Senate President Pete P. Reyes, R-Saipan, pointed out that both sides in the lawsuit are using public funds.
He said he is hoping to get the support of the House of Representatives.
“Maybe not to entirely remove the lawsuit or end the lawsuit but to find mediation so that we don’t need to be spending more public funds fighting each other,” he said.
“It does not make sense to me,” he added.
If the Retirement Fund refuses to consider their request, “that is fine,” he said.
But somebody has to try and find a resolution to this problem without the need to spend more taxpayer money.
The Legislature alone, he said, cannot do this.
“There’s a need to put our heads together and work together to try solve the problem,” he said.
It was Gov. Benigno R. Fitial who asked Reyes and Speaker Arnold I. Palacios, R-Saipan, to join him asking the Fund to consider an out-of-court mediation.
The Retirement Fund sued the government for its failure to remit over $200 million in employer contributions.
The Superior Court has ruled in favor of the Fund and is now determining how much is owed by the government and how will it pay the Retirement Fund.
