During yesterday’s Senate session, Fiscal Affairs Committee Chairwoman Jovita M. Taimanao, who heads the Senate conferees, said their House counterparts wanted to meet with them at 3:30 p.m. today in the House chamber.
Taimanao, Ind.-Rota, urged Senate President Paul A. Manglona to allow her and the other Senate conferees to “give it another try.”
Manglona, Ind.-Rota, and the other senators earlier decided to abandon the conference committee because they did not believe that the House conferees were negotiating in good faith.
Taimanao said they want to see if their House counterparts —Ways and Means Chairman Ramon S. Basa, Covenant-Saipan, Vice Speaker Felicidad T. Ogumoro, Covenant-Saipan, and Rep. Eliceo D. Cabrera, R-Saipan — were willing to come up with a counter offer.
“Time is of the essence here as we only have five days left, and the CNMI will be in big trouble,” she said.
The Legislature must pass a new balanced budget before Oct.1 to prevent a government shutdown.
Manglona said the House conferees’ invitation was a “positive step.”
But he said the House conferees must agree to his three conditions.
He said there should be no “take it or leave it” attitude.
“It saddens me to know that we are in deep crisis today. We met with people who are in the verge of losing their homes, we met with the Marianas Visitors Authority officials who are problematic about the drop in tourist arrivals and we met with the Retirement Fund officials who worry about the government’s contributions. Yet we in the Legislature have not done our jobs to address these concerns,” Manglona told his colleagues.
“We can do something today because the ball is on our court,” he added.
“I challenge the members of the House. I know you are listening right now. Meet with us and make the best decision. Prove to us that nobody has a gun pointed into your heads when you negotiate,” Manglona said.
He also challenged the business community to “make a little sacrifice,” referring to the tax and fee increase measures pending in the Legislature.
Senate Vice president Jude U. Hofschneider, R-Tinian and one of the Senate conferees, said it’s sad that over the past days, they couldn’t “strike a balance.”
Despite the offers they made, he said the House conferees refused to budge on the 16-hour pay cut proposal.
The senators want only an eight-hour cut.
Another Senate conferee, Ralph DLG. Torres, R-Saipan, said they expressed their concerns, including a possible increase in crime, especially domestic violence incidents, if the 16-hour cut and unpaid holidays are imposed on government employees.
Sen. Francisco Q. Cruz, R-Tinian, said “the people want us to defend them. They put us into the office so why should we punish them?”
An eight-hour pay cut will require the Legislature to raise an additional $4.6 million, the administration has said.
