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‘Committees to turn down request for funds’
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Posted on Sep 01 2008
The federal relations committees in both the Senate and House of Representatives are expected to come out with a joint report that will recommend that the Legislature reject Gov. Benigno R. Fitial’s request for public funds to support a lawsuit against the federalization law.
Rep. Christina Sablan disclosed in an e-mail that the Senate and House federal relations committees should be submitting the joint report this week or so.
Sablan said the report would urge the Legislature to deny Fitial’s request for public funds and recommend other avenues for negotiation and cooperation with the federal government that should be pursued first.
The report, the lawmaker said, will ask the Legislature to pursue negotiation to address the concerns and uncertainties that people share about the potential impacts of the new federal immigration law.
Another lawmaker said some lawmakers discussed the rejection of the governor’s request during a meeting inside the office of Rep. Diego T. Benavente last Thursday.
Benavente, a former lieutenant governor, is chairman of the House’s Committee on United States and Foreign Relations. He strongly opposes the litigation, saying the CNMI should engage the federal government in dialogue instead of a costly but uncertain lawsuit.
The House’s top leaders—Speaker Arnold I. Palacios and Vice Speaker Joseph P. Deleon Guerrero on Thursday echoed Benavente’s position.
Last Friday, Senate President Pete P. Reyes also expressed opposition to a costly litigation. He suggested a cheaper way: request for Section 902 consultation with the federal government.
During last week’s closed-door presentation in the House’s chamber, the governor’s special legal counsel, Howard Willens, tried to convince the Legislature to provide funding of about $400,000 in an eight-month period that he said the administration will need to pursue the lawsuit.
