James L. Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, listened carefully to the lawmakers’ questions and tried to answer them.
Rep. David M. Apatang, R-Saipan, informed Connaughton that the Legislative already rejected the proposal.
“Is there something cooking that we are not aware of?” he asked.
“Is there something cooking that we are not aware of?” he asked.
Apatang said the CNMI people “are being neglected, and now we are here dealing with somebody who is taking our islands again.”
He noted that CNMI residents cannot use the American Memorial Park without getting permission from the federal government.
“We helped built that national park,” he said, “and we don’t need more [federal] restrictions on our islands.”
Apatang then turned to the proponents of the monument who were seated in the galley and asked, “How much are you guys getting paid? If you are not satisfied with our islands you can always pack up and leave.”
Speaker Arnold I. Palacios, R-Saipan, told Connaughton that the CNMI people are facing uncertainties due to “misinformation.”
He said the controversy started because of the way the proposal was originally presented, which sounded like the indigenous people were being left out again.
Under federal policy, he said, the CNMI people, as stakeholders, should be included in the decision-making process.
Connaugton said President Bush has made it clear that there is no proposal yet.
But the federal government, he added, also realizes that the Marianas has a “remarkable biodiversity unmatched in the world.”
One of the monument proponents, Ken Kramer, said it was the first time that their group, federal officials and lawmakers had a three-way dialogue about the monument proposal.
