic about the chances of the Democratic Party taking back control of the upcoming 116th Congress—a scenario that could improve the chances of H.R. 6578 and a proposed change by Guam’s Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-GU) to give territorial delegates a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Sablan said the 115th Congress would work through Dec. 13, 2018 before adjourning for the holiday break.

A Democratic-controlled Congress would, in Sablan’s opinion, be friendly to a bill that he introduced, H.R. 6578 or the Northern Mariana Islands Workforce Stabilization, which aims to give improved immigration status to long-term foreign workers and investors in the CNMI.

He previously tried similar bills but they didn’t gain enough traction in Congress. It would be different this time, he said.

He said he re-introduced the bill to leave it as a marker so if he wins and the Democrats take the majority in Congress, the language is already there and could be included in a broader immigration measure.

“The most likely path forward for H.R. 6578 will be to piggyback my legislation on a larger comprehensive immigration bill that a House Democratic majority will no doubt pass in the next Congress,” Sablan told Saipan Tribune.

“In the meantime, I plan to continue gathering co-sponsors for H.R. 6578, so that as many members as possible understand the bill and support it when the 116th Congress convenes in January.”

There are already 32 House members that’s supporting H.R. 6578 with Bordallo, Delegate Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands), and Reps. Hank Johnson (D-Georgia), Rick Nolan (D-Minnesota), and Collin Peterson (D-Minnesota) the latest to back the bill

Sablan said long-term workers gaining improved status would lessen the expenses of employers and, at the same time, do away with worries whether the CW permits would be denied or approved.

“And improved status would finally give our long-term workers and investors, who were granted admission under Commonwealth immigration law, the knowledge that they are permanent members of our community,” said Sablan.

He added that the Saipan Chamber of Commerce came out with a letter of support for H.R. 6578 while he is still waiting for Gov. Ralph DLG Torres and the CNMI Legislature to do the same thing.

Sablan is seeking re-election this November against Rep. Angel A. Demapan (R-Saipan) with the polls set on Nov. 6. They will be having a debate on Thursday, Sept. 20.

Voting issue

On the issue of voting rights by the five members from the U.S. territories and the federal district of Washington, D.C, Sablan said it was a GOP-controlled Congress that stripped them of this.

He added that the five delegates and the resident commissioner from Puerto Rico were able to vote on bills back in the 1993, 2007, and 2009 Congress when the Democrats held the majority. He even had the chance to vote during his first term as CNMI delegate.

“In fact, I voted in the Committee of the Whole during my first term from 2009 to 2010. I was able to vote on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and other key legislation. This allowed the people of the Marianas to see how they were being represented,” Sablan told Saipan Tribune.

“I think people should know where their representative stands on the issues. So, I am sorry that the Republicans took away the right to vote from the Marianas and all the other delegates, when Republicans regained the majority in 2011.”

Sablan added that the Republicans even challenged the voting privilege of the delegates and resident commissioner in the Committee of the Whole when it was first put in place in 1993 but the court upheld it.

The issue came out after Bordallo (D-GU) proposed to amend the U.S. House of Representatives’ standing rules to provide additional privileges for the delegates and the resident commissioner when the 116th Congress convenes in January 2019.

Bordallo’s proposed bipartisan rule changes would restore the voting privileges of the delegates and the resident commissioner on legislation and amendments, give them the ability to vote to elect the House speaker, and clarify the authority to serve on joint committees with other House and Senate members.