Nielsen’s resignation sought • House members threaten to bring dispute on reimbursement to court

Visibly irked over refusal to reimburse expenditures incurred from community contributions, Rep. Melvin O. Faisao yesterday called on Finance Sec. Lucy DLG Nielsen to step down if she doesn’t see it fit to comply with provisions of the law.

“If she wants it her own way, resign and run for [Legislature] so she can define the meaning of ‘public purpose’,” he said during a House session.

Mr. Faisao’s complaints stemmed from alleged refusal by the Department of Finance to pay about $290 in tent rentals charged by the representative to his legislative account. Ms. Nielsen could not be reached for comment on his allegations.

He claimed the DOF chief turned down his request for payment because the tents were used for ‘novenas’ and not part of the scope of a recent law defining “public purpose” as it relates to government expenses.

Mr. Faisao argued that this is part of local traditions being practiced on the island for many generations and that he was “shocked” when told by Ms. Nielsen that his request for payment would not be processed.

“There’s too much baloney here and she needs to be replaced,” he told the House. “She doesn’t know what are traditional practices anymore.”

Other lawmakers echoed his concerns, noting too that they have been having difficulties reimbursing expenses from the finance department due to questions on their purposes.

House Speaker Diego T. Benavente told his colleagues that he has brought up the issue to the governor, who he said agreed with the Legislature that it is in fact included in the lawful provisions.

Public purpose

The “public purpose law” was passed early this year amid widening disagreement between lawmakers and finance officials over interpretation of the phrase provided under the Constitution.

DOF and some legislators have been at loggerheads in recent months when members of the Legislature attempted to reimburse expenses incurred from donations to funerals and other community events under their respective government accounts.

While it originally sought a clear-cut policy on the expenditure of public funds, the law allowed the finance secretary to implement rules and regulations to carry out the intention of the law in a bid to avoid potential misinterpretation.

Mr. Benavente suggested that they can either amend the law or take the matter to court to resolve their differences with DOF.

But lawmakers maintained that even if they amend the law to clarify specific provisions, it would still encounter problems if Ms. Nielsen intentionally refuses to reimburse their expenses.

“What I am going to try to do is to convince the governor that this is something that we feel should be paid. Whatever the secretary of finance or the administration feels they have the legal rights not to pay, then eventually it will go to court. It seems like members are already pressing to bring it to court,” said the Speaker in an interview.

Rep. Heinz S. Hofschneider, however, defended Ms. Nielsen because of her fiduciary responsibilities to safeguard use of public funds from “personal or political gain,” saying the Legislature must come up with a pamphlet to determine which expenses can be charged to the government.

“The discretion is not clear on our part. We should be equally at fault for expanding the parameters of public purpose,” he said.

But Mr. Faisao said: “It’s so funny to think that I am using this for political gain. If I were, I would still be sitting in the 12th Legislature.”