Teno to attend Bush’s inauguration

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio will be one among the thousands of U.S. officials, foreign dignitaries and other invited guests witnessing the swearing in of President-elect George W. Bush next week in Washington D.C.

He is scheduled to depart for the nation’s capital on January 17 to attend the inaugural ceremonies next Saturday. The governor, who has received an invitation, did not say who will accompany him to the trip, although a delegation from CNMI is expected to travel with him.

It is unlikely, however, to arrange a meeting with Mr. Bush or any of his Cabinet officials, Mr. Tenorio acknowledged, since they expect him and the others to be busy during this time.

“It will be very difficult to meet with the just-appointed members of the Cabinet and the president because it’s a special day for them,” he told reporters in an interview.

Another trip to Washington may be in the offing to meet with Mr. Bush and officials of the new administration on a later date so that CNMI leaders can discuss with them the conditions on the islands, said the governor.

“At the same time, we will be providing some information to the [Bush-Cheney] transition committee on some of the issues confronting us here in the CNMI,” he added.

Island leaders have embraced the election of Mr. Bush, a Republican, into the White House since it would open the lines of communication with the federal government that has long been adversarial to the Commonwealth under the Clinton administration.

They have relied on the support of the Republican leaders in the U.S. Congress to thwart attempts in the past few years by the outgoing administration to extend federal immigration and minimum wage laws to the CNMI.

With both the White House and Capitol Hill controlled by GOP, CNMI is hoping to draw strong support in Washington in order to safeguard its interests, primarily the provisions in the Covenant.

Mr. Tenorio said he is looking forward to working with the new administration, noting that it has always been his policy to reach out to the federal government.

“We want to try to work with them and we always would like to see whatever assistance they could extend not only to the CNMI but to the other territories of the U.S. as well as we are encountering economic crisis here in the Pacific,” he said.