The House was supposed to hold a session today, but it was postponed.
Manglona, in a letter to Tenorio, Covenant-Saipan, said he would “like to propose that we put behind us the past three months and start anew. I remember the optimism and enthusiasm that surrounded inauguration day in January, and I hope that we may be able to rekindle this mind-set and make a fresh start by working cooperatively on the budget process.”
Manglona, Ind.-Rota, said if the speaker agrees to his proposal, the House should pass a concurrent resolution reflecting the latest projected government revenues as quickly as possible.
The government said only $137 million is available for FY 2010 and not $150.5 million as earlier projected.
Manglona at the same time said the original version of H.B. 17-45, the work-hour reduction bill, will not address the government’s problem with payroll and instead cause more hardship, especially those living on Rota and Tinian where the prices of commodities are higher. The Senate removed the work-hour cut provision of H.B. 17-45 and replaced it with three unpaid holidays and tax increases.
Manglona said department heads and expenditure authorities should be given the flexibility to make internal cuts on a case-by-case basis.
“Spending time and resources deliberating austerity measures that will not comprehensively resolve the commonwealth government’s fiscal problems do not seem to be a practical course of action. Rather, we should focus our energies on passing a balanced budget that will allow our government to live within its means,” he added.
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