Section 902 Consultations to be convened

Gov. Ralph DLG Torres will be in Washington, D.C. these next two weeks for several meetings and to attend the National Governors Association’s 111th Annual Winter Meeting.

At the request of Torres, the CNMI will also be convening Section 902 Consultations later this week with the federal government to discuss matters related to immigration and the CNMI’s economic viability. 

“With our request for Section 902 consultations being granted, my administration has been hard at work preparing the CNMI’s case to the federal government in order to protect our economic viability and enhance our ability to deliver essential public services for our community,” Torres said.

In 2016, during the last Section 902 consultations, “we established the necessary policy framework for immigration and U.S. workforce development in the CNMI with our federal partners. We look forward to building on this as we continue our talks with the White House,” he added.

Torres’ other meetings are with the White House, Congress, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Office of Insular Affairs, and the U.S. Department of Defense.

On Thursday, Torres will meet with acting Interior secretary David Berhardt and assistant secretary for Insular and International Affairs Douglas W. Domenech.

From Friday through Sunday, Torres and dozens of the nation’s governors will join leaders from business, the nonprofit sector and global governments for the National Governors Association’s annual winter meeting, a showcase for the best in governance and civic innovation and an opportunity for governors to learn from each other and from other luminaries.

The governors from the states and territories will lead and participate in discussions on topics such as child welfare, resiliency against disaster, education reform, entrepreneurship and more.

On Monday afternoon, Torres and the other territory governors will be at the White House for the 2019 senior plenary session of the Interagency Group on Insular Areas.

Torres will also meet with Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) later that afternoon in his congressional office.

On Tuesday, Feb. 26, at the invitation of Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Torres and the other territorial governors will testify before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in a full committee hearing to examine the state of U.S. territories. 

On Wednesday, Feb. 27, at the invitation of Sablan, Torres will testify before the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources in a hearing on H.R. 560, the Northern Mariana Islands Residents Relief Act, as well as on the impacts of the removal of the Philippines from the list of eligible countries for the H-2B worker visa program.

Torres is then scheduled to meet with officials at the Department of Defense later that afternoon. (PR)