Rally today to pressure House to override veto of HB 17-226

A group of non-retired members of the NMI Retirement Fund led by Joe Pangelinan is staging a peaceful rally at 2pm today, hoping to put pressure on House members to support Speaker Eli Cabrera’s (R-Saipan) push for an override of the governor’s veto of House Bill 17-226.

Cabrera’s HB 17-226 allows the non-retired members of the Fund’s defined benefit plan to withdraw up to 50 percent of their contributions. The governor vetoed the bill on Friday.

“We don’t want the Fund to go from bad to worse. They should allow us to withdraw our contributions. That’s our money. I myself have been in government for almost 29 years. I put my money in the Fund, so please let us have access to our own money,” Pangelinan told Saipan Tribune.

He called on non-retired Fund members to join the rally on Capital Hill today.

“We plan to fill up the House chamber to make an impact,” he added.

Pangelinan said with the anticipated dismissal of the Fund’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, the government and all parties involved will have to go back to Judge Kenneth Govendo’s June 15 deadline to come up with a plan to help the Fund.

“There are still many uncertainties but one of the best options to help us and the Fund is to allow non-retired members to withdraw our contributions. We worked with the Legislature for a compromise access to only up to 50 percent and not 100 percent of our contributions,” he added.

Pangelinan believes that even if they withdraw up to 50 percent of their Fund contributions, there will still be enough to cover a five-year buyback into the U.S. Social Security system.

“Talking about just ‘leftovers’ from the buyback is an overkill,” he added.

The speaker, in a separate interview, said he hopes his colleagues in the House will support a move to override the governor’s veto.

“Let’s give our government employees’ money back. Our people have been losing their house and cars because they could no longer pay the mortgage. This is their time of need, and it’s our obligation as leaders to help them,” Cabrera said.

Under the vetoed bill, active members of the Fund would be allowed to take back up to 50 percent of their employee contributions regardless of years of service and without penalty or the need for them to quit their job. The rest of their employee contributions will be rolled over to the Fund’s defined contribution plan.

Reps. Fred Deleon Guerrero (Ind-Saipan) and Joseph Palacios (R-Saipan) reiterated their support to an override of HB 17-226’s veto.

Sen. Ralph Torres (R-Saipan) separately said he would also support an override should there be a push in the Senate for such.

“Government employees should have access to their money. Because of the failure of the government to remit its employer contribution, why do employees have to be penalized? All this is going on because there’s a lack of faith in the Fund now to protect all its members,” Torres added.