“As you can see, we are negotiating in good faith with federal regulators,” Press Secretary Charles Reyes Jr. told Variety. “Our only goal is to protect the CNMI economy by keeping reasonable access to tourists, workers, investors, and students.”
Representatives of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies were here last week to conducts talks with the CNMI government regarding the implementation of the federalization law next year.
The Fitial administration has retained the law firm Jenner & Block to review a draft lawsuit against the U.S. government that may be filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
Rep. Diego T. Benavente, R-Saipan, said the governor should invoke section 902 of the CNMI Covenant and negotiate the federalization law with the federal government.
But Reyes said this is not an effective option.
“We have not had much success with 902 talks. 902 is generally not effective,” Reyes said.
Benavente and two other lawmakers sponsored House Joint Resolution 16-9 urging President Bush and Gov. Benigno R. Fitial to designate special representatives for the 902 talks.
Benavente, the chairman of the House Committee on U.S. and Foreign Relations, said the federalization law will have a dramatic impact on the islands’ political, social and economic affairs.
“This action will transfer control over border security, foreign national labor and immigration from the commonwealth to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security…shifting legal authority over tourist entries, foreign investment and foreign national labor from local to federal control is also likely to have a substantial impact on efforts to revive an ailing CNMI economy,” he said.
He said although the process of developing regulations for the federalization law has begun, a visible local presence is lacking.
“It is imperative that the governor, as representative of the people of the commonwealth, fully engage the federal government in discussions about the implementation of P.L. 110-229 and more broadly about the political and economic future of the commonwealth,” said the lawmaker. “The governor must use every resource at his disposal to achieve full engagement, including Section 902.”
Section 902 of the Covenant allows for periodic consultations between the commonwealth and federal government “on all matters affecting the relationship between them.”
