By Gemma Q. Casas
Variety News Staff

VISITING U.S. Interior Deputy Assistant Secretary for Insular Affairs David Cohen says the denial of the CNMI’s request to have a non-voting delegate in Congress is “un-American.”
The Northern Marianas has been part of the U.S. political family for 31 years, but it still does not have any representation in Congress.
Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands all have nonvoting delegates in Congress.
CNMI issues in the nation’s capital are being handled by the commonwealth’s resident representative who was once described by the U.S. media as America’s only elected lobbyist.
Cohen, who is here as the president’s representative to the Covenant Section 902 consultation talks with the Fitial administration, said he will continue to stand behind the CNMI’s call for a non-voting congressional seat.
“I would note that (the Bush) administration has come out in favor of granting the CNMI representation in Congress. I can think of no reasonable justification for continuing to deny the people of the CNMI representation in Congress at this crucial point in their history,” he told Variety in an interview.
“For Congress to say that ‘We will decide this vital issue for you and only later will we invite you to participate’ is positively un-American,” he added.