Speaker Arnold I. Palacios, R-Saipan, said they want to make sure that when the motion to override is made on the floor, there will be 14 members supporting it.
“We have to override the veto and that’s why we have to ensure that we have the votes,” he said in an interview before the session on Friday.
At least 14 of the 20 House members must support the override.
Saipan Republican Reps. Edward T. Salas and Rosemond B. Santos, who support the override, were absent during Friday’s session.
Stand alone
It was Rep. Victor Hocog, Ind.-Rota, who sponsored the governor’s austerity holidays bill calling for the shutdown of government offices every other Friday.
But the House did not act on it.
Hocog said he is against overriding the governor’s veto of the fiscal year 2009 budget bill.
The governor’s party mates, House Minority Leader Oscar M. Babauta and Rep. Raymond D. Palacios, said they, too, will not support the override.
The Senate overrode the governor’s veto by a vote of 7-2 last week.
Games
Rep. Heinz Hofschneider, R-Saipan, said the administration is playing games again at the expense of lowly paid public servants.
He is not convinced that the austerity holidays are the only alternative to keep the CNMI government afloat amid the worsening economic crisis.
What is needed, he said, are sound administrative policies, especially when it comes to personnel matters.
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial said the CNMI’s projected revenues for FY 2009, which already began on Oct. 1, 2008, will be less than the revised projection of $148 million.
He said personnel salaries are the single biggest expense of the government and with no assurance of a steady collection this year, it should be reduced.
His proposal is to reinstate austerity holidays or the forced shutdown of government offices every other Friday and the imposition of unpaid holidays between now and Sept. 30, the end of FY 2009.
But some lawmakers said this will only make it worse for lowly paid employees who are already struggling to make ends meet.
Some of them noted that the administration continues to hire new employees.
Rep. Tina Sablan, Ind.-Saipan, said she was told that the administration was dispensing “favors” to certain lawmakers so they will not support the override.
These favors include jobs for their relatives or the early release of allotments.
The speaker said austerity holidays always come up every time the Legislature discusses the budget.
“What is disturbing is that the administration keeps on saying it doesn’t have the means to pay its workers, when it fact records show it keeps on hiring new personnel,” he said.
The House and the Senate leadership held a closed-door meeting after the session.
The House is expected to resume its session this week.
