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House asks Senate to OK reservist bill
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Posted on Oct 05 2005
Even as the Senate leadership is bugging the House for a new budget bill, it is the lower chamber’s turn this time to ask what the Senate’s waiting for before it acts on a bill that aims to benefit CNMI reservists on active duty.
“Since the bill [House Bill 14-218] was passed in the House last year…the Senate has so far taken no action, leaving our reservists and their dependents without the benefits proposed in our legislation. I therefore call on you, as the Senate leader, to please take action and urge your colleagues to pass this important legislation for the benefit of our reservists in harm’s way,” said Rep. Clyde Norita in a letter addressed to Senate President Joaquin G. Adriano on Tuesday.
H.B. 14-218, introduced by Norita, will allow CNMI reservists in active duty to receive one-half of their salaries for one year after their military and annual leaves are exhausted. The bill covers both government and private sector-employed reservists.
The measure provides that the CNMI government shall pay one-half the salary of the employees/reservists, provided that they are on active duty for a continuous period of one year.
The private employers, meantime, have the option to pay one-half the salary of the employees/reservists once their military or accrued vacation leave are exhausted “in lieu of the payment of the employers’ business gross receipts tax.”
It further provides that the waived BGRT payment shall not exceed 50 percent of the payment made to the affected employees as an offset.
The bill was co-sponsored by Reps. Jesus SN. Lizama, Crispin Ogo, and Ray Yumul, who is himself a member of a deployed unit.
The CNMI reservists currently in Iraq belong to the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry Division of the U.S. Armed Forces.
