By Haidee V. Eugenio
Variety Assistant Editor

DEPUTY Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Insular Affairs David B. Cohen says his Feb. 8 statement to the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on CNMI immigration “was thoroughly cleared by the (Bush) administration, including the White House.”
He said the Bush administration has not taken a position on any proposal on the CNMI immigration system because no such specific legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Congress
Cohen, in an e-mail, said the White House offices that actively participated in reviewing and clearing his testimony to the committee included the Office of Management and Budget which oversaw the clearance process, the Domestic Policy Council and the Homeland Security Council.
Rudy Pamintuan, chairman of the White House Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, has been quoted as saying that the Department of the Interior’s statement on CNMI immigration was not necessarily the White House’s official statement.
Cohen said he wanted to dispel any notion that might be inadvertently created that his statement somehow did not represent the Bush administration’s policy or was not fully cleared by the administration, even though Pamintuan was correct in saying that the White House has not taken any position on CNMI immigration.
Cohen, in his Feb. 8 written testimony to the U.S. Senate panel which has oversight on the CNMI and other insular areas, said the administration is ready to explore with the committee and CNMI representatives various options, “including federalizing the CNMI immigration system in a manner that would not cause needless economic or fiscal harm.”
Cohen said federal agencies reviewed and cleared his statement, including the Departments of Homeland Security, Labor, State and Justice. “My statement was made on behalf of the administration and was duly cleared as such,” he said.
He added, “If legislation were to be introduced in the future, the administration could take a position through a statement of administration policy or, as was the case at February’s hearing, through testimony that has been cleared through proper channels within the administration,” Cohen said through e-mail.
Cohen is President Bush’s special representative to the Covenant Section 902 talks with the CNMI government.
He is the primary person for developing administration policy for and with the insular governments.