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Marianas Variety/ Pacnews
Fri, 1 Feb 2008
SAIPAN, CNMI ---- Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Governor Benigno R. Fitial is disappointed to hear that the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources has endorsed the passage of the CNMI federalization bill, Marianas Variety reports
“The governor is very disheartened and disappointed by this recent development,” Press Secretary Charles Reyes Jr. said yesterday. “If this bill is passed into law, the governor said it would be the most harmful federal legislation ever imposed on the commonwealth.”
Mr Fitial said the federal legislation is not supported by “the vast majority of the CNMI’s resident population and local business community,” and its enactment will be “harmful to American business interests on the islands.”
“This latest development is yet another example of the federal government’s rush to judgment on the CNMI. They want to pass this bill as soon as possible, even before all of the facts are in, or even before any of the economic impact studies have been completed.” Mr Reyes said
He noted that a U.S. Labor Department itself in a report suggested that the previously passed federal minimum wage legislation could be very harmful to the CNMI economy.
“All of this suggests that when it comes to the CNMI, many powerful federal policymakers want to shoot first without aiming carefully and without asking any serious questions because, after all, the CNMI government and the CNMI people have no votes, no money, no friends, and certainly no influence in Washington, D.C.,” Mr Reyes said.
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