Babauta to attend Bush inauguration in DC

Gov. Juan N. Babauta will leave for a weeklong trip to the U.S. mainland to attend President Bush’s inauguration next week, as well as to hold meetings with key federal officials and other groups.

Babauta said yesterday he will leave the island tomorrow and will be back next weekend.

“I’m excited to witness the inaugural ceremony for the president, the great Republican president,” said the governor, a Republican himself.

Bush inauguration is set on Jan. 20.

The Republican-dominant CNMI was extremely elated over Bush’s re-election last November, with the governor seeing it a “a referendum on President Bush’s policies.”

“I say referendum because he won this election by nearly four million popular votes. When you compare that four years ago when he ran against Al Gore, he lost by 500,000 popular votes. Four years later, he won re-election by nearly four million over and above four years ago. To me that’s a true mandate,” said Babauta, who is also seeking re-election this year.

Babauta said he will also meet with some federal officials during his stay in Washington D.C. next week to discuss labor and immigration issues, cover-over tax, among others.

“I have meetings set up for the 17th and 18th on some key issues. I’m also meeting with some lawmakers to the extent that they are available,” he said.

In particular, he said, he wants to meet with Indiana Rep. Dan Burton to discuss regional health issues and funding for dialysis units for the Commonwealth Health Center.

He said he also hopes to see Rep. Don Young to lobby for funding for the $12-million Talafofo road project on Saipan.

After the presidential inauguration, the governor, together with Guam Gov. Felix Camacho will be off to Fort Hope, Louisiana, to meet with the local troops who are on training for Iraq deployment.

“Governor Camacho and I will be meeting with them before they are deployed to Iraq,” he said.

Press secretary Peter A. Callaghan said yesterday that some local Republican Party officials would join the governor in Washington D.C. for the inauguration “at their own expense.”

“Some party officials are attending [the inauguration] at their own [expense] or the party’s expense,” he said.

The local GOP is chaired by Department of Public Works Secretary John Reyes.

The governor’s legal counsel, Steve Newman, is also expected to meet with Babauta in Washington D.C. next week for a meeting with Office of Insular Affairs officials, Callaghan said.