Kilili is sworn in for a 4th term in Congress

Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan began his fourth term as the CNMI nonvoting representative to the 114th House of Representatives when he was sworn in at 2:23pm yesterday in Washington, D.C.

Sablan is the first and only official ever to represent the people of the CNMI in Congress.

To take the oath of office from Speaker of the House John Boehner, Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan places his hand on the Holy Bible provided for this purpose by the retired Rev. Tomas Camacho, former bishop of Chalan Kanoa. Holding the Bible is Sablan’s wife, Andrea. Also pictured are Martha and Eric Sablan and family, Craig Cabrera, Patricia Sablan, Robert Schwalbach, Jude Marfil, and Erika Webb. (Contributed Photo)

“The responsibility I feel to improve the lives of the people I work for is as strong today as it was six years ago, when I first took the oath,” Sablan said. “And, as much as we have accomplished in these first years in office, I know there is still much more that can be achieved in the years to come.”

Sablan said he is once more thankful to the people of the Commonwealth who again voted for him to represent them in Congress.

“Today and every day I enter the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives, I am humbled to stand where so much of our nation’s history has transpired, and humbled to realize that the people of the Northern Marianas have chosen me to speak here for them.”

Inos congratulates Kilili

Gov. Eloy S. Inos, who himself will be sworn in as governor on Monday, congratulated Sablan in a statement.

“While most of us slept early this morning, 441 men and women converged in our nation’s capital to solemnly take the oath to support and defend the Constitution and laws of our nation. One of those people was our very own delegate, Gregorio ‘Kilili’ Camacho Sablan. On behalf of the people of the Commonwealth; I extend my congratulations and best wishes to Kilili as he embarks on his fourth term as our distinguished gentleman. I, along with lieutenant governor-elect [Ralph DLG] Torres, look forward to working with you in addressing our islands’ most critical issues on-island and abroad.”

Delegates’ voice denied anew

The U.S. House also adopted its rules and elected a speaker as part of the opening day session.

John Boehner (R-OH) was elected to continue to serve as Speaker in the 114th Congress, as he has in the preceding two Congresses.

A motion to refer the rules to a select committee, instructed to study and report on whether there is any reason to deny the representatives from the non-state areas of America, such as the Northern Mariana Islands, the right to vote in the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union was tabled on a party line vote. The Committee of the Whole House is where most legislation is debated and amended.

Democrats first allowed the non-state area representatives to have the vote in 1992. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the decision. But when Republicans have controlled a majority in the House, they have always voted to rescind the Rule and take away the vote from the representatives of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia, home to over 4 million Americans.

Sablan said he is disappointed that delegates are again not allowed to vote in the Committee of the Whole.

“The vote in Committee of the Whole is largely symbolic,” Sablan observed, “because, if a non-state representative casts a deciding vote, then a second vote can be demanded without the non-state representatives voting. But symbols are important. In this case the vote in Committee of the Whole symbolizes that even those of us who do not live in a state are still Americans, citizens of this country. I cast many votes on major issues during my first term of office with a Democratic majority and I am disappointed not to have that be part of my duty as a member of Congress,” he said.

Sablan said the denial of delegates voting in Committee of the Whole makes people of the areas delegates represent appear less important.

“I believe that voting on the issues of importance to our country, makes the non-state representatives responsible to our constituents in a way we are not otherwise. Because our constituents can see the position their representative takes on the policies that guide our nation. And those policies generally have the same impact on the people we represent as those policies do on Americans anywhere in the United States.”

Today, Sablan said the House will also begin work on its legislative agenda, which in the first week will include a renewed effort to enact the Tsunami Warning, Education, and Research Act, of which Sablan is an original cosponsor. The bill passed the House in the 113th Congress, but was not acted upon by the Senate.

In an earlier interview with Saipan Tribune, Sablan his agenda in the 113th Congress would continue to focus on three important issues: education, immigration, and the regional military buildup.