House wants Teno to hire lobbyists

The House of Representatives has initiated steps to prod Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio to use his spending power in order to seek funding for a lobbying campaign in the U.S. Congress against legislation affecting the CNMI.

A joint resolution calling immediate hiring of a lobbyist was adopted during a special session last Friday which now heads to the Senate for a similar action.

Although it has no force of law, HJR 12-12 is the first formal request by lawmakers to the administration to fund the campaign amid several attempts in Washington D.C. to pass measures that will impact the Commonwealth.

The resolution, offered by House Floor Leader Oscar M. Babauta, cited the proposal to remove the trade privileges granted the islands under Headnote 3(a) of the Covenant as the “latest attack” in Congress.

HR 222, which is seeking to deny the Commonwealth of the privilege to use “Made in USA” label and to impose tariff on U.S.-bound goods from the islands, has gained support from the lower house in Washington D.C.

There is “strong likelihood” that the measure may go straight to the House floor, bypassing the committee process, according to the resolution.

“[T]he Legislature requests [Mr. Tenorio] to hire immediately a lobbyist to defend the Commonwealth’s interests in Washington, D.C.,” it read.

It “endorses the governor’s use of his reprogramming authority to identify and reprogram funds for the purpose of hiring a lobbyist,” added the resolution.

CNMI’s political and economic rights granted under the Covenant, such as control over local immigration and minimum wage, have come under attack in recent years from the Clinton administration due to alleged failure by the island government to curb the number of foreign workers here and stem labor abuses.

While Commonwealth leaders have opposed such attempts because of their devastating impact on the local economy, the government does not have any public relations or lobbying firm to defend its interests in Capitol Hill as the present financial difficulties continue to tighten the local coffers.

Preston, Gates, Ellis & Rouvellas, Meeds used to provide these services on behalf of the CNMI and the House leadership has expressed support for re-hiring of the D.C.-based firm to undertake the new lobbying campaign.

It is now known how much the government may spend for this effort, but the Legislature previously had allotted $700,000 under the FY 2000 budget package that was vetoed by the governor last month.