GAO reps in the thick of scoping out NMI issues

Future prospects of the CNMI’s workforce remains uncertain even with research done by representatives of the U.S. Government Accountability Office for submission to Congress. The Saipan Chamber of Commerce assisted GAO in gathering the data, with the deadline of the draft or final report set on April 1 next year.

Emil Friberg Jr., Ph.D., GAO assistant director/senior economist for International Affairs and Trade, said they collected data and other information by doing fieldwork and interviews with employers, employees, and government officials.

“GAO gathered research on two assignments requested by the U.S. Congress. The first is on the CNMI immigration and minimum wage [issues] and the second is the review of the overall debt of U.S. territories,” said Friberg.

“When we do our report, it is free for the U.S. Congress to use or if they would consider changing policies or continue a program. Our report does not change legislation, it is information for congressional consideration.”

In other words, Congress has the option to heed or ignore the report.

To collate its data, GAO interviewed CNMI officials, employers, and CW and U.S. workers.

“We received quite a bit of data from the CNMI and accumulated data from [Department of Homeland Security] about the different types of visas that are utilized here, including CW visas. These are issues concerning the economy, immigration, and workforce.”

Part of their research is on the minimum wage issue and the situation of the CNMI-Only Transitional Workforce Visa program, and making sure training programs are in place for U.S. qualified workers.

“Part of the report is the use of U.S. and CNMI funds for training and what has been the effort by employers to recruit and train U.S. qualified workers,” said Friberg.

Delegate Gregorio “Kilili” Sablan (Ind-MP), with the support of Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and other ranking members of the Senate Energy Committee, requested GAO to visit the CNMI to review and make a report on the CW1 program and other workforce issues.

Another part of GAO’s report would discuss the economic impact of bringing the CW1 population to zero in 2019 and the minimum wage implementation.

“From here, we’re going to do an empirical analysis of the economy and the role of the visa categories on the report. We do have a draft that would go to the CNMI government for official comment. They can hold it for up to one month to provide us the comments, either technical comments or for corrections,” said Friberg.

Aside from the CNMI, the other U.S. territories are American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.