“The CNMI will suffer,” said Rep. Victor B. Hocog, Ind.-Rota. “It will be worse for the smaller islands. The CNMI government will take a big hit. Subsidies are imminent. But where will we get the funds? We’re going down.”
Rep. Stanley T. Torres, R-Saipan, said last week’s meetings with the visiting federal representatives were “useless.”
“Nothing changed — except for the tones of their voices,” he said. “They used to be arrogant. They’re softer now. But for them, it’s a national security issue, period. Even though it’s going to be bad, very bad for our economy.”
Speaker Arnold I. Palacios, R-Saipan, said the non-inclusion of Russia and China in the visa waiver program means that “Tinian’s economy will basically collapse.”
Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino, he added, depends on Chinese tourists.
Hocog noted that Rota, which has legalized casino gaming, will have a hard time attracting casino investors.
“I wish that these federal people would stay here for at least a month so they could feel how it is in this economy,” he said. “No U.S. company will come here — we’re dependent on Asian investors, but now the feds are going to tighten things. They’re going to impose all these restrictions without leniency or consideration for existing businesses.”
Palacios said the CNMI should have been involved in the drafting of the federalization law regulations.
“I don’t know why we didn’t participate,” he said. “I’ve an idea why,” he added referring to the governor’s lawsuit against the federalization law.
He urged the federal representatives to “please reconsider, revisit this issue so that our economy will not collapse. We don’t want to ask for a federal bailout. We want to prosper under these new federal rules.”
Alex Hartman, the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration policy advisor, told lawmakers that the incoming Obama administration may delay the implementation of the federalization law by six months.
According to House Floor Leader Joseph N. Camacho, R-Saipan: “We in the CNMI are not blind to the need for homeland security against those who will do harm to the CNMI and the mainland United States. We are patriotic U.S. citizens, and many have proudly served in our U.S. armed forces. We are asking President-elect Obama and the United States Congress for flexibility in the CNMI’s one and only viable industry. Tourists from China and Russia are absolutely necessary to the CNMI.”
Ignoring the CNMI’s concerns will “kill” its tourism industry and will result in more “dependency” on federal aid, he added.
“We will be reduced to a welfare state and U.S. citizens will have to resort to food stamps and handouts from the federal government,” he said.
House Commerce and Tourism Committee Chairman Joseph C. Reyes, R-Saipan, inquired about the “research, studies, data and documentations” considered by the federal government before drafting the implementing regulations of the federalization law.
Reyes said these elements are vital to a sound decision-making process. “I am extremely disappointed that no specific data or study have been presented to us…. The regulations, so to speak, are lopsided,” he added.
Sen. Paul A. Manglona, R-Rota, said based on the statements of the federal representatives, “there’s no way the CNMI can stop the implementation of the new visa waiver program come June 1.”
He added, “What we’re asking now is the possible extension of the transition period to maybe one year until the CNMI makes the necessary preparations to meet the feds’ security concerns. I think this is not too complicated or controversial…because it will not require an amendment to the law.
Senate President Pete P. Reyes, R-Saipan, reiterated his frustration with the federalization law.
“The CNMI was never part of any group involved in drafting the regulations,” he said. “We were not taken into consideration since the beginning, and it’s a great disappointment for us.”
The Legislature, he added, will continue to appeal for the deferment of the law’s implementation.
“They lack the sensitivity of what is really happening in the CNMI,” he said. (With Zaldy Dandan)
