Thus says Speaker Froilan C. Tenorio as he described the work done so far by the 17th House of Representatives, which was sworn in last January.
Tenorio, Covenant-Saipan, said members of the House have been having a hard time accomplishing what they were elected to do due to lack of workforce.
“We are responsible for finding the revenues to run this government. The Legislature is the branch that looks for revenues. But how can we do our job properly if we don’t have the funding to have competent staff?” he asked.
Tenorio and the rest of the House leadership want to increase the lawmakers’ annual discretionary funds from $86,796 to $130,000 while imposing budget cuts on the Public School System, Northern Marianas College, the judiciary and rank and file government employees.
Rep. Fredrick P. Deleon Guerrero, Ind.-Saipan, in a separate interview, said lawmakers send their staff to the villages for cleanup, beautification and other community services.
The discretionary funds pay for the salaries of the lawmakers’ staff.
Deleon Guerrero said the work performed by their staff costs money.
Bush-cutting requires fuel, he added.
He said maintaining roadsides and parks in the villages is one way of deterring crimes.
A lawmaker cannot just sit in his office and do nothing for his constituents, he added.
“We also work in the community,” he said.
