House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Ramon S. Basa, Covenant-Saipan, who will be a member of the conference committee, said they want to come up with a “workable” budget by Friday.
He said the House and Senate still have to pass the budget bill that will be drafted by the conference committee.
But he is optimistic the gap between the Senate and House versions is narrowing.
The Legislature’s discretionary funds and leadership accounts will no longer be an issue because the House “will not fight to raise it,” he said.
The issues that must be addressed by the panel are the reduction of working hours, the increases in appropriation for Tinian and Rota and the decrease in the utilities allotment, he added.
Rep. Teresita A. Santos, Ind-Rota, who supported the Senate version of the bill last Monday, said she stood by her decision because “there’s no way I can turn my back against my people on Rota.”
The Senate version of the bill added over $1 million each to Tinian and Rota but slashed the budget for utilities by over $2 million.
Rep. Joseph M. Palacios, R-Saipan, said he voted against the Senate version because he does not like the idea of giving more to Tinian and Rota while cutting the allocation for utilities.
Torres, Ind.-Saipan, said he thought his “no” vote on Monday was for the rejection of the bill.
Later, he realized that the motion on the floor was whether to reject the bill.
He should have voted “yes,” he said, because he was against the bill.
Basa said the way the Senate allocated money to Tinian and Rota worries him because they took it from the funding for the utilities.
“Utilities funding is one of the reasons we are facing problems now,” he added.
House Minority Leader Diego T. Benavente, R-Saipan, said he is worried about the House leadership’s “reckless” way of handling the budget bill.
It is disappointing, he added, that the House leadership still has to “get their hands on it.”
His biggest fear is the House leadership’s insistence to increase the Legislature’s allocation at the expense of funding for the government employees’ salaries and public services.
“The way they argued showed that they were really concerned about their discretionary fund. That was very clear when we first passed the budget,” he said.
He said if the House leadership is going to support the governor’s position not to increase taxes, “then what are the sacrifices that will be made?”
Those who voted to reject the bill were acting Speaker Felicidad T. Ogumoro, Covenant-Saipan, Basa, Torres, Palacios, Raymond D. Palacios, Covenant-Saipan, House Floor Leader George N. Camacho, Ind.-Saipan, Ralph S. Demapan, Covenant-Saipan, Sylvestre Iguel, Covenant-Saipan, Fredrick P. Deleon Guerrero, Ind.-Saipan, and Eliceo D. Cabrera, R-Saipan.
Those who supported the bill were Benavente, Santos, Francisco S. Dela Cruz, R-Saipan, Joseph P. Deleon Guerrero, R-Saipan, Ray N. Yumul, R-Saipan, Ramon A. Tebuteb, R-Saipan, Antonio P. Sablan, R-Saipan, and Trenton B. Connor, R-Tinian.
Speaker Froilan C. Tenorio, Covenant-Saipan, and Edmund S. Villagomez, Covenant-Saipan, were absent.
