The bill only applies to provision on the joint Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program and would still allow for federal control of immigration to commence in the CNMI on Nov. 28, 2009.
It would also allow the existing CNMI visitor entry program under CNMI law to continue but be controlled and administered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection under the Department of Homeland Security.
The bill authorizes a study to be conducted by the U.S. secretary of the Interior, analyzing the economic situation and forecast for the CNMI.
This report will be provided to the committees with jurisdiction, the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, within 30 days of enactment.
This report will help the committees exercise oversight of the implementation of the CNRA and the transition by the Department of Homeland Security to the new joint, Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program.
H.R. 3770 has bipartisan support, including Ranking Member Brown of the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife, Congressman Faleomavaega, Congresswoman Christensen, Congressman Pierluisi, Congressman Wilson of South Carolina, Congressman Boren, and Congressman Johnson of Georgia.
