By Jude O. Marfil
For Variety

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Washington Rep. Pete A. Tenorio expressed concern over Gov. Benigno R. Fitial’s decision not to attend the public hearing on the CNMI that will be conducted by the U.S. House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs.
Since he became governor on Jan. 9, 2006, Fitial has yet to meet with members of Congress in the nation’s capital.
According to Tenorio, “the presence of the person running the government in a territory makes a difference to politicians here on the Hill. I don’t know if there’s a price tag that we can come up with as to how effective that presence would be or what kind of losses we will suffer by his not coming here.”
Whenever Congress sends an invitation to appear before a committee hearing, Tenorio said, “You have to have a good excuse not to be responsive or not to show up —saying we don’t have the money to travel to attend a…hearing is not sufficient, I think.”
Fitial earlier said he would go to Washington if Tenorio asked him to do so.
Tenorio said he has repeatedly asked Fitial to attend the hearings. “(The members of Congress) are asking me, ‘Where’s your governor?’” Tenorio said.
Fitial’s no-show on the Hill creates the appearance of disunity among CNMI elected officials, Tenorio said. “When we approach Congress, we have to make sure that we know what we are talking about; that we have a position that pretty much reflects the majority position of our government and people.”
The chairwoman of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Congresswoman Donna M. Christensen, said Fitial’s non-attendance is “not an issue.”
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Insular Affairs David B. Cohen, for his part, said: “It’s really not for me to say that the governor should be here or not. Obviously, he’s had medical issues. Congress is considering very important legislation for the CNMI. It’s important that members of Congress know the people that they are going to impact. If there’s a way for the people of the CNMI to somehow introduce themselves to members of Congress, I think that would be beneficial.”
He added, “I hate to see Congress working on such important legislation that’s going to have an impact on the lives of so many people without having a proper understanding of who those people are and what their needs are.”
Tenorio noted that Fitial is also not attending the meetings of the National Governors Association.
“A governor is a very important figure and (that) association is very powerful because (President Bush) listens to the governors. There are a lot of good things that can happen by having the governor participate here,” Tenorio said.