Ogumoro, Covenant-Saipan, said it is “necessary” to postpone the session until next month.
The members of the House leadership, she added, are focused on their work as lawmakers and are “unfazed” by the criticism of the minority bloc which is more interested in “insignificant” issues.
Ogumoro was referring to the “desire” of House Minority Leader Diego T. Benavente, R-Saipan, to grab the speakership.
Benavente in a separate interview said cancelling a session four times in a row is irresponsible.
According to Ogumoro, however, “it is not true that bills and resolutions introduced in the House are piling up because of the postponement of the House session as claimed by Minority Leader Benavente.”
She said the committees are merely doing their work in a careful and responsible manner.
She said the committees need time for a careful review, deliberation and evaluation of legislation. They also need to conduct research, public hearings and solicit comments, she added.
“I cannot overemphasize the importance of addressing the dire economic condition of the CNMI. As legislators, we must be astute in planning for and passing measures to improve revenue collections, revenue generation through investments, introduction of new industries, and responsible expenditure of government resources,” she said.
Ogumoro said the House leadership is disturbed and surprised that the minority bloc members blame them for the austerity and current economic crisis.
“This is an unfounded criticism. In fact, the minority leader and some senior members of the minority bloc, who have served for over 10 to 15 years in the Legislature, knew very well that the global economic downturn has affected the CNMI in many ways. They saw the storm coming decades ago, but they did nothing to sustain or improve our economy,” she said.
Because of the veteran lawmakers’ failure to act, she added, “we now are experiencing cuts in pay, unemployment, shutdown of government services, reduction in work hours, businesses suffering and closing, and our people are suffering.”
