Rahall’s group arrived Saturday afternoon at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport from Palau where the group also spent three days meeting with officials of the island-nation.
From Saipan, the group will leave later this afternoon for Guam.
Welcome to Saipan
A 737-military plane safely landed Rahall’s group on Saipan despite the bad weather. Their flight was delayed for nearly an hour.
With Rahall are CNMI Congressman Gregorio C. Sablan; the chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment American Samoa Congressman Eni Faleomavaega and his spouse Hinanui Bambridge Cave; Guam Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo, chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife; South Carolina Congressman Henry Brown, ranking member of the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife, and his wife, Billye Beaver; and U.S. Virgin Islands Congresswoman Donna M. Christensen, member of the Energy and Commerce and Natural Resources committees and second vice chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Six congressional aides and nine military agents accompanied the delegation.
CNMI Police Capt. Pete Guerrero said 20 local police officer were deployed at the airport and main roads to escort the delegation.
The ports police also deployed two bomb sniffing dogs in the area to examine every vehicle that entered the site, particularly the bus that transported the congressional delegation to their hotel.
Plain clothes military agents were likewise deployed to secure the area.
Sablan’s wife, Andrea, and his staff members welcomed the visiting U.S. lawmakers at the airport amid the heavy rain.
The visiting U.S. lawmakers were given huge umbrellas to protect themselves from the rain.
Rahall emerged from the plane with a smile and shook the hands of well-wishers, including this reporter.
Sablan said the CNMI is very grateful for the delegation’s visit.
“The arrival of this congressional delegation comes at a critical moment for the people of the Northern Mariana Islands. Our economy is struggling. The tourism we depend on is in decline. And the imminent federalization of the immigration system here has cast a cloud of uncertainty over our future,” he said.
Here to listen
Rahall said the delegation is here to listen and will make use of their visit to meet as many people as they can and bring their concerns to the U.S. Congress.
From the airport, Rahall’s group proceeded to the Hyatt and held a closed-door meeting with the members of the Hotel Association of the Northern Marianas.
HANMI is lobbying for the inclusion of China and Russia on the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program.
After the meeting, the delegation proceeded to Sablan’s residence where the visitinglawmakers and their spouses where treated to dinner.
Yesterday, the delegation explored the island’s tourist attractions before meeting the group of guest workers seeking improved immigration status.
The group also offered a wreath at American Memorial Park.
Today, the delegation is scheduled to hold a breakfast meeting with the members of the Legislature and will pay a courtesy call on Gov. Benigno R. Fitial at his office.
A lunch meeting is also scheduled with local business leaders.
Senate President Pete P. Reyes, R-Saipan, said this historic meeting with Rahall’s group is crucial to the CNMI’s future as its immigration system transitions from local to federal control.
Rahall’s committee, he added, “has oversight over the CNMI. It’s very important that the members of the local Senate and the House participate in this joint meeting today. This is the first trip that the chairman has taken here. We need to give a very good impression and a true and factual observation of what is really going on.”
Faleomavaega, according to Reyes, is poised to introduce legislation that will delay the implementation of the next round of the mandatory 50-cent annual wage increase in American Samoa and the Northern Marianas.
