Bill to add 350 CW slots now law

President Donald J. Trump signed into law yesterday Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan’s (Ind-MP) bill that, for the first time in the history of the CW-1 program, creates an additional 350 worker slots for this fiscal year.

HR 339 was enacted after the U.S. House of Representatives accepted the U.S. Senate amendment to open up 350 more slots for the CW-1 program. Currently, the CNMI is allowed 12,998 CW-1 workers. With the additional 350 this fiscal year, the CNMI is now allowed to have up to 13,348 CW-1 workers.

Other key provisions of HR 339 include removing construction workers from the CW-1 program and a $50-increase in the education fee that employers pay when petitioning a foreign worker. The fee used to be $150 but is now $200. The money, which goes back to the NMI government, is used to fund local educational programs.

According to Sablan, HR 339 is more of a “short-term solution” to “address the crisis” caused by Chinese construction companies hogging about 4,000 CW-1 slots for fiscal year 2017. Sablan emphasized that the mere act of passing a bill in a period where the U.S. House is in recess is rare, highlighting the significance of HR 339 passing Congress.

The House unanimously accepted the Senate amendments in a special pro forma session last Aug. 11, 2017.

“This is the first time that the CNMI has ever gotten an increase in CW-1 permits; it has always been a decrease,” said Sablan, citing the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 provision that annually lowers the number of individuals who may be issued a CW-1 visa.

Sablan said the crisis that Chinese construction companies caused have sent “high-value occupations” home, effectively hurting local businesses, including the Commonwealth Health Center and the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.

HR 339 is a unique legislation that sets aside 60 CW-1 slots for the health-related occupations essential to CHC as well as 10 CW-1 slots for CUC engineers, leaving a total of 280 slots for the rest of the private sector.

“Going forward with any long-term solution, I think we have now achieved recognition for the need for some flexibility, depending on the circumstances, to adjust the number of workers so it meets our economic needs,” said Sablan in a statement.

Long-term solution

Sablan reiterated in yesterday’s press conference that HR 339 is not a long-term solution, but the legislation has elements of what he wishes to see in the long-term.

“We are able to, by law, set aside [CW-1 slots] for specific high-value occupations,” he said—a provision that he wishes to push for in the long-term CW-1 solution.

Sablan said the “set-aside concept” was an amendment the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources added after the former provided data collected from the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. and CUC on the numbers of CW workers whose work permits were expiring soon.

Besides setting aside a specific number of slots for both CHC and CUC, Sablan said his bill raises the CW-1 education fee from $150 to $200 to support training the local workforce even further.

According to Sablan, the CNMI government has collected almost $10 million. Around $3 million is still available, he said, citing the Government Accountability Office’s testimony at the April 2017 hearing on his bill.

Sablan said GAO reported last May 2016 that there are 2,400 unemployed CNMI residents “who are actively looking for work.”

“… We should be using [the education fee] money to help them get the training they need to fill specific jobs in our economy,” he said.

The GAO report 17-437, which cites data from the 2016 CNMI health survey, may be accessed online at http://www.gao.gov/assets/690/684778.pdf.

Without elaborating on his plans, Sablan earlier told Saipan Tribune that after he would soon begin to “turn to legislation with a longer-term solution.”

Torres thanks Trump

Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, in a statement issued by the administration, thanked Trump for “staying true to his word” to assist the NMI with its workforce struggles.

“I spoke with the President back in April [at] the Oval Office and expressed our need for an adequate workforce that will continue to ensure the economic success of our islands,” said Torres in the statement. “He personally gave me his commitment to help us.”

Torres, who supported the intent of HR 339, added that sights must now be focused on a long-term solution to the CNMI’s workforce issues to address “healthcare and labor needs that also incorporate fixes to the Guam-CNMI visa waiver program.”

“I have worked with our business community, hospital, private clinics, and our Legislature on a thorough proposal to address these issues,” said Torres in the statement, adding that the proposal would be submitted to “our federal partners soon.” He did not elaborate on what that proposal is.

“It is my hope that Congress will act on legislation that will address the CNMI’s labor, healthcare, and economic issues for decades to come,” he added.