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34-824 PDF 2007

CURRENT ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, 

AND SECURITY CONDITIONS 

OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF 

THE NORTHERN MARIANA 

ISLANDS

OVERSIGHT HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON INSULAR AFFAIRS

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES 

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Serial No. 110-17

Printed for the use of the Committee on Natural Resources

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/index.html 

or 

Committee address: http://resourcescommittee.house.gov 

(II)

COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES 

NICK J. RAHALL II, West Virginia, Chairman 

DON YOUNG, Alaska, Ranking Republican Member

Dale E. Kildee, Michigan 

Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, American Samoa 

Neil Abercrombie, Hawaii 

Solomon P. Ortiz, Texas 

Frank Pallone, Jr., New Jersey 

Donna M. Christensen, Virgin Islands 

Grace F. Napolitano, California 

Rush D. Holt, New Jersey 

Rau ́l M. Grijalva, Arizona 

Madeleine Z. Bordallo, Guam 

Jim Costa, California 

Dan Boren, Oklahoma 

John P. Sarbanes, Maryland 

George Miller, California 

Edward J. Markey, Massachusetts 

Peter A. DeFazio, Oregon 

Maurice D. Hinchey, New York 

Patrick J. Kennedy, Rhode Island 

Ron Kind, Wisconsin 

Lois Capps, California 

Jay Inslee, Washington 

Mark Udall, Colorado 

Joe Baca, California 

Hilda L. Solis, California 

Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, South Dakota 

Heath Shuler, North Carolina 

Jim Saxton, New Jersey 

Elton Gallegly, California 

John J. Duncan, Jr., Tennessee 

Wayne T. Gilchrest, Maryland 

Ken Calvert, California 

Chris Cannon, Utah 

Thomas G. Tancredo, Colorado 

Jeff Flake, Arizona 

Rick Renzi, Arizona 

Stevan Pearce, New Mexico 

Henry E. Brown, Jr., South Carolina 

Luis G. Fortun ̃ o, Puerto Rico 

Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Washington 

Bobby Jindal, Louisiana 

Louie Gohmert, Texas 

Tom Cole, Oklahoma 

Rob Bishop, Utah 

Bill Shuster, Pennsylvania 

Dean Heller, Nevada 

Bill Sali, Idaho 

Doug Lamborn, Colorado

James H. Zoia, Chief of Staff 

Jeffrey P. Petrich, Chief Counsel 

Lloyd Jones, Republican Staff Director 

Lisa Pittman, Republican Chief Counsel 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON INSULAR AFFAIRS 

DONNA M. CHRISTENSEN, Virgin Islands, Chairwoman 

LUIS G. FORTUN ̃ O, Puerto Rico, Ranking Republican Member

Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, American Samoa 

Rau ́l M. Grijalva, Arizona 

Madeleine Z. Bordallo, Guam 

Nick J. Rahall II, West Virginia, ex officio 

Elton Gallegly, California 

Jeff Flake, Arizona 

Don Young, Alaska, ex officio 

(III)

CONTENTS 

Page

Hearing held on Thursday, April 19, 2007 ............................................................ 1

Statement of Members: 

Christensen, Hon. Donna M., a Delegate in Congress from the Virgin 

Islands ............................................................................................................ 1 

Fortun ̃ o, Luis G., the Resident Commissioner in Congress from Puerto 

Rico ................................................................................................................. 3

Statement of Witnesses: 

Cohen, David B., Deputy Assistant Secretary for Insular Affairs, U.S. 

Department of the Interior ........................................................................... 26

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 29

Franzel, Jeanette M., Director, Financial Management and Assurance, 

U.S. Government Accountability Office ...................................................... 35

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 37

Tenorio, Hon. Pedro A., Resident Representative to the United States, 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands ..................................... 6

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 8

Additional materials supplied: 

Williams, Ambassador F. Haydn, Statement submitted for the record ....... 4

(1)

OVERSIGHT HEARING ON THE ‘‘CURRENT 

ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND SECURITY CONDITIONS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE 

NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS’’

Thursday, April 19, 2007

U.S. House of Representatives 

Subcommittee on Insular Affairs 

Committee on Natural Resources 

Washington, D.C. 

The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:00 a.m. in Room 

1324, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Donna Christensen 

[Chairwoman of the Subcommittee] presiding. 

Present: Representatives Christensen, Fortun ̃ o, Bordallo, and 

Flake. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. The oversight hearing by the Subcommittee 

on Insular Affairs will now come to order. 

The Subcommittee is meeting today to conduct the oversight 

hearing on the current economic, social, and security conditions in 

the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). 

Under Committee Rule 4[g], the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member can make opening statements. If any other Members 

would have statements, they can be included in the hearing record 

under unanimous consent. 

I now recognize myself for my opening statement. 

STATEMENT OF THE HON. DONNA CHRISTENSEN, A 

DELEGATE IN CONGRESS FROM THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. As I said, this morning we are holding the 

hearing on the current economic, social, and security conditions of 

the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. This hearing 

is the first in a series of two hearings that the Subcommittee will 

hold on this issue, and the Subcommittee has invited the CNMI 

Resident Representative to Washington, The Hon. Pete Tenorio. 

Welcome, Mr. Tenorio. 

As we are all aware, the CNMI is the only U.S. jurisdiction 

without any formal representation in the House of Representatives. 

Absent that formal seat, however, the Subcommittee views his 

elected position as the important voice for CNMI here in Washington, D.C., and in Congress. And we recognize that when the 

CNMI is given representation, it will be their Resident Representative who will join us on this dais. 

2

In the first hearing we will also hear from the Department of the 

Interior and the Government Accountability Office. We welcome 

also those officials, and note that this Administration is fully aware 

of concerns raised by Congress over the past two decades with regard to the CNMI’s control of its immigration and economic policy, 

which led to great growth during the 1990s. 

Such growth, however, was not only limited to revenue and lifting the standard of living for CNMI residents, as has been pointed 

out in a previous GAO study, the other effect was a population explosion of non-residents that filled the labor-intensive requirements 

of the developing garment industry. 

Within a span of 20 years, the CNMI went from a population of 

about 15,000 to 70,000, more than half of whom were non-resident 

guest workers recruited from mainly China and the Philippines to 

work in the CNMI. 

I realize that this period of growth, although argued an economic 

success by some, is also, on the other hand, a source of criticism, 

as well. It would also be negligent for us not to acknowledge that 

non-resident guest workers in the CNMI were, and when I was 

there in 1997/1998, subjected to labor and human rights abuses. 

And it was for these very reasons that in 1995, Congress passed 

an initiative creating a Federal Ombudsman’s Office, and increasing the presence of other Federal agencies, such as OSHA, EEOC, 

and the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division to inform 

and assist non-resident guest workers of their labor rights, and 

with complaints against their employers. 

To a measurable degree, this initiative and the increased Federal 

presence has helped curtail the incidences of abuse and exploitation, along with the commitment of the Government of CNMI. 

There remains, however, a very difficult challenge that the 

CNMI continues to face. Of course, the lifting of World Trade Organization quotas on exports from China to the U.S. has negated any 

competitive advantage the CNMI garment industry once held. And 

as a result, the garment industry is all but shut down. 

In addition, tourism, the other pillar of CNMI’s economy, is 

suffering from discontinuation of direct flights, and that reduced 

capacity has closed hotels and businesses. 

The Subcommittee is concerned that along with the negative economic growth, there doesn’t seem to be a corresponding decline in 

the number of non-resident guest workers, or a reliable plan in 

place for repatriation. And the Subcommittee is also greatly concerned for the security of the Marianas region. The global war on 

terrorism and growing threat concerns in Asia have caused the 

U.S. to realign and increase its military presence in the Pacific. We 

are all aware that plans are in place to increase military infrastructure in Guam, as well as training in the region. The additional 

military presence makes it even more important that the whole 

Mariana Islands chain comprising Guam and the CNMI be secure. 

This seems an impossible task, if CNMI continues to have local 

control over its borders. 

It is clear that the CNMI will have to undergo a transformation 

to address the problems it now faces. In order to move the CNMI 

forward, there will be the need to resolve concerns that have been 

raised in the past, as well as those that continue today. 

3

The Subcommittee looks forward to the testimony from today’s 

witnesses, and we should all understand that, despite all of the 

problems, there has been progress made in the CNMI, although 

there seems to have been some steps backward. We need to get the 

CNMI on the right path, and we look forward in this Subcommittee 

to working with your leadership, the Administration, and the 

CNMI community to do just that. 

With that, I would now recognize Mr. Fortun ̃ o for any statement 

he may have. 

STATEMENT OF THE HON. LUIS G. FORTUN ̃ O,

THE RESIDENT COMMISSIONER FROM PUERTO RICO 

Mr. FORTUN ̃ O. Madame Chairwoman, thank you for holding another important hearing concerning one of our Federal territories, 

the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

There are many difficult issues facing the CNMI, and I look forward to exploring them with you. I understand that some of our 

Committee staff had the opportunity to visit Guam and the CNMI 

during the recess to examine these many issues firsthand, and that 

they were very well received by everyone. 

It is so important for the residents of our territories to see that 

the policymakers in Washington, D.C., care about our local issues 

enough to come out and see for themselves the unique culture of 

the places they govern. 

It is often frustrating for our constituents to be legislated upon 

without ever seeing where we live and how we live, so I am glad 

that the Committee staff had this chance to meet with the local 

leaders and citizens of the CNMI and Guam in preparation for this 

hearing today. 

While I welcome all of our witnesses today, I want to especially 

welcome The Hon. Pedro Tenorio, the current representative of the 

CNMI. As you well know, Madame Chairwoman, we both cosponsored, along with Chairman Rahall and Ranking Member Young, 

H.R. 873 in the 109th Congress, a bill to grant the CNMI a permanent delegate in the House of Representatives. I look forward to 

the day a delegate from the CNMI joins us up here. 

For the many economic, social, and security concerns of the 

CNMI, I just want to say that while we certainly will not solve 

them all here today, we begin the process of creating a fresh 

Congressional record on those issues, and that we will be making 

our legislative determinations based on the existing facts and 

conditions as they stand today in the CNMI, and not based on 

circumstances 10, 20, or 30 years ago. 

Again, thank you very much, Madame Chairwoman, for holding 

this hearing today. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you, Mr. Fortun ̃ o. And now, if there 

are no objections, I would like to take this opportunity to enter into 

the record the statement of Ambassador Haydn Williams. Hearing 

no objection, so ordered. 

[The statement submitted for the record follows:]

4

Statement submitted for the record by

Ambassador F. Haydn Williams 

Madame Chair, I thank you for the invitation to testify before your Subcommittee 

today. I regret that I cannot be here in person but I request that my written statement be made a part of the record of this hearing. 

I have had a long association with the Mariana Islands going back to my Navy 

days in World War II. Later in the 1950’s and 60’s, as Deputy Assistant Secretary 

of Defense for International Security Affairs under Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy, my office had responsibility for DoD interests in the Pacific Trust Territories 

including the Northern Marianas. In the 1970’s I was the President’s Personal Representative for the Micronesian and the Marianas Status Negotiations and on the 

signing of the CNMI Covenant I was asked by President Ford to see the Covenant 

through the House and Senate approval process. Frequent visits to Saipan in the 

80’s and 90’s kept alive my interest in the NMI along with my efforts to win Congressional support and funding for building the Memorial to our war dead in the 

battles of Saipan, Tinian and the Philippine Sea in the American Memorial Park 

on Saipan. 

My message, my hope is a simple one. It is time for the Congress to act, to take 

a hard critical look at the current situation in the CNMI in the best interests of 

the ordinary citizens in the Commonwealth and the broader interests of the United 

States. The Committee is well aware that the CNMI today is in dire economic 

straits and has turned to Washington for help. With the changes in the House this 

hearing is very timely. It is my hope that among other things, particular attention 

will be given to immigration matters and the need to control America’s western 

most borders in the far Pacific. 

In addressing current conditions in the NMI, a brief look back at the Covenant 

negotiations may be useful—to remember the times, the context, the spirit in which 

the talks were conducted. The goal, the long held desire of the people of the NMI 

was to become a permanent part of America. Two issues were preeminent: U.S. sovereignty and the rights of internal self-government. Once these critical questions 

were agreed to in principle, the negotiations turned to what Federal laws would 

apply to the new commonwealth. 

Members of the Marianas negotiating team were especially concerned about the 

possible impact of U.S. immigration laws on their island culture. They were worried 

that their Chamorro and Carolinian heritage might be overwhelmed by a heavy influx of peoples from Asia. They wanted protection, assurance that this wouldn’t happen. The threat of war refugees streaming into the NMI from Southeast Asia was 

also on their minds. They thus asked that the control of immigration be in their 

hands to enable them to restrict the numbers of aliens entering their islands. 

While understanding their concerns, the U.S. could not accept this proposal. It 

agreed however, that in a transition period, awaiting the end of the UN trusteeship 

and before the coming into force of U.S. sovereignty, the new Commonwealth government would be given transitional responsibility for immigration. Under Section 

503 of the Covenant, it was clearly stated and agreed that the U.S. Congress retained the ultimate authority to make U.S. immigration laws applicable to the 

CNMI. 

It was anticipated at the time of the negotiations that such action would be taken 

quickly by the Congress upon termination of the trusteeship—given the known attitude of leading Members of Congress regarding territories and immigration. But instead of a couple of years of transition, with the CNMI in control of immigration, 

ten years elapsed between the approval of the Covenant by the United States in 

1976 and the UN termination of the Marianas Trusteeship in 1986. 

This far, far longer than expected interim period, enabled largely foreign and 

other non-indigenous investors and entrepreneurs to capitalize on the Covenant’s 

liberal export privileges and wage and immigration exemptions to establish their 

presence and influence in the CNMI and to begin importing increasingly large numbers of low-paid alien workers for their garment factories. 

It was during this transition period that local CNMI political and business opposition to any Federal implementation of Section 503 became institutionalized. This opposition led and largely funded by the garment industry was committed to blocking, 

with the help of hired Washington K Street lobbyists, any action by the Congress 

on labor matters, minimum wages, and immigration. 

The opposition’s success in Washington, especially in the House in recent years 

is well documented. The results in the CNMI is another story. CNMI immigration 

policies far from protecting the islands social and cultural heritage has seen a population explosion of over 500% over the past 30 years turning the indigenous people 

5

into a small minority. The impact on the environment, the infrastructure and island 

life has been equally deleterious. 

Three Administrations beginning with President Reagan have each voiced deep 

concern over these developments. The Senate and some members of the House too, 

have long recognized the need for Congressional remedial action. In 2001, the CNMI 

Covenant Implementation Act, authored by Senators Murkowski and Akaka and endorsed by the Clinton Administration called for the extension of U.S. immigration 

laws to the CNMI with reasonable and orderly transitional measures and exemptions. The Act was passed unanimously by the Senate in 2001 strongly supported 

by the new Bush Administration. Regretfully this Senate initiative died in the 

House without even a hearing for reasons that are now well known. 

The House, under new leadership, now has an opportunity to act. It is my understanding that legislation regarding the Marianas is moving forward in the Senate. 

It is my hope that this time the House will consider what comes out of the Senate 

favorably or similar legislation of their own making which addresses the current situation in the CNMI. 

In your Subcommittee Hearing I also hope that the Chair and the members will 

pay special attention to border security. Today we are no longer living in a soft security environment and it has been reported by the Justice Department that critical 

security vulnerabilities have existed in the CNMI for several years. Needed control 

over who enters the CNMI was one of the principal reasons cited by the Bush Administration in support of the Murkowski-Akaka Bill in 2001. Indeed in view of 

heightened international terrorism and the Marianas strategic location, the Federal 

government’s responsibility for protecting the people of the CNMI and all American 

citizens has taken on a new and urgent importance. 

Lacking an international status the CNMI simply does not have the institutional 

capacity to adequately pre-screen or screen persons entering the Commonwealth. 

Border control is an inherently sovereign function, repeat, an inherently sovereign 

function and in the present threatening world security environment and the expanding reach of global crime syndicates, the responsibility for protecting the nation’s 

borders in the NMI should be in the hands of the Federal government. 

U.S. control of immigration in the CNMI should not be seen as a threat to the 

Islands’ economy. As far back as the Covenant negotiations, the U.S. was fully sensitive and sympathetic to the NMI’s legitimate need for imported labor to help it 

reach its goal of economic self-sufficiency. This same understanding was evident in 

the Murkowski-Akaka Bill. It stated that S. 507 extending U.S. immigration laws 

to the Marianas Commonwealth would be carried out ‘‘in an orderly manner with 

a commitment...to mitigate any adverse effects...on the local economy.’’ The bill further delineated how the law could help diversify, stabilize, and strengthen the local 

economy. 

The growth of the CNMI economy based largely on unlimited low cost alien labor 

is like a castle built on sand, a false unsustainable economy. What is needed is a 

new, more stable, more realistic, sustainable economic foundation for the future. I 

am confident that with goodwill, open on-going communications, trust and cooperation between Saipan and Washington the current situation can be gradually improved. I also firmly believe that Federal legislation that will call for the orderly 

application of national immigration laws to the CNMI will have positive long term 

benefits for the people of the NMI. 

Indeed it is time for the Congress to take this long overdue action. Clearly the 

successful blockage of past legislative action in the House has been detrimental to 

the CNMI and to U.S. security interests. It is also time for Interior and the Administration to support this latest Congressional initiative to exercise its authority 

under Section 503 of the Covenant as originally extended. 

Thank you Madam Chair for giving me the opportunity of presenting my views 

on this importance subject matter that is before your Subcommittee. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Now I would like to recognize the first panel. 

The Hon. Pedro A. Tenorio, Resident Representative of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas. 

Mr. Tenorio, you will be recognized for five minutes. The timing 

lights are on the table, and will indicate when your time has concluded. And you may begin. 

6

STATEMENT OF THE HON. PEDRO A. TENORIO, RESIDENT 

REPRESENTATIVE, COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN 

MARIANA ISLANDS 

Mr. TENORIO. Good morning and Hafa Adai, Chairwoman 

Christensen and Ranking Member Fortun ̃ o, Members of this Subcommittee. 

This room, this great hearing room, represents to me a very, very 

pleasant memory, as it was in this room that I, as a member of the 

Marianas Political Status Commission, first testified in front of the 

Chairman and good friend, Philip Burton from California. So it is 

so good to be back here. 

The events that have unfolded this past Monday, April 16, at 

Virginia Tech have affected the entire nation. My people join me 

in extending our sorrow to the families of the victims, and to the 

entire community in Blacksburg. We join the rest of the country in 

prayer and in mourning. 

Thank you for inviting me to testify. The people of the Commonwealth appreciate your courtesy in affording me the opportunity to 

speak on their behalf. As this committee is fully aware, the Northern Marianas is the only territory in the United States without 

representation in the Congress, so I am very grateful for this opportunity to speak about issues that are important to all of us. 

I want to especially acknowledge that if it had been up to the 

Members of this Subcommittee, the Northern Marianas would have 

had a delegate years ago. The people of the CNMI are very grateful 

for your ongoing support and assistance. 

I also want to congratulate this Subcommittee on its plan to hold 

a field hearing in the CNMI. This will be the first ever held by 

Congress in the Commonwealth, and I applaud you, Madame 

Chairman, Members, for your desire to hear not only from our various government officials, but also from the people we represent. 

Madame Chairwoman, the current economic condition of our 

islands is very disturbing. It disheartens me to report such findings. 

A little more than a decade ago, the CNMI was hailed as an example of a successful young American democracy with an economy 

well on its way to self-sufficiency and financial independence. I now 

fear that our economy is swiftly becoming a disaster and a failure. 

It is indeed a shame that anyplace in America can be described 

this way. Our economy needs to be rescued before a total meltdown 

takes place. Now more than ever, Congress, if it can do something, 

should exercise its oversight, authorize emergency financial resources, and provide technical assistance to help us avoid economic 

and social chaos. 

The average family in the Northern Marianas is greatly challenged today to not only make ends meet, but to survive. With the 

highest electrical rates in the country, few can afford hot showers 

or air conditioning. Some not only unplug microwaves and DVD 

players when not in use to save a few watts, but also unplug the 

refrigerators at night. They have stopped cooking on their electric 

stoves, and now use firewood or propane for cooking. 

Food is getting more expensive because the cost of shipping is no 

longer defrayed by the garment industry, and many families are 

having a tough time keeping food on the table. The cost of gasoline 

7

is much higher than the national average. And even though our 

islands are small, a family’s only car will drive many miles in a day 

taking parents to work and children to their schools. 

A once idyllic lifestyle—barbecues at the beach and large family 

gatherings—is now marred by signs of desperation. 

It is difficult to document these social problems. We have few 

safety nets that normally protect society from the adverse consequences of poverty. We do not have unemployment programs or 

temporary assistance for needy families. We have a small food 

stamp program that I worry will not be able to expand to meet future needs. 

The public health and public safety needs of the community are 

also in jeopardy because the health insurance and medical services 

continue to escalate, and many will not seek medical attention because they simply cannot afford it any more. The rate of diabetes 

and heart disease in the CNMI is among the worst in the world. 

Rising levels of crime is proof of the growing desperation among 

those trying to survive. 

Our inability to adequately fund both public health and public 

safety puts many lives at an unnecessary risk. These desperate social and economic conditions have been an impetus for hundreds of 

Chamorros and Carolinian families to sell or lease their property 

at extraordinarily low prices just so that they can purchase oneway tickets and relocate to Guam, Hawaii, or the mainland. If this 

exodus continues, I fear that we will lose many of our highly 

trained and skilled local people to these other areas. 

We are also expecting that our young college graduates who have 

achieved their higher education at great government expenses will 

continue the trend of not returning to the CNMI, as there is little 

opportunity in their homeland. 

This should not be happening to our people, but our economic 

troubles have brought us to this new reality. This is not the Commonwealth I envisioned 30 years ago when they signed the covenant. And as a member of the Political Status Commission, on behalf of our people, this is certainly not the Commonwealth that we 

should leave behind as a legacy to our children. 

If the goal of this committee is to transform CNMI immigration 

into a Federal framework, I urge Congress to please proceed carefully. Congress must ensure that the outcome is positive and beneficial to both sides. 

I look forward to working with you to successfully develop a more 

lasting framework for the CNMI. I maintain my position on that 

normalization of our immigration outline on February 8, before the 

Senate Energy Committee, and I have included it in my written 

testimony submitted for this hearing. 

Last, Madame Chairwoman, I request that the prior work of this 

Subcommittee and the larger Resources Committee continue. I am 

speaking of the people of the CNMI’s quest for representation in 

Congress. I think that is a matter of simple democratic principles 

that the CNMI be afforded the right to representation before Congress proceeds to dismantle and hopefully review the economic 

framework of the Commonwealth. 

The people of the CNMI should not feel that we are at the mercy 

of our critics, or that we are being punished for mistakes made in 

8

the past. To quote my dear friend, that honorable Congresswoman 

from Guam, she stated, ‘‘Representation in American democracy is 

an inalienable right for American citizens, and not one that is contingent upon a litmus test.’’

The well-being of my people is literally at stake. I am greatly 

concerned about the ongoing reduction of public services in 

healthcare, basic sanitation, clean and adequate water and public 

safety. We have been the plaything of political opponents for too 

many years. I desperately want reason to prevail in any Congressional actions that will affect the CNMI. 

Madame Chairwoman, let us proceed in a logical manner. I 

would prefer that prior to the introduction of any other legislation, 

that the CNMI Delegate Bill will be reintroduced and acted on 

first. 

Thank you for this opportunity to address you this morning. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Tenorio follows:]

Statement of The Honorable Pedro A. Tenorio,

Resident Representative to the United States 

Hafa Adai, Madam Chairwoman, Congressman Fortun ̃ o, and Members of the 

Committee. Thank you for holding this hearing and for this opportunity to share 

with you my thoughts on issues relating to the current economic, social and security 

conditions in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. While I understand that the focus of today’s hearing is a federal perspective on the issues at 

hand, we in the Commonwealth appreciate your courtesy and willingness in affording the Resident Representative an opportunity to speak on behalf of the United 

States citizens residing there. As this committee is fully aware, the Northern Mariana Islands is the only place in the United States without representation in Congress, so I am very grateful that this subcommittee has lent me its ears. 

An Historical Perspective: 

The Northern Marianas had known almost 400 years of colonial rule and subjugation prior to the 1947 United Nations Mandate which created the Trust Territory 

of the Pacific Islands. In 1975 when we had the opportunity to vote on our own future, America’s global reputation was very low, its foreign relationships weak, and 

it was losing the respect of its own citizens. Yet we chose overwhelmingly by 78% 

to become a permanent part of this great nation. As a member of the Marianas Political Status Commission, I worked hard encouraging my people to choose this path 

as I felt it would be the best option for our future and our children’s future. I convinced them that American is a fair and compassionate Nation, one that takes care 

of its own people; fairly, equally, and without question. I continue to believe in these 

promises and principles; and the goodness and generosity of America to take care 

of its diversified population of minorities, immigrants, and Native Americans. So in 

spite of our enormous and difficult challenges, I believe that Congress can and will 

help us develop solutions so that we can move forward along a path that will bring 

us to prosperous future consistent with the American Dream. 

While the majority of the American citizens of the CNMI strongly believe in our 

relationship with the U.S. we have those in our islands who want to re-invent the 

Covenant and renege on this long established agreement negotiated in good faith. 

The Economic Perspective: 

Madam Chairwoman, our economy is in dire straits. It disheartens me to report 

such findings because it was a little over a decade ago, in front of this very committee that the CNMI stood as an example of a successful young American democracy with an economy that was well its way to self-sufficiency and financial independence. I fear now that our economy is swiftly becoming a basket case and a failure. It is indeed a shame when any place in American can be described this way. 

I am here today to appeal for assistance in getting us out of this serious predicament. Now, more than ever, Congress must and should exercise its oversight, expend its resources and provide technical assistance to help us avoid economic and 

social chaos. 

There are two primary economic engines in the CNMI: apparel manufacturing 

and tourism. Both are suffering from downturns caused by external factors. Trends 

in international trade agreements have left our apparel industry less competitive 

9

than those in countries such as China, Vietnam, and India. In 2000 we had 34 operating factories. By the end of this month we will have only 13, and I expect two 

or three more will close in the near future. The outcome of H.R. 2, The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, and our request to amend General Note 3(a) will determine 

the longevity of the industry. A primary measure of the health of this industry has 

been the amount they pay in user fees to the CNMI Government. Chart 1 of the 

Attachment tracks the demise of this industry since 1999. 

The other primary industry in the CNMI is tourism. This has also been adversely 

affected by circumstances beyond our control such as the price of aviation fuel, unprofitable tour packages, and availability of air service. Arrivals have been on the 

decline since 1996 as displayed in Chart 2 of the attachment. Japan Air Lines has 

eliminated flights to the CNMI and Continental Airlines has been reducing flights 

for some years. We have lost one commuter airline making it more difficult to reach 

Tinian, Rota, or Guam. Just recently Northwest Airlines has announced a reduction 

in flights and a conversion to smaller aircraft. Northwest alone will be carrying 

169,000 less passengers with these changes. In addition, tourists have decreased 

their average length of stay and the amount of money they spend while in the 

CNMI. 

Not only do these two industries support much of the other private sector activity, 

they directly provide a significant share of government revenue. The government reduced its revenue projections last year from $212 million to $193 million last year 

due to declining revenue collections. It has further reduced its revenue collection 

projections for FY 2007 to $163 million, or 25% in just two years. As you can see 

from Chart 3 of the attachment, we have been experiencing this downward trend 

since 1999. 

Governor Benigno Fitial implemented strict austerity measures last year including the implementation of austerity holidays where most government employees receive one day of unpaid leave per pay period. While we finished FY 2006 without 

adding to the deficit, those cuts are not sufficient to meet the new budget level of 

$163 million. The government is still trying to determine how to make the additional budget cuts, but will have to either cut salaries more or reduce positions. Either decision will hurt people, and further hamper the economy. We do not anticipate any reversal of this trend in the near future, and in fact expect government 

revenues to be reduced by an additional $15 million at least for next year. 

We are also faced with a significant government operations deficit of $174 million. 

You will ask yourselves, how a population of less than 70,000 people with limited 

long term obligations could have over spent their annual budgets by this amount 

in just 30 years. Our own Retirement Fund is a perfect example of the government’s 

inability to pay obligations. 

Our public employees’ retirement system is in a mess and is in danger of becoming insolvent, especially if the current government practice of not paying the employers’ share continues. With penalties the government debt to the Retirement 

Fund is close to one hundred twenty million dollars and no payments are predicted 

for the rest of this fiscal year and possibly not for next fiscal year. The Retirement 

Fund is forced to dip into its investment revenue and capital to make annuities payments. If this practice continues the Fund will bleed its investments to death. To 

make the matter worse, many current government employees are withdrawing their 

contribution to the Fund. The security of all current retirees, as well as those who 

have yet to reach retirement age is at stake. There is absolutely no excuse for allowing our retirees who have worked hard for our government and our people to be 

faced with this dilemma. They deserve better treatment and protection from their 

government. 

Madam Chairwoman, the economic situation in the CNMI continues to erode. It 

is almost impossible to bring in new investors at this time. The uncertainty of minimum wage and availability of workers leaves prospective investors with more questions than answers. How can they develop their business plans if they do not know 

if they can hire workers, or know what they will be paying those workers? While 

we have been suffering from this economic downturn for a number of years now, 

the current interest by Congress to address labor and immigration control is only 

adding to the problem and making everything much worse. 

The Social Perspective: 

Madam Chairwoman, it is difficult to document the social problems that are due 

to our economic condition. We have few safety nets that normally protect society 

from the adverse consequences of poverty. We do not have unemployment programs 

or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). We have a small food stamp 

program that I worry will not be able to expand to meet future needs. Fortunately 

our close knit extended family social structure has been able to mitigate to some 

10

extent. We are seeing one or two breadwinners providing for the needs of all those 

in a family housing compound. I and other elected officials are asked daily for 

money so that fathers can feed their children. 

As government revenues continue to decline I grow increasingly concerned about 

our ability to adequately fund public safety. Crime is on the increase. Purse snatching and other crimes against tourists are on the rise. There have been several 

incidences where people have resorted to stealing copper from telephone lines, 

power lines, and drop lines which provide power to water wells in order to sell them 

to recycling centers. We have been successful in prosecuting these crimes but the 

damages result in over a $100 thousand in replacement and repairs not to mention 

serious disruptions in basic services. 

Declining revenues also have frightening prospects for our public health. You may 

be already aware that the CNMI has one of the worst rates of diabetes and heart 

disease in the world. The decline in revenue has forced the government to cut the 

number of medical referrals thus endangering the lives of patients in need of specialized care. The increase in unemployment has led to an increase in Medicaid eligibility. This committee is all too aware of the problems we face with existing Medicaid caps, and even though Congress has recently increased that cap, we will be 

playing a game of catch up. 

These dire social and economic conditions have been an impetus for hundreds of 

Chamorro and Carolinian families to sell or lease their homes and lots at extraordinarily low prices just so that they can purchase one-way tickets and relocate to 

Guam, Hawaii, or the mainland. If this exodus continues, I fear that we will lose 

many of our highly trained and skilled local people to other areas. We are also expecting that our young college graduates, who have achieved their higher education 

at great government expense, will continue the trend of not returning to the CNMI 

as there is little opportunity in their homeland. This should not be happening to 

our people, but our economic troubles have all brought us to this new reality. This 

is not the Commonwealth I envisioned thirty two years ago when I signed the Covenant on behalf of our people. This is certainly not the Commonwealth that we 

should leave behind as a legacy to our children. ] 

The cost of utilities, food items, fuel, education, shipping, medical services, and 

other essential amenities increase almost daily. The price of utilities has skyrocketed uncontrollably, so much so that during this last Christmas the normally 

joyous and festive spirit of the islands displayed by beautiful Christmas lights on 

businesses, hotels, homes and even the public sidewalks was absent, replaced by 

empty darkness. Usually a season of love and hope Christmas had become a sobering reminder of just how much our people are suffering. 

Madam Chairwoman, I could go on and on with the depressing scenarios people 

in the CNMI face. We must admit, however, that these challenges are so daunting 

and tough for us alone to tackle. I feel that we simply cannot survive on our own. 

I am here to request for your intervention and assistance. 

Immigration Initiatives: 

Legislation that is developed without due consideration of existing socio-economic 

conditions in the CNMI will have a profound and negative effect on our economy. 

A 1997 U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform report stated that ‘‘immediate imposition of all parts of the Immigration and Nationality Act would harm the CNMI’s 

economic development. Moving a society that has become so dependent on foreign 

contract labor towards a more sustainable economy cannot occur overnight.’’

Those words were true in 1997 and they are even more true today. If the goal 

of this committee is to normalize CNMI immigration into a federal framework, we 

urge Congress to proceed carefully as this is a very complicated endeavor. It must 

be guaranteed that comprehensive economic and social statistics reflecting current 

conditions and realities are carefully collected and evaluated so as to ensure that 

the outcome of normalization is positive and beneficial to both the CNMI and the 

federal government. 

At the time of our negotiations, tens of thousands of Southeast Asian refugees 

were arriving in Guam under U.S. immigration policy, and we were fearful that full 

implementation of the INA would allow those and other U.S. immigrants to migrate 

to the CNMI. We felt that the early years of our status as a U.S. Commonwealth 

should be focused on building a stable economy. 

On the other hand, we recognized that we needed a larger labor force than we 

had to build our infrastructure, hotels, and other business establishments. It was 

our intent that the need for these workers would be temporary. Though some are 

critical of how we built our economy through local control of immigration, that criticism does not negate the need for skilled workers that are not readily available from 

elsewhere in the U.S. or its freely associated partners. 

11

When the Covenant was being negotiated, all sides assumed there would be a significant United States presence in our islands from a buildup by the Department 

of Defense. One of the more difficult issues to resolve, but one we were willing to 

accommodate the United States on, was the land requirements that the United 

States wanted for defense purposes, including use of our main harbor area and the 

most productive agriculture lands on Tinian. We all anticipated that the buildup 

would not only jump start our economy as the infrastructure was constructed, but 

would provide a long term stable base for private sector growth in small businesses 

as well as local employment. The model we all considered was Guam. 

That did not happen and as we continued to develop from the mixed subsistence/

cash economy under the Trusteeship, the principal source of employment became 

the public sector as we struggled to provide services to our residents at mainland 

standards. Tourism gradually developed, but also took a toll on our resources and 

demanded workers and skills not available within the local population. Garment 

manufacturing began in Guam, but found a home in Saipan. In retrospect we probably should have paid closer attention to the demands that industry placed on our 

services and also on our resources, but nonetheless, the textile and tourism sectors 

form the backbone of our private sector and the source of the revenues our government requires to provide services to our residents. Hindsight is a wonderful gift, but 

we need to deal with where we are now rather than with the economy that we anticipated thirty years ago when this Committee considered and approved the Covenant. 

We are here to participate in a serious process with the Subcommittee and the 

Congress to ensure additional mistakes are not made, but more importantly, what 

can we do to rebuild our local economy and alleviate the burdens of my people. 

When the Covenant was originally negotiated, as this Committee will recall, a provision was included that provided an annual grant for operations for our local government. The grant was slowly transformed to eliminate any payments for operations 

and to dedicate the funds exclusively to infrastructure development and for replacement of the aging works installed during Japanese Mandate and Trust Territory of 

the Pacific Island government times. 

I mention this because sometimes in looking at the current problems we forget 

how much progress has been made since the Covenant first went fully into effect 

only about twenty years ago. This Committee has been particularly sensitive over 

the years to how the territories differ from the mainland and in some cases from 

each other and how mainland standards don’t always work in non-contiguous areas. 

We have been fortunate over the years that this Committee is well represented from 

these non-contiguous areas and there fore has a greater understanding of our promises and problems. For that reason, if Congress chooses to extend U.S. immigration 

laws to the CNMI, we will need to look to you to craft the provisions that ensure 

a smooth transition and strengthen the local economy. 

I will be proposing a series of CNMI specific amendments to U.S. immigration policy which will accomplish this. By no means is this list exhaustive or complete, but 

rather a starting point for further discussion, and is basically the same list that I 

provided the Senate Energy Committee at their hearing on February 8th. 

First, I request that Congress provide us with our own Visa Waiver Program similar yet distinct from Guam’s Visa Waiver Program. Much of our tourism planning 

focuses on new markets in China and Russia. Several years ago with the assistance 

of the U.S. State Department, we were granted Approved Destination Status by the 

People’s Republic of China. That designation and market as well as the Russian 

market would be cut off to us without a visa waiver program. 

Second, as you know we have a very small indigenous labor pool, and have turned 

to guest workers to build our economy. Whether it be for doctors, nurses, engineers, 

cooks, or hotel maids, applying existing H1 and H2 caps to the CNMI would disrupt 

our health care system, our government and our economy. Therefore I request that 

special provisions be made outside of standard H1 and H2 caps and rules for the 

CNMI. 

Third, since many of our businesses are owned and operated by foreign corporations and were begun under our own immigration rules, I am concerned that normalizing immigration might disrupt these businesses if they are not grandfathered 

in to the new system. Likewise, as we are trying to attract new investors into the 

CNMI, I fear that the existing cumbersome, slow and overly bureaucratic processing 

system for standard H1 visas would be a deterrent to our economic recovery. Therefore, I request that special provisions for current and future foreign investors be included in any legislation. 

Fourth, we have been criticized for building our economy on two labor intensive 

industries, i.e. apparel and tourism. To change this we will need federal financial 

assistance and guidance to diversify our economic base beyond these two. However, 

12

the CNMI’s indigenous population is still not large enough to provide for an adequately sized labor force to support a sustainable economy and will thus greatly 

limit our options to widen our economic base. Therefore, immigration policies must 

be sensitive to the workforce and training needs that will arise from a shift in available jobs required by new industries. A specifically and carefully designed guest 

worker program to meet the CNMI’s workforce requirements must be an integral 

part of a new immigration framework. 

Fifth, our proximity to Asia makes the CNMI an excellent location to provide specialized training such as English for Asian businessmen and students and nursing 

NCLEX prep classes. We currently provide NCLEX prep classes to Asian nurses, 

who upon passage come to the U.S. to fill a void created by a severe nursing shortage. I understand that U.S. student visas are now very difficult to acquire. Within 

a visa waiver program, I request that special consideration be granted to the CNMI 

for foreign student visas. 

Sixth, several years ago the CNMI negotiated an MOU with various federal agencies to provide for the enforcement of U.S. treaty obligations relating to refugees and 

asylum. Full implementation of the INA in regards to refugees and asylum seekers 

may have adverse consequences for both the CNMI and the U.S. Careful study of 

the situation is required and possibly delayed implementation would be best. 

Seventh, it was the intent of the Covenant to preserve the Northern Marianas for 

its indigenous people. Too many times in the history of the U.S. we have seen indigenous peoples displaced and outnumbered leaving them a political and economic minority in their own homeland. I caution the Committee to be careful in the construction of a new immigration framework so as to avoid the political and social alienation of the Chamorro and Carolinian peoples. 

Eighth, create an immigration board comprised of both local and federal government for the purpose of periodically reviewing the effectiveness of regulations promulgated under this new law, to make suggestions and amendments. 

Ninth, I respectfully recommend that extensive study, deliberation and consultation be included in developing this new framework. I recommend that a joint congressional, administrative, and CNMI study group be formed to thoroughly study all 

aspects of the CNMI’s economy, current immigration laws, and long term economic 

prospects as a crucial step in developing a new immigration policy for the CNMI. 

It has taken the CNMI three decades to reach this point in our development. Only 

through careful consideration can we move the CNMI toward economic recovery and 

into a new era of prosperity while returning us to a state of self sufficiency and stability that we once enjoyed. 

In essence, Madam Chairwoman, this Committee is embarking on a long and difficult voyage. We acknowledge without question that Section 503 of the Covenant 

specifically allows Congress to extend the immigration and naturalization laws to 

the CNMI. Furthermore, I respectfully emphasize that Section 701, requires the 

U.S. to ‘‘assist the Government of the Northern Mariana Islands in its efforts to 

achieve a progressively higher standard of living for its people as part of the American community and to develop its economic resources...’’ I am looking forward to 

working with your Subcommittee to successfully merge these two important fundamental principles of our political agreement into a new reality for the Commonwealth. 

Call for a Delegate: 

The CNMI is currently blessed, though some may say it is cursed, with a great 

deal of attention by the U.S. Congress. Since the beginning of the year we have been 

visited by two staff delegations, one from the Senate and more recently one from 

this subcommittee. This is the second hearing that has been convened to examine 

our current situation. 

This attention has been met with a variety of responses from the CNMI. There 

are some who welcome Congressional intervention as they believe that we have 

strayed from our original goals, and that we need help to get back on track. There 

are others that feel that this attention is unwarranted and unnecessary and that 

we are doing ‘‘just fine, thank you.’’ I however, believe that for the most part, Congresses intentions are honorable and that there is no real desire by any member 

to destroy us. I honestly believe that Congress would like to see us succeed, but sees 

a need to alter the rules under which we operate. 

Madam Chairwoman, it is my intention to work with this committee and any congressional committee that desires to re-visit the Covenant under which the CNMI 

was created. I feel that it is much better to be involved and participate in any discussions or legislation that may affect the CNMI. 

However, I feel that the manner in which Congress is proceeding is unfair. Not 

only was it anticipated that the CNMI’s control over immigration be terminated at 

13

some point by Congress and that the Immigration and Nationality Act would apply, 

it was also anticipated that the CNMI would be represented in this esteemed body 

as all other non-state entities are. Since Congress did not extend the INA to the 

CNMI in 1986 when the Trusteeship Agreement was terminated, and since local 

control of immigration has become an essential tool in our economic development, 

it is easy to interpret Congress’ desire to normalize or federalize our immigration 

now as political, vengeful, or retaliatory. 

Even though you have extended to me as the Resident Representative some honorary privileges as if I were a Delegate, it is simply not the same. I cannot sit with 

you in subcommittee meetings; I am not privy to classified documents that detail 

how CNMI control of immigration is an alleged threat to national security; I cannot 

speak for the CNMI on the floor of the House of Representatives; nor can I defend 

my people except as an invited witness at hearings such as this one. 

I think that it is a matter of simple democratic principles that the CNMI be afforded the right of representation before Congress proceeds to dismantle and hopefully rebuild the economic framework of the Commonwealth. The people of the 

CNMI should not feel that we are at the mercy of our critics or that we are being 

punished for mistakes made in our past. Neither behavior nor performance should 

not be used as a litmus test in the granting of a delegate for the CNMI. 

The well-being of my people is literally at stake. I am gravely concerned about 

the ongoing availability of health care, basic sanitation, clean water and public safety. We have been the plaything of political opponents for too many years. I desperately want reason to prevail in any congressional actions that will affect the 

CNMI. Madam Chairwoman, let us proceed in a logical manner. I respectfully request that prior to the introduction of any other legislation that the CNMI Delegate 

bill be re-introduced and acted on first. 

Thank you.


34824.001.eps
14

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you, Mr. Tenorio. 

Reminding the Members that the Committee Rule 3[c] imposes 

a five-minute limit on questions, the Chairman will now recognize 

herself for questions, then recognize Members in the order in which 

they arrived. 

I have to tell you that even reading the testimony preparing for 

this hearing and listening to you this morning, it is very troubling 

to hear the enormity of the crisis that exists in the CNMI. Having 

traveled there, I had a very nice trip; it was really in some of the 

better times for CNMI, even though there were many problems 

that existed back then, many of which were addressed. And I have 


34824.002.eps 34824.003.eps
15

just read that school will also be closing two months later, so that 

is an additional—or will open two months later. That is an additional issue that tells us just how serious the situation is. 

I appreciated your testimony. It contemplates the extending of 

U.S. immigration policy to the CNMI, and your willingness to work 

with us to work out a compromise. And your suggestions are very 

helpful. 

Apart from that, with respect to anything immediate that Congress should consider to assist the CNMI, do you have some maybe 

three specific areas that we should be considering? 

Mr. TENORIO. Thank you, Madame Chairwoman. I certainly welcome that question. And I know that you asked for three, but if I 

may be permitted to add on, to about five priorities. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Sure. 

Mr. TENORIO. Just so that the Committee can have some options. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Yes. 

Mr. TENORIO. I would say first of all that we can be helped by 

this committee by revisiting the authorization of the covenant section 702, and that is the financial provision of the covenant. I am 

sure they are familiar with the history of the covenant itself, and 

how the funds that was intended originally for capital improvement 

for government operations and for economic development were reoriented toward just the capital improvement program. 

What I am suggesting is for the Committee to revisit that provision, and see whether or not it will be possible to increase the authorization so that the funds that will be made available under 

that provision of the covenant could possibly be redirected for operations, at least for some timeframe, to help out the immediate need 

of the government’s limited resources. 

Second, I would also recommend that the Committee revisit the 

covenant, I mean the compact funds that this committee, the Members were successful in providing for a larger amount of funds 

through the reauthorization of the compacts of Micronesia. 

We are grateful that the compact funds have been increased from averaging about $800,000 a year since about 10 years ago, 1996 or 

1997, to now, the new level of $5.2 million a year, with, of course, 

a corresponding increase for Guam and Samoa and Hawaii. 

I feel that there is an institutionalized mechanism already established where it is possible to increase this compact impact. And the 

reason that I say this, Madame Chairwoman, is because of the fact 

that we are, even though the amount that we receive is substantial 

and has increased substantially over the last 10 years, nevertheless, CNMI, just like Guam, continues to spend more than what 

has been provided under the compact impact provision. 

We are averaging somewhere in the neighborhood of about $9 million a year of public expenditure to take care of the freely 

associated states’ guests that are in our islands. And again, since 

these funds are being appropriated for operations of government, it 

would have a direct impact on the current financial shortage that 

we are experiencing. 

Third, I would like to request the Committee to help us accelerate the cover-over of tax revenue that is identified under the covenant section 703[b], mandating that the U.S. Treasury reimburse 

the CNMI Government for all taxes that has been collected over 

16

the years, inclusive of the estate tax that was, I assume was covered under the 703[b] provision of tax rebating. 

We have been successful, and our government has been working 

closely with Treasury to continue transfer of funds. But there are 

still substantial amount of funds that have not been covered over 

yet. So if the Committee can revisit this provision and help us, it 

would really help our island governments immediately. 

I also want to recommend that, through the Federal funds grants 

under the Work Force Investment Act, that funds be increased for 

the CNMI, so that that agency that we have, the Work Force Investment Agency, can use these funds to hire those that have lost 

their jobs because of austerity and other revenue shortfall, but at 

the same time also the funds could be used to train our local people 

toward some profession where they can have, eventually in the future, a more permanent job. 

The program is working very well in the Commonwealth. I met 

with a number of the previous and current administrators about 

the program. But they need more assistance in order to hire more 

people, and hopefully through that program the implementation of 

the Federal minimum wage could then be used and experimented 

on for that agency. 

Last, I want to request the Committee to help us pass the 

amendment to Headnote 3(a). As you know, I acknowledge that you 

folks, you people have helped us in the past, and we continue to 

ask for your assistance in having Congress pass the amendment to 

Headnote 3(a) Act, so that the CNMI, the garment factories can 

then depend on this assistance to stay in business, and to be more 

competitive against products that are being imported to the U.S. 

from other countries. 

And again, I want to emphasize that the trade agreements that 

have been established between the United States and some of these 

foreign countries actually are much more favorable and advantageous agreements than what the Commonwealth has been subject to under the current situation. 

So in order for some of the factories that are there to continue 

to remain at least for several years during the time that we can 

try to recover our economy, it would be of great help if the amendment is passed, so that, you know, these factories can take advantage of the new competitive situation that they will be in with the 

Headnote 3(a) amendment. 

Short of that amendment, I fear that, you know, most of the factories, if not all of them, would close down as quickly as possible. 

And you can see it happening every day. 

Thank you, Madame Chairwoman. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you. I now recognize Mr. Fortun ̃ o for 

such questions as he might have for five minutes. 

Mr. FORTUN ̃ O. Thank you again. I echo our Chairwoman’s concerns, and actually our heart goes out to all the residents, fellow 

residents of CNMI. 

I know in the past there have been different discussions, and certainly the fact that the garment and the tourism industries actually pretty much collapsed for different reasons in the last decade 

or so, have, to a great degree, created this situation. 

17

There have been discussions regarding minimum wage, immigration policies that have been discussed in the past. You touched 

upon them in your presentation. 

Let me start with immigration. And the question will be, how 

would the Federalization of immigration policies in the CNMI address these concerns and assist in this situation? 

Mr. TENORIO. Well, for one thing, Congressman Fortun ̃ o, for one 

thing, if there is normalization of the immigration policy for the 

Commonwealth, it will provide for a very stable policy, for one. People, investors that are coming in would then have something to rely 

on—on a permanent basis. 

Right now, with the different strategies and different ways that 

the immigration provisions are being handled, it does not provide 

for a stability in terms of the investors that are coming in. 

And the same thing goes with minimum wage. Many businesses 

are closing down because they are worried that they cannot have 

any reliance on whether or not the minimum wage would increase 

or decrease, or stay as it is. And especially those that fear that, you 

know, increasing the minimum wage would impact their business 

readily. They would rather close their business and uproot and go 

someplace else, rather than stay on and continue to lose their resources. 

So having a permanent policy established, such as immigration 

and minimum wage, would provide the kind of security that these 

businesses would need in order to feel comfortable, and to invest 

on our islands on a long-term basis. 

Mr. FORTUN ̃ O. In addition to garment and tourism industries, is 

there a way, is it realistic to believe that there could be a way to 

diversify the economy and move into other areas, as well? And 

what would it take to do that? 

Mr. TENORIO. First of all, let me say that, you know, because of 

our limited resources, and we have gone through this since the establishment of the new government, we have tried, the government 

has tried to explore all possibilities of diversifying the economy. So 

that, you know, we wouldn’t feel that if one sector of the economy 

goes down, that we will all be in trouble, just like what is happening right now. 

Unfortunately, there are few investors that would want to come 

to the CNMI for other than tourism and garment, apparel manufacturing. There are some that come there to explore possibilities 

of a fishing industry, for example. We do have a very large area 

of ocean, 240,000 square miles of it, that continues to be idle, 

unexploited, and it is available for people to come in. But for some 

reason, we just don’t get the kind of interest that other places have 

gotten. So I look at the ocean resources as a major potential for 

purposes of diversification of the economy. 

I don’t see resources in the Commonwealth, natural mineral resources that we have, that we can exploit. Most of what we are 

doing there are on subsistence type of, you know, local economic 

initiative. For example, subsistence fishing, subsistence farming. 

But we don’t just sit back and not look at other options. But our 

options are quite limited, because of land size, and because of the 

absence of natural resources that other larger countries and states, 

18

for example, have. You know, ore deposits and mineral resources 

that are abundant in other places. 

And we do have a lot of deposits of coral limestone. And you 

know, it is a useful product, because we use it for construction, but 

we can’t export it. There is a current interest to exploit the value 

of pozzolan, which is a volcanic product from volcanic eruptions, 

and it continues to be extruded out of the volcanic vents. But it is 

a long-term type of economic diversification, because it takes a lot 

of investment to do it. And not too many interests really is there. 

There are some that want to try to mine pozzolan for, you know, 

for profits, but it is not much. 

We do have, I believe, fairly rich soil properties in the islands. 

And to raise some crops that possibly could be exported to Guam, 

the nearer islands of Guam. We also have the soil is very conducive 

to production of or planting of coconuts, which at one time was one 

of the major industries that actually we had in the CNMI. The 

northern islands, volcanic islands, was, you know, covered with coconuts at one time. And I think that industry can still be revived 

for purposes of food items, as well as for energy. 

There is ongoing interest in some places to use biodiesel and 

using coconut and other farm product oil as an addition to gasoline. 

So there is that possibility. 

But we continue to look for—and I want to acknowledge also the 

very great effort that the Department of Interior, through Mr. 

Cohen’s office, the Office of Insular Affairs, in sponsoring business 

opportunities conferences out in the islands several years ago. It 

was in the West Coast, in Los Angeles, and here also. And then 

just last, I believe it was last year, when it was conducted in 

Honolulu. And there was a lot of people that showed up there with 

a lot of interests and ideas. 

And we understand that it takes time for people to make up 

their mind as to, you know, investment. But that is another effort 

that through that Administration, we are getting some positive interest. 

Mr. FORTUN ̃ O. Thank you very much. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. And thank you. I now recognize Ms. Bordallo 

for five minutes. 

Ms. BORDALLO. Thank you very much, Madame Chairman, and 

thank you for holding this very important hearing. 

I would like to welcome Resident Representative Pete A. Tenorio. 

And I want to share with not only the people in the audience today, 

but with the Committee here, that I share an excellent working relationship with Representative Tenorio and the CNMI leaders. 

And I want to take this opportunity to again call attention to the 

fact that the CNMI is the one member of the American family 

without a voice in this House. And I strongly believe that a Member of Congress to represent the CNMI would help this situation 

in its review of the many interests, of interests and concern with 

respect to the application of Federal law in the CNMI. It is simply 

the right thing to do. 

I look forward this morning to the testimony and am interested 

in learning of the efforts of the Office of Insular Affairs in helping 

the CNMI Government improve its financial standing, and in fostering greater economic diversification and growth. And I am also 

19

interested in learning of the GAO’s assessment of the work underway within the Federal and the CNMI Governments to make needed improvements in the areas of labor, immigration, economic and 

financial accountability policy. 

And finally, I am interested in learning from the witnesses on 

specific ways the Congress, the Administration, and the CNMI 

Government can work together to make improvements within the 

spirit of the covenant relationship. 

I do have one question for you, Representative Tenorio. Could 

you comment for us on the current position or the views of the 

CNMI’s leaders on the question of the application of Federal minimum wage in the CNMI? Given the legislation pending in Congress, what are the views of your government? 

Mr. TENORIO. Thank you, Congresswoman Bordallo, and good 

morning again to you. 

I appreciate that question very much, because that is one of the 

issues that many of our leaders have very different positions on. 

But there comes a time when—and I keep informing them that 

if you don’t have a unified position to present to Congress, then you 

might as well not come to Congress and present something, because you won’t be listened to. It is embarrassing for the government to be coming up with so many different ideas, when Congress 

wants just one. And that has been my advice to our leaders back 

home. 

Finally, after the passage of H.R. 2 in the House, there was a 

very concerted effort to come up with something so that we can 

present to Congress. I thought it was too late, but fortunately the 

bill was still in Congress, and it gives us an opportunity to reaffirm 

a united position. 

So we came up with a position that because the Northern Marianas is a relatively developing territory, and as we understand all 

the territories have gone through the process of using the Fair 

Labor Standard Act industry wage base system, we agreed that we 

would ask Congress to help us to be under that system for a while, 

so that, you know, we can then learn how best we can manage our 

local wage system. 

So that is the position that the Administration, together with the 

elected officials, have, is to be subject under the Federal Fair Labor 

Standards Act provisions, but at the same time be provided the opportunity to use the industry wage system as a base. This way, decisions having to do with the increase of minimum wage on the 

islands would be based on the information and knowledge and recommendations of those that are mostly affected, and that is the 

local people. 

So we appreciate any more initiative that Congress can do to get 

us into that system. 

Ms. BORDALLO. Thank you. Have you given that position to the 

U.S. Congress? Have you officially? 

Mr. TENORIO. Yes, Congresswoman, we did. We have communicated with the Senate committee. Members of the Senate, 

through Chairman Bingaman, have been approached by many of 

our leaders and dismiss people to help us get that system through, 

yes. 

20

Ms. BORDALLO. Very good. Very good. Madame Chairman, I 

know my time is up, but I have one quick question. 

Inasmuch as this economic situation exists today, how is tourism? Is it up or down? 

Mr. TENORIO. Well, the latest information on this is probably not 

a fair comparison, but the month of April is going to experience 

something like a 40 percent occupancy in the hotel. And you can 

translate that into, you know, numbers coming in, tours coming in 

from Japan basically has been drastically reduced because of the 

departure of Japan Airlines completely out of the Commonwealth 

after more than 20 years of operation. 

And you know, it was a business decision made by their company, and there is nothing much that the CNMI can do about it, 

although we appealed many times to try and bring them back. 

The overall situation of the garment industry is very disturbing. 

It continues to decline. And while we try to open up new markets 

to supplement the losses that we are experiencing through Japan 

through just the reduction of the flights, as well as reduction of 

tourist numbers based on economy, we will continue to see this 

downward trend for a while. 

This is what the Marianas Visitors Authority have been projecting. And it doesn’t look like there is any light——

Ms. BORDALLO. At the end of the tunnel? 

Mr. TENORIO.—at the end of the tunnel for the time being. 

Ms. BORDALLO. Thank you. Thank you very much, Madame 

Chairman. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Tenorio, we might have another round if 

you have another question. So I am going to start mine. 

Mr. Tenorio, do you have any estimate of how much the coverover in taxes would be? Is there any kind of——

Mr. TENORIO. Well, we have some rough estimates, Madame 

Chairwoman Christensen. As of a year ago, for example, where we 

got figures from our former Governor, they estimated through their 

own assessment somewhere in the neighborhood of about $50 to 

$60 million of total tax collected by IRS. That is all the CNMI. A 

lot of it, a substantial amount of it, has to do with the estate tax. 

But you know, that is the estimate that we got. I would be happy 

to provide you with a more recent estimate, if you give us time to 

contact the office back home. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Well, it was important to at least get a ballpark figure. 

As you were talking about the different possibilities for diversifying the economy, is there any kind of thinking or planning in 

CNMI, given the military buildup that is starting on Guam, as to 

how you see that CNMI could perhaps take advantage of that situation to improve your economy? 

Mr. TENORIO. Yes. Thank you for that question, and I am glad 

Congresswoman Bordallo is here, because I intend to come and 

visit you, Congresswoman, to kind of brainstorm on this subject. 

I do have some ideas. They may sound wild to you folks right 

now, but let me just share them with you. 

Many years ago, I guess it was in the fifties, when Saipan was 

built up by an agency of the Federal government. The CIA was at 

one time present in Saipan to train Taiwan Chinese to invade 

21

China. This was a big operation. I was very young at that time, but 

I was of the age of understanding, so I was able to accumulate 

quite a bit of memory about that presence. 

Capitol Hill, for your information, where the government center 

is located, and where there are a lot of homes over there, if you 

look closely at those homes, they were actually constructed out of 

prefabricated concrete slabs that were manufactured in Guam and 

shipped over to Saipan, because there was no construction company 

in Saipan. 

So there was this very intensive construction in Guam. Guam 

was greatly helped by that construction, because that agency made 

use of the slabs and other kind of forms that were manufactured 

to construct not only the headquarters, where the Governor’s office 

is located, but also the homes of the staffers and the trainers. 

And I feel that, you know, if the military would look into this 

thing, like using now Saipan as a manufacturing point, as a prefabrication point for housing construction and other kind of structures, 

where Guam at one time did, that would invite quite a bit of activities. It would, you know, regenerate interest in construction and 

employment. And we do have the manpower there, and perhaps it 

is very more accessible. 

Under the current immigration authority that the Northern Marianas has, it can bring in steel workers in accordance with the military planning specifications of the kind of workers and skills that 

is needed. Have them temporarily located on Saipan or wherever, 

or maybe even Rota. And then have them do the construction, and 

then ship over this prefabbed constructed parts of housing and 

other facilities to Guam. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. May I just interrupt you? I think that is a 

great idea, and I just want to try to get in some other questions. 

Mr. TENORIO. OK. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Do you want to wrap that answer up? 

Mr. TENORIO. Yes, I will wrap it up. And also, I think CNMI, everybody says it is a great, nice, beautiful island, group of islands. 

And again, if the military could consider the island as R&R for the 

families and even the soldiers that will be located in Guam, Guam 

is getting overcrowded, perhaps Congresswoman Bordallo, just, you 

know, Rota is very close to Guam. And that would be one area 

where perhaps a nice R&R could be developed for, you know, for 

the families. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. OK. Let me see, because we do have another 

panel and our time is somewhat limited. Because I wanted to ask 

this very important question. 

Clearly, CNMI’s current situation is a very serious one, and you 

know, we look forward to working with you as we move forward. 

Given the seriousness of declining government revenue, though, 

I want to know whether or not you feel your presence—we see 

what happened with the schools, what is proposed to happen to the 

schools. But given the declining government revenue, I want to 

know whether you feel your presence and the representation that 

you provide as CNMI’s elected official here in Washington, D.C., is 

also threatened by the government’s declining revenue. 

Mr. TENORIO. Well, I hate to speculate, but you know, looking at 

things the way it is now, I even have a much more pessimistic 

22

projection of the revenue, simply because there are other businesses that are not counted in the flow of revenue for this year that 

will be closing down. Many garment industries will close down, and 

that translates into loss of revenue. 

My office here, yes, would be threatened if the government goes 

only with its plan to reduce additional 40 percent of the current 

available budget that the agencies of government are now operating under. It would mean a reduction in my staff, and that 

means a reduction in the people, the provision of people that I utilize to convey the problems and to do things for, you know, on behalf of the Congress requests. So there will be that problem. 

Also, imagine then our operations here in terms of the properties 

we own. We own a house outright fee simple that we use as an office space, essentially just for office space and receptions. And we 

have obligations toward that house in terms of insurance and other 

kind of upkeep and maintenance. 

I don’t think it will come to that, but the prospect for, you know, 

the overall government not providing vital services to the community is one that really disturbs me. And I think that it would happen sooner than later. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you. It disturbs all of us, as I think 

everyone has said. 

Mr. Fortun ̃ o, do you have further questions? 

Mr. FORTUN ̃ O. Yes. Yes, I do. First of all, I want to apologize, Mr. 

Tenorio, for having to walk back and forth. 

You mentioned in your opening statement the tragedy that the 

country has gone through at Virginia Tech. I lost one of my constituents, and I was talking to the widow, so I apologize, for she 

needed to talk with me, and I hope you understand. 

Mr. TENORIO. Yes, sir. 

Mr. FORTUN ̃ O. So having said that, I feel it is important that we 

continue to bring into the record more information on the current 

situation. Could you give us some data, if the government has data, 

for example, on employment rates, and whether it has changed 

dramatically in the last 10 years? What is the rate today, and what 

it was several years back? The rate of growth of the economy, as 

well? Do you have any data on that? 

Mr. TENORIO. We can provide you, Congressman, with that information. Give us some time to look at our information, and also to 

convey these requests to our government back home, and we will 

give you the information. 

Mr. FORTUN ̃ O. Thank you. I feel it could be useful for the Committee to understand. Actually, I would say it will be interesting 

to see what has happened since the compact was entered into until 

today, what has happened with basic economic statistics and indicators. That will be very useful, if you may, I feel. 

Having said that, I also understand, and this is normal, when 

you have these economic situations, then there are other social and 

economic conditions that spring up. And actually, as I understand 

it, the crime rate has been going up. There may be a greater drug 

trafficking problem than there was before, as well as human trafficking. Could you expand on that, please? 

Mr. TENORIO. Yes, Congressman. Yes, definitely. I was there personally for almost a month and a half just last month, in February 

23

and March. And I personally went around, looked around and observed and opened my eyes and talked to so many people about, 

you know, what the problems they are faced with. 

They are faced with the problem of lack of jobs, for example. 

Some of them lost their jobs. Some of them continue to look for 

jobs, but couldn’t find any meaningful jobs. 

There is also the problem with the, because of the lack of government resources, the government employees are being furloughed 

every other Friday. Meaning that their income has been reduced by 

10 percent. 

We do have many different crimes there that have been committed that could be directly or indirectly a result of the current 

economic problems that we face. And I would not hesitate to mention that we do have burglaries throughout many of the homes, including homicide incidents where, you know, poker parlors are 

being targeted by criminals for robbing workers there, and even 

hurting workers, at times, you know, fatally, and wounding them. 

Mr. FORTUN ̃ O. In terms of human trafficking, perhaps regional 

human trafficking, are you seeing that kind of activity, as well? 

Mr. TENORIO. It comes periodically. I don’t know the frequency 

to that, but I think the representative from OIA, probably through 

Mr. Benedetto, can provide you with that more detailed information about the frequency of interception, for example. And you 

know, from our area into Guam, they would be in a better position 

to provide you with that. 

But I just want to emphasize, too, and this is not a joke. But you 

know that there is a common thing now being spread around the 

islands that we do have what we call the brass thieves, because 

these people will go out and daring, daringly, would go out in the 

open, in the middle of day, and will cut down live electrical wire 

that is copper wire, that is servicing a deep well. They will climb 

up the transformers, and from there they will cut off this wire, and 

then steal the wires for to sell. 

This happens not only in the government facilities, but even in 

private homes. People, you know, before they could open up the 

house, they hook up the electricity, and they will find the next 

morning that they have lost the dropped line. 

Telephone lines have been vandalized for brass. You know, you 

can see how—I mean, this, to me, is such great desperation already, too. 

Mr. FORTUN ̃ O. Yes. 

Mr. TENORIO. So we do have a lot of these crimes I believe are 

probably associated with, you know, this bad economic situation 

that we have. 

And the social impact of the lack of jobs and revenue, too, is really growing at a disturbing rate. We have broken families, families 

that don’t have jobs and divorce cases are coming up. People are 

losing or selling their lands, selling their homes to travel someplace 

else, because they couldn’t survive over there in the islands. So it 

is a real mess. 

Mr. FORTUN ̃ O. Unbelievable. Let me tell you, Mr. Tenorio, I am 

so sorry to hear this, you know, how things have gone down. And 

I believe that data would be very useful for the understanding of 

everyone in the Committee. 

24

So I thank you for being here, and I would thank you for providing us with the data, you know, unemployment rate, rate of 

growth, and so on and so forth. Thank you again. 

Mr. TENORIO. Thank you. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. I now recognize Ms. Bordallo for five 

minutes. 

Ms. BORDALLO. Thank you, Madame Chairman. I wish to continue questioning the Resident Representative to further what Congressman Fortun ̃ o has talked about. 

Your testimony outlined some of the austerity measures that 

have been put in place, and I think you just answered him as to 

what has been happening in the government. 

For government employees whose position may be reduced, what 

other opportunities are there for employment in the private sector? 

And also, I know that the CNMI Government has hired non-resident guest workers to fill skilled or professional positions. Are 

there laws in place which protect their employment, given that 

they were hired for a specific CNMI Government need that couldn’t 

be filled locally? 

Mr. TENORIO. I believe there are laws to protect them, Congresswoman. I do know for a fact that doctors and nurses and health 

professionals that are hired from the outside, of course, are protected on their own contract. And since they are the most demanded positions for the Commonwealth, they will be there for as 

long as they want to. And we really have a problem trying to keep 

them on board, because they all want to leave after a couple of 

years. 

There are also employees in the government sector in the technical areas, in the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation, Public 

Works, engineers and architects that are there. And they are there 

as government employees for a certain period of time; I don’t know 

for how long. But those are the workers, the professionals that are 

subject to being replaced by local people once these local professionals come back for the jobs. But I can tell you now that not too 

many of them are coming back to work in the CNMI. 

But as far as any specific law that protects their presence, I am 

not really sure, but I could find out for you. 

Ms. BORDALLO. In addition to that question, what about the private sector? I mean, someone whose government salary has been 

reduced. Could he maybe get a part-time job in the private sector 

stepping up——

Mr. TENORIO. I am sure that the private sector is doing its best. 

They have had some conference and meeting with the Northern 

Marianas College, for example, to try and pin down just exactly 

what can be done by the private sector to begin to mobilize local 

people into their businesses. 

There has been some progress made in that. At the same time, 

there are existing local workers that are hired by the private businesses there, but mostly for higher-supervisory position than anything else. Those that local people for some reason do not want to 

work in that lower kind of unskilled categories, like hotel rooms, 

workers and maintenance. 

So we do have a problem, too, because of the fact that the current minimum wage for all industries there, it is not attractive. In 

25

fact, it is discouraging to so many of the local people that wanted 

to get a job, but not at the rate that is being, you know, that they 

are being paid, or the salary that is existing right now: $3.05 an 

hour. That is a discouragement. And that is why I believe that the 

CNMI should support an increase in the minimum wage, something that is gradual. And especially for those businesses that can 

afford a little bit more because of their higher profit margin. 

And there are, in fact, some businesses that would do that. But 

in general, throughout the private sector, the local folks are discouraged from seeking private employment because of that. 

I mean, especially when they see that the government has such 

high salaries, three or four times what the private sector pays. So 

there is that competition there. 

Ms. BORDALLO. Thank you very much. Madame Chairman, I just 

want to go on record as saying, too, that I sympathize with this situation. There have been a number of CNMI leaders, 

businesspeople, government leaders that have come to my office, so 

I am quite aware of the situation. And I just want to go on record 

with Mr. Fortun ̃ o to say that we sympathize with you; we certainly 

hope that we can find some kind of a solution to this problem. 

Again, I do have questions, but my questions are for the Administration. So thank you, thank you very much. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. We have been joined by Mr. Flake. Mr. 

Flake, would you like to take five minutes of questions? 

Mr. FLAKE. Thank you. I appreciate it. I apologize for getting 

here late. And I know you covered it in your testimony, but could 

you elaborate a little—and I apologize if it is ground that has already been plowed—with regard to visa waiver then, and how 

CNMI needs something quite separate from what we have here? 

Can you elaborate a little on that? For example, for you to have 

an agreement with China or other close markets there. 

Mr. TENORIO. Yes. Thank you, Congressman Flake, and good 

morning to you. 

Yes, the CNMI is quite unique, as we all know, because it has 

its own immigration system. And it has two reasons, probably the 

mainstay, the main economic generator for the islands, we do concentrate in trying to bring as many tourists to the islands as possible. 

It is very difficult for us to try to bring, to entice people from the 

mainland, for example, to come because of distance and expense. 

But we are located in very, very high-populated areas in Asia. And 

Japan, that has been our main market. But because Japan now 

has, you know, has reduced its expresses on the islands, as a matter of fact, the panel has cut off its operation for the CNMI, we 

have been looking at other markets. And these are the markets 

that are open for us because of the fact that we administer our own 

immigration. So we can issue—we don’t require a visa from them. 

Markets, such as China, for example, in which our government has 

entered into an agreement called approved destination status, 

where the Government of China permits its people to visit the 

islands under a memorandum of agreement. And that opens up a 

new opportunity to resume an industry to really flourish. 

Now we are looking into Russia as well. Some of the outlying 

provinces in the western and southern part of Russia, close, you 

26

know, north of Japan area. Sakhalin Island and those places are 

now being visited by our visitors’ authority to open up a new market, bring in Russian tourists. 

And we, as a matter of fact, when I went there last month there 

was a first charter flight out of Russia that came to Saipan bringing tourists with them. That vantage that we have, as you know, 

is we do have this ability to use our immigration authority to make 

it easier for tourists from these countries that cannot go into the 

U.S., we found visitors’ visa through the U.S., you know, applied 

through the U.S. Embassy or Consulate. But they can some to the 

Northern Marianas with their passport and their return tickets. 

And what you would call an approved, what is it? I am sorry. It 

is a kind of approval that our government provides to the airlines 

to board, authorization to board. And that is the system that we 

use. And we use some standard criteria to make them eligible to 

come. And that is working out OK, as we see it. 

If the new immigration framework is enacted that denies us the 

ability to continue that operation of visa waiver, then our tourism 

industry will not flourish as well or as quickly. So that is one of 

the areas that I requested the Senate, when I testified in the Senate, to include in any framework on immigration that the Congress 

would enact for the CNMI. 

Mr. FLAKE. Thank you. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you, Mr. Flake. I want to thank you, 

Mr. Tenorio, for your valuable testimony, and thank the Members 

for their questions. Members of the Subcommittee will have some 

additional questions for you, I am sure, and we will ask you respond in writing. Some of them have already been raised. 

At this point you are excused. 

Mr. TENORIO. Thank you. Thank you, Madame Chairwoman and 

Members. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you again. I would now like to recognize the second panel: Mr. David B. Cohen, Deputy Assistant 

Secretary of Insular Affairs for the U.S. Department of Interior; 

and Ms. Jeanette Franzel, Director of Financial Management and 

Assurance of the Government Accountability Office. 

And the Chair now recognizes Mr. Cohen to testify for five 

minutes. 

STATEMENT OF DAVID B. COHEN, DEPUTY ASSISTANT 

SECRETARY FOR INSULAR AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF 

THE INTERIOR 

Mr. COHEN. Thank you, Madame Chairwoman and Members of 

the Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify on the 

CNMI. With me today is the Federal Ombudsman Respondent in 

Saipan, Jim Benedetto, to answer any questions you might have in 

his area. 

The CNMI’s greatest challenge today is how to deal with the 

deepening economic crisis that has triggered a growing fiscal crisis. 

Both of the CNMI’s major industries, as the Resident Representative has eloquently described, garment manufacturing and tourism, 

continue to decline rapidly and simultaneously. This has caused 

government revenues to drop approximately 25 percent since 2004. 

27

Continued declines of this magnitude would cast doubt on the 

local government’s ability to remain solvent and to provide even 

the most basic critical services. 

On labor conditions, we give the CNMI Government a great deal 

of credit for the progress that has been made in the last several 

years. However, we continue to have a number of concerns. 

For example, many incidents have been reported of young women 

recruited for non-existent jobs, and then coerced into prostitution. 

A recent verified account of the number of trafficking victims receiving services in the CNMI puts the number at over 30, a figure 

that far exceeds the incidence of trafficking victims in the United 

States per capita. 

On the other hand, I commend the CNMI Attorney General’s Office for aggressively investigating and winning convictions in the 

Red Heart Massage case, where club owners pressured foreign 

workers into prostitution. 

The labor situation in the CNMI is inexorably linked to the fiscal 

and economic situation. The most significant threat to the human 

rights of foreign workers in the CNMI today is the deteriorating 

economy. We also remain troubled by the serious structural imbalances in the CNMI economy and in CNMI society, as discussed in 

my written statement. 

I call your attention to the unique situation of the long-term foreign workers that have become an integral part of CNMI society. 

A number of foreign workers have been working in the CNMI for 

five, 10, 15 or more years. Many are raising children in the CNMI, 

and their children are U.S. citizens. These workers were invited to 

come to the CNMI because they were needed; they came, and have 

stayed legally, and they have contributed much to the economy. 

They were essential in building the CNMI economy from the 

ground up. Long-term foreign workers are integrated into all levels 

of the CNMI’s work force and society. 

I hope that the Committee and the CNMI Government will keep 

the situation of these long-term members of the CNMI community 

in mind as they consider reforms to the CNMI’s immigration system. 

The Administration is committed to working with Congress and 

with the CNMI’s representatives to establish a framework that will 

allow the people of the CNMI to build a strong, prosperous, and 

just society. We are currently working within the Administration, 

with Congress, and with the CNMI Government to develop a concept of flexible Federalization through which the Federal government would exert control over the CNMI’s immigration system in 

a manner that would not cause needless economic or fiscal harm. 

We believe that any effort to Federalize the CNMI immigration 

system must be flexible, because of the CNMI’s unique history, culture, status, demographic situation, location, and, perhaps most 

importantly, fragile economic and fiscal condition. 

Such an effort should be based upon the following principles. 

First, national security and homeland security issues must be properly addressed. 

Second, we should minimize damage to the CNMI economy, and 

maximize the potential for economic growth. 

28

Third, the new CNMI economy must not be as conducive to worker exploitation and abuse as was the old CNMI economy. 

Fourth, we should carefully analyze the likely impact of major 

proposals before we implement them. Labeling our efforts as reform does not relieve us of the responsibility to carefully consider 

the potential consequences of our actions. If we leap before we look, 

we could needlessly hurt people that we are trying to help. 

We should, however, be expeditious in our analysis, and not use 

the need to study as an excuse to delay. The people of the CNMI 

are eager to get on with their future. 

Finally, we must ensure that the people of the CNMI participate 

fully in decisions that will affect their future. A better future for 

the people of the CNMI cannot be imposed unilaterally from Washington, D.C., ignoring the insights, wisdom, and aspirations of 

those to whom this future belongs. 

I was in Saipan last month as the President’s special representative for consultations with CNMI Governor Fitial under Section 902 

of the U.S.-CNMI Covenant. I heard the Governor’s concerns about 

the effect that Federalization might have under CNMI’s precarious 

economic and fiscal condition. The Governor and I endorsed the five 

principles that are outlined in my testimony today, although we are 

still in dialogue about how those principles should be implemented. 

While in Saipan I spoke with as many community groups and ordinary people as I possibly could. There is a great diversity of opinion in the CNMI, but a shared sense of anxiety about what the 

Federal government may or may not do, and a shared desire for 

their voices to be heard here in Washington. 

The anxiety stems from the fact that Congress is developing policy that will profoundly affect a small corner of America that many 

of your colleagues in Congress know little about. 

The Members of this Subcommittee, on the other hand, possess 

a great deal of knowledge about the CNMI. I commend you all for 

your commitment to learn as much as you can about what is really 

happening in the CNMI today. So look beneath the negative, sensationalistic press reports to find the more complicated truth, and to 

listen to the diverse voices of the people of the CNMI. 

One last point. Three years ago I testified on behalf of the Bush 

Administration in favor of granting the CNMI a non-voting delegate to this body. I spoke of the many men and women from the 

CNMI who were fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan so that the 

people of each of those countries could be represented in their national legislatures. 

Please allow me to pay tribute to the following sons of Saipan 

who have been killed in action in Iraq since then. 

Army Sergeant Eddie Chen; Army Sergeant Wilgene Lieto; Army 

Specialist Derrence Jack; Army Sergeant Jesse Castro; Marine 

Lance Corporal Adam Quitugua Emul; and Army Specialist Leeroy 

Camacho. 

Forgive me for pointing out that these men died so that the 

people of Iraq could enjoy rights that are still not enjoyed by the 

loved ones that these men have left behind. 

Before considering legislation that would drastically change the 

lives of the people of the CNMI, we hope that Congress will 

29

consider granting them a seat at the table at which their fate will 

be decided. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Cohen follows:]

Statement of David B. Cohen, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior

for Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior 

Madam Chairwoman and members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify on the important issues facing the Commonwealth of the Northern 

Mariana Islands (CNMI). I come before you today wearing at least two hats: As 

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Insular Affairs, I am the Federal official that is responsible for generally administering, on behalf of the Secretary of the 

Interior, the Federal Government’s relationship with the CNMI. I also serve as the 

President’s Special Representative for consultations with the CNMI on any matter 

of mutual concern, pursuant to Section 902 of the U.S.-CNMI Covenant. In fact, I 

was in Saipan last month for Section 902 consultations with CNMI Governor Fitial 

and his team. 

I testified before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in 

March 2006 about the very difficult economic and fiscal challenges that the CNMI 

was facing as its only two major private sector industries, garment manufacturing 

and tourism, were facing significant declines at the same time. The situation has 

changed since then. It has gotten worse. 

The most compelling challenge that the CNMI faces today is how to deal with a 

deepening economic crisis that has triggered a growing fiscal crisis. Both of the 

CNMI’s major industries continue to decline rapidly and simultaneously. Between 

2000 and 2006, garment sales declined 49.5 percent, from $1 billion to $527 million. 

According to the CNMI Department of Finance, garment makers contributed, directly and indirectly, 37.9 percent of general fund revenues in Fiscal Year 2000. In 

Fiscal Year 2006, that share was down to 25.1 percent, and it is headed down still 

further since garment factory closings continue. In 2000, there were 34 holders of 

garment making and shipping licenses in CNMI. The closure of Saipan’s largest garment factory in December 2006 caused the loss of approximately 1400 jobs, and 

brought the number of garment factories remaining on Saipan down to 19. Two 

more garment factories, with a total of approximately 400 employees, closed at the 

end of last month. We expect two additional factories, with a total of over 550 employees, to close in June or July. 

The CNMI’s other major industry, tourism, is also experiencing troubling declines. 

Just as the industry, dependent more heavily on Japan than it is on any other market, was recovering, Japan Airlines (JAL) discontinued flights to the CNMI in October 2005. This was a major setback to the CNMI’s tourism industry because JAL 

carried 40 percent of all Japanese tourists to the CNMI and 29 percent of all tourists to the CNMI. Although Northwest Airlines initially replaced some of the Japan 

Airlines flights cut in 2005, it recently cut several flights and is planning to 

downsize the aircraft used for its daily flight from Narita, Japan, by September this 

year. Tourist traffic was down 16 percent during 2006, and tourist levels will not 

recover if arrival capacity continues to decline. The tax contribution of tourism to 

the CNMI treasury cannot be measured as directly as that of garment manufacturers. However, it is reasonable to say that tourism is the only other major source 

of income and taxes in the CNMI. 

The simultaneous decline of the CNMI’s only two major industries has caused 

government revenues to decline sharply, dropping approximately 25 percent from 

$221.2 million in 2004 to a projected $165.8 million for the current fiscal year. Continued declines of this magnitude would cast doubt on the CNMI government’s ability to remain solvent and to provide even the most basic critical services to CNMI 

residents. 

I would like to also address the labor situation in the CNMI. Much has transpired 

since Congress began to take a hard look at CNMI labor conditions in the 1990s. 

The following are examples of the significant progress that the CNMI government 

has achieved in recent years: 

• The independent Garment Oversight Board has been in place since 2003 as a 

result of a class-action lawsuit. The Board monitors compliance by CNMI garment factories with 59 standards relating to working and living conditions. The 

Board, which is made up of three former judges (including former California 

Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso and former Washington Supreme Court 

Chief Justice Richard Guy), engaged, through December 2006, the nonprofit 

organizations Verite ́ and Global Social Compliance to conduct comprehensive 

30

inspections of each factory twice a year (with additional inspections as necessary). A factory placed on probation as a result of a failed inspection loses its 

eligibility to sell to 26 major retailers. 

• The Federal Ombudsman’s Office reports that the number of complaints filed 

annually had been reduced by over 60% since the inception of the office in 1999: 

from 1221 complaints per year to 473. In recent years, the complaints generally 

have concerned matters less grievous in nature than those identified in the 

early years. 

• In 2003, the CNMI government signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the 

Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs to establish a refugee protection system. Under the guidance of the Department of Homeland Security’s 

(DHS) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the CNMI amended its immigration statute, promulgated implementing regulations, and established a refugee protection program with financial assistance from the Office of Insular Affairs. 

• Under the Memorandum of Agreement with the Office of Insular Affairs, the 

CNMI also agreed to cooperate with the United States to combat human trafficking. In furtherance of that goal, the CNMI enacted the Anti-Trafficking Act 

of 2005. That same year, the Federal Ombudsman established the Victims of 

Trafficking Coalition to identify persons in the community who may come into 

contact with trafficking victims, share information, identify resources in the 

community available to assist victims, and assess unmet needs. Additionally, 

the Catholic non-profit group, Karidat, through its shelter, the Guma 

Esperansa, applied for and received a $450,000 grant from the U.S. Department 

of Justice to provide services to trafficking victims. A similar grant was received 

by the CNMI Department of Public Safety. Last year, my office provided a 

$45,000 grant to support the Guma Esperansa shelter, and we plan to provide 

more support in the future. Recently, the U.S. Attorney’s Office established the 

Human Trafficking Intervention Coalition. 

• I would like to commend the CNMI Attorney General’s Office for aggressively 

investigating and winning convictions in the Red Heart massage case, where 

club owners pressured foreign employees into prostitution. I would also like to 

commend the U.S. Attorney’s Office for its successful prosecution of U.S. v. 

Zheng, a forced prostitution case. 

• In 1999, 23 garment factories entered into a strategic partnership with the U.S. 

Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 

that requires each participant to maintain a formal, written safety and health 

management system for each worksite and associated staff housing, and to establish a joint employer/employee safety and health team. OSHA credits this 

program with reducing the lost workday injury rate in these factories to well 

below the average for the industry nationwide. OSHA reports that over 44 full 

time health and safety managers have been hired by the garment factories pursuant to this partnership. 

• The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) continues to 

have a strong enforcement program for all applicable provisions of the Fair 

Labor Standards Act. For the past several years, WHD has conducted annual 

enforcement strike forces, stepped up litigation, and worked with the Saipan 

Garment Manufacturers Association to provide training on the monitoring of 

garment shops to increase compliance in the CNMI. In the last six fiscal years 

(2001-2006), WHD concluded 274 investigations of employers in the CNMI. The 

agency collected over $14.6 million in back wages for approximately 10,500 employees. In addition to investigations in the garment manufacturing industry, 

WHD has had enforcement cases in the construction, hotel/motel and security 

guard industries. 

• The CNMI government has negotiated agreements with the Chinese Economic 

Development Association to pre-screen Chinese nationals coming to work in the 

CNMI, limit the fees the workers can be charged by approved recruiters, and 

intercede on the workers’ behalf when a dispute arises; implemented secondary 

preference for jobless alien workers already present in the CNMI; and completed a comprehensive revision of the alien labor rules and regulations to guarantee due process rights to alien worker complainants. While the pre-screening 

noted above is not intended to, and does not, substitute for a visa screening 

process administered as a foreign affairs and national security function of the 

United States, it does assist in regulating the numbers of nonresident workers 

who come to work in the CNMI, ensuring that some minimum standards are 

met with respect to the qualifications of those workers, and in protecting their 

legal rights. 

31

• We congratulate the CNMI Department of Labor for recently eliminating a 

backlog of over 3,000 labor cases that had begun to accumulate during prior administrations. This accomplishment could not have occurred without the Governor’s strong commitment and a great deal of hard work by local public servants. We are proud that the staff of OIA’s Office of the Federal Ombudsman 

was able to provide important assistance to this effort, including by translating 

the testimony of hundreds of workers. • On November 30, 2006, the CNMI held a Workforce Development Summit cosponsored by the Northern Marianas College Small Business Development Center and the CNMI Workforce Investment Agency. The goals of the Summit were 

twofold: (1) offer an in-depth discussion of employment issues facing local residents and the public and private sectors, and (2) gather business and government leaders to discuss the CNMI employment needs with a goal of developing 

the local workforce to fill positions that are currently occupied by foreign employees. The Summit brought together business and government leaders to discuss the CNMI’s critical employment needs so that government counseling, 

training, education, financial assistance, internship and placement programs 

could unify their efforts and maximize resources to develop the necessary resident labor talent. As a result, the CNMI is creating a demand-driven talent development action plan that will result in a higher percentage of resident workers employed in the private sector. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment 

and Training Administration is assisting the CNMI with mapping their public 

and private resources and assets to begin development of their talent development action plan. 

We give the CNMI government a great deal of credit for the progress that has 

been made in the last several years. A number of others deserve a great deal of 

credit as well, including Members of Congress who have pushed for reforms, the 

garment workers and their attorneys who brought the class action suit against the 

garment industry, international non-profit organizations such as Verite ́ which conduct rigorous inspections of the garment factories, and longtime workers rights advocates such as former California Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso who have 

worked to oversee the inspection regime. We recognize, however, that the situation 

remains far from perfect, and we continue to have a number of concerns. For 

example: • The CNMI Department of Labor still has too few experienced investigators and 

hearing officers to deal with the labor complaints that have been generated. • We believe that enforcement in labor cases is hampered by an insufficient commitment by the CNMI law enforcement authorities to prosecuting or sanctioning repeat offenders. • We are concerned about foreign attempts to influence the adjudication of particular cases in the CNMI’s fledgling refugee protection program. 

• We continue to be concerned about foreign nationals in the CNMI engaging in 

prostitution. Many incidents have been reported of young women recruited for 

non-existent jobs, and then coerced into prostitution. A recent, verified count of 

the number of trafficking victims receiving services in the CNMI puts the number at over 30, a figure that far exceeds the incidence of trafficking victims in 

the United States on a per capita basis. 

• The CNMI’s current fiscal crisis casts doubt on its ability to ensure the timely 

repatriation of thousands of garment workers employed by factories who may 

not have the resources to pay their wages in full and provide them a plane ticket to their point of hire. In addition, of the bonding companies who have a secondary obligation to pay back wages and provide tickets, a majority do not have 

sufficient assets to meet their obligations. 

The labor situation in the CNMI is inextricably linked to the fiscal and economic 

situation. The most significant threat to the human rights of foreign employees in 

the CNMI today is the deteriorating economy. This manifests itself in a number of 

ways, including by depriving the government of the resources that it needs to effectively prevent, investigate and prosecute labor abuse. The closure of large garment 

factories places significant demands upon the local government, and simultaneously 

causes the government to lose revenues that it desperately needs to meet those demands and all of its other obligations. This mutually reinforcing negative cycle illustrates that while the departure of the garment industry may be in the long-term 

best interests of the CNMI, an immediate, abrupt departure is not. Change is necessary, but we should be wary of exacerbating a situation that is already fraught 

with peril. 

In addition to these concerns, we remain troubled by the serious structural imbalances in the CNMI economy and in CNMI society. The CNMI remains a two-tier 

economy where the private sector is overly reliant on foreign employees, and where 

32

the indigenous population is overly reliant on the public sector for employment. Because of the unique economic structure of the CNMI and the fact that approximately 

50% of the residents are foreign employees, the ability to import labor is a factor 

that tends to depress wages in the private sector, which in turn tends to reinforce 

the reluctance of U.S. citizens to work outside of the public sector. There have been 

attempts to address this unique structural problem through local legislation, but the 

problem persists. 

Additionally, having a large alien work force with little economic power and relatively limited legal rights has created a great risk of exploitation and abuse in the 

CNMI. As noted above, the CNMI has made commendable progress over the last 

several years in curbing labor abuse. Our experience tells us, however, that excessive reliance within the CNMI on a foreign, low-wage work force creates a risk of 

abuse. That risk could be overcome with a high level of effort, vigilance and resources, but it would probably be difficult to sustain such efforts under the CNMI’s 

current fiscal and economic conditions. Perhaps we would not all have to work so 

hard to prevent abuse if the structure of the CNMI’s economy did not give rise to 

such risks. And eliminating the most overt forms of abuse will not necessarily eliminate subtler forms of exploitation that arise when foreign employees have little 

power and a great deal to lose if they assert even the limited rights they have. 

I call to your attention the unique situation of the long-term foreign employees 

that have become an integral part of CNMI society. A number of foreign employees 

have been working in the CNMI for five, ten, fifteen or more years. Many are raising children in the CNMI, and their children are U.S. citizens. These employees 

were invited to come to the CNMI because they were needed, they came and have 

stayed legally, and they have contributed much to the community. They were essential in building the CNMI economy from the ground up from what it was at the inception of the Commonwealth: a rural economy with little industry, tourism or other 

commercial activity. Long-term foreign employees are integrated into all levels of 

the CNMI’s workforce and society, serving as doctors, nurses, journalists, business 

managers, engineers, architects, service industry employees, housekeepers, farmers, 

construction workers, and in countless other occupations. I hope that the Committee 

and the CNMI Government will keep the situation of these long-term members of 

the CNMI community in mind as they consider reforms to the CNMI’s immigration 

system. 

We stress, Madame Chairwoman, that the CNMI’s situation in general is unique, 

and our discussion of the CNMI should not be extrapolated to draw observations 

about other economies, including that of the U.S. as a whole. The CNMI’s proportional reliance on foreign labor is overwhelming when compared to that of many 

other economies, including the U.S. economy as a whole; foreign employees constitute approximately half of the CNMI’s population. The CNMI also has the ability 

to admit foreign employees from low-wage economies in the region without being 

subject to Federal laws designed to protect opportunities for the U.S. workforce. The 

sheer scope and scale of the foreign labor situation in the CNMI make the CNMI 

a special case. 

The question is not whether the CNMI’s current economic structure is a good one. 

It is not. The question is how to help the people of the CNMI build a strong, prosperous and just society without causing needless pain and suffering to innocent 

people—including the foreign employees—in the transition. The Administration is 

committed to working with Congress and with the CNMI’s representatives to establish a framework that will allow the people of the CNMI to build such a society. 

We are currently working within the Administration, with Congress and with the 

CNMI government to develop a concept of flexible federalization through which the 

Federal Government would assert control over the CNMI’s immigration system in 

a manner that would not cause needless economic or fiscal harm. We believe that 

any effort to federalize the CNMI immigration system must be flexible because of 

the CNMI’s unique history, culture, status, demographic situation, location, and, 

perhaps most importantly, fragile economic and fiscal condition. Since federalization 

would constitute a paradigm shift from the current system, we believe that various 

options for federalization should be considered carefully in order to avoid unintended consequences. We believe that such an effort should be based upon the following principles: 

First, we must ensure that national security and homeland security issues are 

properly addressed. In a post-9/11 world, this principle must take priority over all 

others. Any proposal should be fully vetted by the experts at the Departments of 

Homeland Security, State, and Justice to ensure that it provides adequate protections for the CNMI and for the rest of the U.S. 

The second principle is that, subject to the need to address compelling national 

security and homeland security concerns, we should minimize damage to the CNMI 

33

economy and maximize the potential for future economic growth. We must recognize 

that the CNMI is in a very fragile economic and fiscal condition. The Federal Government must make every effort to avoid imposing measures that could plunge the 

CNMI even deeper into crisis. The cash-strapped local government, which is struggling to absorb sharp decreases in revenues, is already unable to provide critical 

services such as water and power in a reliable fashion. If the current crisis is exacerbated, it could endanger the health, safety and welfare of innocent people, threaten the public order, and leave large numbers of foreign workers jobless and 

stranded. 

Once the CNMI gets through the current crisis, it will have to build a sustainable 

economic future. This is probably an opportune moment in the CNMI’s history for 

the people of the CNMI to engage in a facilitated process to develop a homegrown 

strategic plan for its economic future. The process should involve all segments of 

society, and the ultimate product should be one that the large majority of the community is willing to buy in to. If the CNMI were to embark on such a process, there 

would not necessarily be a need for Congress to delay its effort to establish a framework for a new immigration system. We would suggest that Congress build sufficient flexibility into that framework, however, so that the CNMI’s vision for its future could be duly considered and, to the extent possible, accommodated when it is 

ready. 

Regardless of whether such a strategic planning process occurs or what it produces, we should recognize that the CNMI’s unique circumstances should be taken 

into account. By controlling its own immigration system, the CNMI enjoys a competitive access advantage—in other words, it has the ability to make it easier for 

certain classes of visitors to enter the CNMI than to enter the rest of the U.S. This 

competitive access advantage enabled the CNMI to reach out to other tourist markets after it lost a significant share of its Japanese market. It has also allowed the 

CNMI to consider legitimate economic opportunities that might arise from admitting 

students, retirees, investors and others who might not have easy access to the rest 

of the U.S. If the CNMI were to lose its competitive access advantage with respect 

to legitimate foreign visitors, it would significantly restrict the already limited range 

of options that the CNMI has to build a viable economy. 

As part of the bargain through which the CNMI currently retains the flexibility 

to control its own immigration system, the U.S. seeks to insulate itself from the impact of CNMI immigration decisions by maintaining a ‘‘second firewall’’ between the 

CNMI and the rest of the U.S. Aliens seeking admission to the CNMI must be processed and inspected through CNMI immigration procedures, which could be thought 

of as the ‘‘first firewall.’’ Admission to the CNMI confers no right of admission to 

the rest of the U.S. Aliens seeking to travel from the CNMI to the rest of the U.S. 

must apply separately for admission to the U.S., and all persons traveling from the 

CNMI to the rest of the U.S. are inspected as if they were arriving from a foreign 

country (the ‘‘second firewall’’). While DHS has statutory authority to inspect and 

determine the admissibility of aliens proceeding from all insular territories to the 

remainder of the United States, including those territories governed by U.S. immigration law, the ‘‘second firewall’’ authority is broader and more significant in the 

case of a territory like the CNMI which operates its own immigration system. 

Even under an immigration system administered by the Federal Government, the 

law could provide greater flexibility to admit foreign visitors to the CNMI than is 

currently allowed under the Immigration and Nationality Act. This greater flexibility could be justified by the fact that the CNMI’s economic viability is arguably 

dependent upon having it. As with the current system, the U.S. could seek to insulate itself from any impact to the rest of the U.S. from granting greater flexibility 

to the CNMI by maintaining the ‘‘second firewall’’ between the CNMI and the rest 

of the U.S. Under such a scenario, aliens entering the CNMI after qualifying for 

special visas or visa waivers would have to qualify separately for admission to the 

rest of the U.S., and all persons traveling from the CNMI to the rest of the U.S. 

would continue to be inspected as if they were arriving from a foreign country. 

We raise these ideas not as concrete proposals, but as discussion items that Congress, the Administration and the CNMI government could explore together. The 

underlying point here is that for the CNMI to build a viable new economy, it will 

likely need to remain readily accessible not only to a reasonable number of workers, 

but, more importantly, to customers such as tourists and students. Achieving this 

objective may require some degree of flexibility and creativity. 

The third principle is that we must ensure that the new CNMI economy is not 

as conducive to worker exploitation and abuse as was the old CNMI economy. Since 

the CNMI has a very limited indigenous labor pool, it is reasonable for its economy 

to rely to some degree on foreign workers. But the mistakes of the past must not 

be repeated, with a large class of politically powerless foreign employees populating 

34

the lower tier of a two-tier CNMI economy, regulated by a government without adequate resources to prevent exploitative practices. 

The fourth principle is that we should carefully analyze the likely impact of major 

proposals before we implement them. Just as we would not perform major surgery 

on a patient without first performing a detailed diagnosis and medical analysis, and 

just as we do not build even schools or hospitals without conducting an environmental analysis or impact study, neither should be attempt to perform major surgery on the CNMI’s economy and society without first analyzing the likely impact. 

Labeling our efforts as ‘‘reform’’ does not relieve us of the responsibility to carefully 

consider the potential consequences of our actions before we take them. This is especially true when we are dealing with an economy and society that is as fragile and 

potentially volatile as that of the CNMI. If we leap before we look, we could inadvertently and needlessly hurt people that we are trying to help. We should, however, 

be expeditious in our analysis, and not use the need to study as an excuse to delay. 

The people of the CNMI are eager to get on with their future. 

The fifth and final principle is that we must ensure that the people of the CNMI 

participate fully in decisions that will affect their future. A better future for the 

people of the CNMI cannot be imposed unilaterally from Washington, D.C., ignoring 

the insights, wisdom and aspirations of those to whom this future belongs. 

I was in Saipan last month as the President’s Special Representative for consultations with CNMI Governor Fitial under Section 902 of the U.S.-CNMI Covenant, 

and heard the Governor’s concerns about the effect that federalization might have 

on the CNMI’s precarious economic and fiscal condition. The Governor and I endorsed the five principles that are outlined in my testimony today, although we are 

still in dialogue about how those principles should be implemented. While in Saipan, 

I also took the opportunity to speak with as many community groups and ordinary 

people as I possibly could. There is a great diversity of opinion in the CNMI, but 

a shared sense of anxiety about what the Federal Government may or may not do 

and a shared desire for their voices to be heard here in Washington. The anxiety 

stems from the fact that Congress is developing policy that will profoundly affect 

a small corner of America that many of your colleagues in Congress know little 

about. The members of this Subcommittee, on the other hand, possess a great deal 

of knowledge about the CNMI. I commend you all for your commitment to learn as 

much as you can about what’s really happening in the CNMI today, to look beneath 

the negative, sensationalistic press reports to find the more complicated truth, and 

to listen to the diverse voices of the people of the CNMI. 

I commend this Subcommittee for its plan to hold a hearing in the CNMI, and 

hope that some of your colleagues less familiar with the CNMI will be able to attend. Once your colleagues get to know the people of these islands, it will be difficult 

for them not to care about the future facing the CNMI. 

I would like to make one more important point about the need for the CNMI to 

participate fully in decisions that will determine its future. Three years ago, I testified on behalf of the Bush Administration before the full Committee in favor of 

granting the CNMI a non-voting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. I 

testified about the many men and women from the Northern Mariana Islands who 

were fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan so that the people of each of those countries 

could have a democracy. 

Please allow me to pay tribute to the following sons of Saipan who have been 

killed in action in Iraq: 

• Army Sergeant Eddie Chen 

• Army Sergeant Wilgene Lieto 

• Army Specialist Derrence Jack 

• Army Sergeant Jesse Castro 

• Marine Lance Corporal Adam Quitugua Emul 

• Army Specialist Leeroy Camacho 

Please consider their sacrifices while we embrace the need to support the CNMI 

during a difficult time. The CNMI is prepared to be an active participant in our efforts to assist them in seeking a brighter future. Before considering legislation that 

would drastically change the lives of the people of the CNMI, we hope that Congress 

will consider granting them a seat at the table at which their fate will be decided. 

Thank you. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you, Mr. Cohen. The Committee now 

recognizes Ms. Franzel to testify for five minutes. 

35

STATEMENT OF JEANETTE FRANZEL, DIRECTOR, FINANCIAL 

MANAGEMENT AND ASSURANCE, U.S. GOVERNMENT 

ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 

Ms. FRANZEL. Thank you. Good morning, Madame Chairwoman 

and Members of the Subcommittee. 

I am pleased to be here today to discuss our recent work on 

issues impacting CNMI. My comments today will specifically focus 

on CNMI’s economic challenges, its weakened fiscal condition, and 

its financial accountability issues. 

We have updated information from our December 2006 report to 

include information for Fiscal Years 2005 and 2006, and I will also 

discuss some current trends being reported by the CNMI Government. 

Overall, as we have heard, CNMI is facing serious economic, fiscal, and accountability challenges, and the CNMI economy is going 

through a drastic transition. 

First I will discuss CNMI’s economic challenges. As we have 

heard, CNMI’s economy has been dependent on a narrow economic 

base, including garment manufacturing and tourism, and both of 

those industries have been in decline. Those economic factors have 

had a significant impact on the CNMI Government’s fiscal condition, which has steadily weakened since 2001. 

CNMI’s fund balance, which is basically the net worth of the government, went into a deficit or negative balance in 2002, and has 

steadily declined to a negative balance of $84 million in 2005. In 

order to finance its activities during that period where revenues 

were less than expenditures, CNMI has had to increase its debt 

and stop making required payments to its pension plan. And that 

is only through 2005. 2006 audited financial statements are not yet 

available; however, there are many indications that there has been 

a severe fiscal crisis in 2006, which continues today. 

In 2006, for instance, the CNMI implemented drastic cost-cutting 

and restructuring measures, including the austerity holidays that 

we have heard about in this hearing, as well as a suspension of 

payments to the pension plan which provides temporary cash relief. 

But in the long run, the hole just gets bigger. 

Based on unaudited data recently provided to us by CNMI’s Secretary of Finance, Mr. Inos, it appears that both revenues and expenditures for Fiscal Year 2006 drastically decreased from 2005 

levels, reflecting the decreased government activities and the austerity holidays. 

For the current fiscal year, even at that reduced level the government is currently becoming aware of and projecting additional 

shortfalls for 2007, and they are looking at some more across-theboard budget cuts for 2007. 

At this point I would like to issue a cautionary note. It is admirable that the government has been taking such drastic actions to 

try to balance its budget, but care is really needed. This is not a 

long-term solution. Care is needed to ensure that these types of 

emergency austerity measures and across-the-board cuts do not 

have long-term negative impacts, such as a weakened government 

infrastructure and an overall negative impact on citizens and the 

business climate. And so I do congratulate you for having this 

36

hearing today, because these are very important issues, and we 

seem to be reaching that point. 

Mr. Tenorio has recently requested some analysis from the CNMI 

Government on the effect of the austerity holidays on the Federal 

grant programs. For instance, if the Federal grant programs have 

been reduced, there may be some unintended reduction in Federal 

reimbursements simply because the Federal programs have also 

been reduced. And so that analysis is ongoing. At a time when local 

revenues are shrinking, the government really cannot afford to 

have the Federal reimbursements shrinking. 

Finally, I would like to briefly discuss CNMI’s accountability 

challenges. The Government of CNMI, even before this crisis, has 

had longstanding financial accountability problems, including the 

inability to achieve clean audit opinions on financial statements 

due to numerous issues with reporting, financial reporting and 

compliance. 

CNMI has made some progress, but really needs to get to a point 

where it can pass an audit where reliable financial information is 

readily available, especially for making decisions in difficult times 

like this. 

According to CNMI’s Secretary of Finance, the Fiscal Year 2006 

audit is proceeding well, and is anticipated to be submitted on time 

this year, by June 30 of 2007, which would represent a significant 

improvement over past history. And I will mention that for Fiscal 

Year 2005, they had made significant progress in that area, as 

well. So I am hoping that on the financial side, soon reliable, timely figures will be readily available. But we will have to wait and 

see when that comes in, and whether there is a clean financial 

audit opinion on those figures. 

Before concluding, I would like to just mention our recommendations from our December 2006 report. Our recommendations were 

addressed to Department of Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs, 

dealing with the role they play in helping CNMI and the other insular areas to attract potential investors and businesses. And those 

recommendations mainly focused around measuring the impact and 

monitoring the impact of those efforts. OIA did agree with our recommendations, and in fact has been taking steps already to address those recommendations. 

In summary, strong leadership and commitment will be needed 

to address CNMI’s serious economic, fiscal, and accountability challenges, and to achieve long-term stability and prosperity. The 

CNMI Government needs to continue to work toward sustainable 

solutions, and OIA, in response to our recent report, has expressed 

its commitment to working with CNMI toward that goal. 

In addition, I highly encourage the ongoing dialogue between 

Congress and CNMI officials to arrive at constructive and appropriate solutions for CNMI during this current economic and fiscal 

transition, and for the long term. 

Madame Chairwoman, this concludes my statement. I will be 

pleased to respond to any questions you or the Subcommittee Members have. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Franzel follows:]

37

1GAO, U.S. Insular Areas: Economic, Fiscal, and Financial Accountability Challenges, GAO07-119 (Washington, D.C.: Dec. 12, 2006). 2GAO, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands: Serious Economic, Fiscal, and Accountability Challenges, GAO-07-436T (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 8, 2007). 

Statement of Jeanette M. Franzel, Director, Financial Management and 

Assurance, U.S. Government Accountability Office 

Madam Chairwoman and Members of the Subcommittee: 

I am pleased to be here today to discuss the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands’ (CNMI) serious challenges in strengthening its economy, fiscal condition, and financial accountability. CNMI is a self-governing commonwealth of the 

United States that administers its own local government functions under its own 

constitution. CNMI consists of 14 islands in the North Pacific with a total land area 

about 2.5 times the size of Washington, D.C. In recent years, CNMI has experienced 

serious economic and fiscal challenges, and several indicators point to a fiscal crisis 

in Fiscal Year 2006. 

Today, I will highlight the recent economic trends in the CNMI economy, its 

weakening fiscal condition, and its financial accountability challenges. Our conclusions are based on work performed for our December 2006 report 1 on U.S. insular 

areas and our February 2007 testimony on CNMI before the Senate Committee on 

Energy and Natural Resources, 2 which was updated to include audited financial information through Fiscal Year 2005 and some recent developments in Fiscal 

Year 2006 based on information available as of February 2007. Today, we are also 

including additional information on CNMI’s Fiscal Year 2006 status recently provided to us by CNMI’s Secretary of Finance. We conducted our work in accordance 

with generally accepted government auditing standards. 

Summary 

The government of CNMI faces serious economic, fiscal, and financial accountability challenges. The government’s ability to strengthen CNMI’s economy has been 

constrained by CNMI’s lack of diversification in industries. CNMI’s economy is highly dependent on two industries: garment manufacturing and tourism. The garment 

manufacturing industry is facing the challenge of remaining internationally competitive against low-wage nations given recent changes in trade agreements. CNMI’s 

tourism sector experienced a sharp decline in the late 1990s, and a series of external 

events, such as unfavorable economic trends of nearby countries and changes in airline practices, have further hampered the sector. Both the garment and tourism industries employ noncitizen workers who are paid wages lower than the U.S. minimum wage. 

The fiscal condition of CNMI’s government steadily weakened from Fiscal 

Year 2001 through Fiscal Year 2005, the most recent year for which audited financial statements for CNMI are available. CNMI’s fund balance, which generally reflects the amount of resources available for current government operations, went 

into a deficit balance during Fiscal Year 2002 and continued to decline through the 

end of Fiscal Year 2005. CNMI has also shown significant declines and negative 

balances in its reported net assets, which is another measure of fiscal health. In 

order to finance its government activities in an environment where expenditures 

have exceeded revenues, CNMI has increased its debt. In addition, several indicators point to a severe fiscal crisis during Fiscal Year 2006. The CNMI government 

implemented several drastic cost-cutting and restructuring measures, including 

‘‘austerity holidays’’ consisting of biweekly furloughs, during which government 

workers are not paid and many government operations are closed to reduce personnel and operating costs during Fiscal Years 2006 and 2007. Based on unaudited 

data recently provided to us by CNMI’s Secretary of Finance, it appears that both 

revenues and expenditures for Fiscal Year 2006 have significantly decreased from 

Fiscal Year 2005 levels. 

The government of CNMI has long-standing financial accountability problems, including the inability to achieve unqualified (‘‘clean’’) audit opinions on its financial 

statements, and numerous, long-standing material weaknesses in internal control 

over financial reporting and compliance with laws and regulations governing federal 

grant awards. CNMI received $65.6 million in federal grants in Fiscal Year 2005, 

and its audited financial statements are used by federal agencies for overseeing and 

monitoring the use of federal grants. With CNMI’s continued inability to achieve 

clean opinions on its financial statements and the continuing material internal 

control weaknesses over financial reporting, there is limited accountability over its 

federal grants. Furthermore, the lack of timely and reliable financial information 

38

3OIA’s mission is to promote sound financial management processes, boost economic development, and increase the federal government’s responsiveness to the unique needs of the insular 

areas. 4The U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate recently passed H.R. 2, ‘‘Fair Minimum 

Wage Act of 2007’’ as well as H.R. 1591, ‘‘U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans’ Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007’’ either of which, if enacted, would make 

the federal minimum wage provisions applicable to the CNMI with a phased-in implementation. 5GAO, U.S.-China Trade: Textile Safeguard Procedures Should Be Improved, GAO-05-296 

(Washington, D.C.: Apr. 4, 2005). 

hampers CNMI’s ability to monitor programs and the reliability of financial information, such as revenues and expenditures, in order to make informed decisions. 

The U.S. Department of the Interior ‘‘s Office of Insular Affairs 3 (OIA) has ongoing efforts to support economic development in CNMI and assist CNMI in addressing its accountability issues. A focused effort is called for where direct and targeted 

attention is concentrated on the challenges facing CNMI to help CNMI achieve economic and fiscal stability. OIA plays a key role in this effort by helping CNMI and 

the other insular areas improve their business climates, identify areas of potential 

for private sector investment, and market insular areas to potential investors. In 

response to our recent report, OIA expressed its commitments to continuing its comprehensive approach and to implementing other innovative ideas to assist CNMI 

and the other insular areas to continue to improve financial management and accountability and to support economic development. 

Narrow Economic Base and Intrinsic and External Factors Limit Economic 

Progress in CNMI 

Several factors constrain CNMI’s economic potential, including the lack of diversification, scarce natural resources, small domestic markets, limited infrastructure, 

and shortages of skilled labor. The United States exercises sovereignty over CNMI, 

and in general, federal laws apply to CNMI. However, federal minimum wage provisions and federal immigration laws do not apply. 4 CNMI immigration policies and 

the demands for labor by the garment manufacturing industry and tourism sector 

have resulted in rapid population growth since 1980 such that the majority of the 

population are non-U.S. citizens. (See attachment I.) According to U.S. Census Bureau data for 2000, the most recent census data available, about 56 percent of the 

CNMI population of 69,221 were not U.S. citizens. 

According to U.S. Census Bureau data for 2000, the median household income in CNMI was $22,898, a little more than half of the U.S. median household income 

of almost $42,000 for 2000. The percentage of individuals in poverty in 2000 was 

46 percent, nearly four times the continental U.S. rate of 12 percent in that same 

year. 

CNMI’s economy depends on two industries, garment manufacturing and tourism, 

for its employment, production, and exports. These two industries rely heavily on 

a noncitizen workforce. This workforce represents more than three quarters of the 

labor pool that are subject to the CNMI minimum wage, which is lower than the 

U.S. minimum wage. However, recent changes in trade laws have increased foreign 

competition for CNMI’s garment industry, while other external events have negatively impacted its tourism sector. 

Decline in Garment Industry Tied to Trade Law Changes 

Recent developments in international trade laws have reduced CNMI’s trade advantages, and the garment industry has declined in recent years. Historically, while 

garment exporters from other countries faced quotas and duties in shipping to the 

U.S. market, CNMI’s garment industry benefited from quota-free and duty-free access to U.S. markets for shipments of certain goods in which 50 percent of the value 

was added in CNMI. In recent years, however, U.S. agreements with other textileproducing countries have liberalized the textile and apparel trade. For example, in 

January 2005, in accordance with one of the 1994 World Trade Organization (WTO) 

Uruguay Round agreements, the United States eliminated quotas on textile and apparel imports from other textile-producing countries, leaving CNMI’s apparel industry to operate under stiffer competition, especially from low-wage countries such as 

China. 5 According to a DOI official, more than 3,800 garment jobs were lost between April 2004 and the end of July 2006, with 10 out of 27 garment factories closing. U.S. Department of Commerce data show that the value of CNMI shipments 

of garments to the United States dropped by more than 16 percent between 2004 

and 2005, from about $807 million to $677 million, and down from a peak of $1 billion in 1998-2000. In 2006, reported garment exports to the United States fell further, by 27 percent compared to 2005, with exports declining to $495 million. The 

reported level of shipments to the United States in 2006 was comparable to levels 

39

6The net asset amount at September 30, 2005, when compared to the fund balance amount 

as of the same date, includes an additional positive balance of $46 million resulting from capital 

and deferred assets of approximately $180.8 million less long-term liabilities of $134.8 million. 

of sales in 1995-1996, prior to the significant build-up of the industry. (See attachment II.) In December 2006, the largest and oldest garment factory closed. Given 

that the garment industry is significant to CNMI’s economy, these developments 

will likely have a negative financial effect on government revenue. For example, reported fees collected by the government on garment exports fell 37 percent from 

$38.6 million in 2000 to $24.4 million in 2005. 

External Events Affect Tourism 

CNMI’s tourism sector experienced a sharp decline in the late 1990s, and a series 

of external events have further hampered the sector. Tourism became a significant 

sector of economic activity in CNMI by the mid-1980s and continued to grow into 

the 1990s. According to the Marianas Visitors Authority, the number of visitors 

reached about 736,000 visitors in 1996 then sharply declined in 1998 and has not 

recovered since then. The Marianas Visitors Authority reported 435,500 visitors in 

2006. The reported visitor arrivals in 2006 were 59 percent of the peak level in 

1996. 

Due to its proximity to Asia, Asian economic trends and other events have a direct 

effect on CNMI’s economy. For example, the Asian financial crisis and the cancellation of Korean Air service to CNMI following an airplane crash on Guam in August 

1997 contributed to the decline. Visitors from Korea, the second largest source of 

tourists, decreased by 85 percent from 1996 to 1998. After a modest recovery in 

2000, tourism faltered again with the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the 

United States. In 2003, according to CNMI officials, tourism slowed—with a doubledigit decline in arrivals for several months—in reaction to the SARS epidemic and 

to the war in Iraq. 

Tourism in CNMI is also subject to changes in airline practices. For example, 

Japan Airlines (JAL) withdrew its direct flights between Tokyo and Saipan in October 2005, raising concerns because roughly 30 percent of all tourists and 40 percent 

of Japanese tourists arrive in CNMI on JAL flights, according to CNMI and DOI 

officials. The Marianas Visitors Authority’s June 2006 data show that the downward 

trend in Japanese arrivals is not being offset by the growth in arrivals from other 

markets such as China and South Korea. At the same time, CNMI has experienced 

an increase in Chinese tourists in recent years, which offers the potential to rebuild 

the industry. 

CNMI’s Reported Fiscal Condition Continues to Weaken 

The fiscal condition of CNMI’s government steadily weakened from Fiscal 

Year 2001 through Fiscal Year 2005, the most recent year for which audited financial statements for CNMI are available. In addition, several indicators point to a severe financial crisis in Fiscal Year 2006. CNMI’s reported governmental fund balance declined from a positive $3.5 million at the beginning of Fiscal Year 2001 to 

a deficit of $84.1 million by the end of Fiscal Year 2005, as CNMI’s expenditures 

for its governmental activities consistently exceeded revenues in each year since 

Fiscal Year 2002. (See attachment III.) Most of CNMI’s governmental activities, 

which include basic services such as public safety, health care, general administration, streets and parks, and security and safety, are reported in its governmental 

activities, or government funds. The fund balance (or deficit) for these activities reflects the amount of funds available at the end of the year for spending. A significant contributing factor to the gap between expenditures and revenues is that actual 

expenditures exceeded budgeted expenditures for each fiscal year during the period 

2001 through 2005. 

Another measure of fiscal health is the measure of net assets for governmental 

activities, which represents total assets minus total liabilities. The primary difference between the fund balance measure and net assets is that the net assets include capital assets and long-term liabilities, whereas the fund balance figure focuses on assets available for current period expenditures and liabilities that are due 

and payable in the current period. CNMI has experienced a negative trend in its 

balance of net assets for governmental activities, going from a reported positive 

$40.6 million balance at the end of Fiscal Year 2001 to a negative $38 million balance 6 at the end of Fiscal Year 2005. (See attachment IV.) 

In order to finance its government activities in an environment where expenditures have exceeded revenues, CNMI has increased its debt and has not made the 

required contributions to its retirement fund. CNMI’s reported balance of notes and 

bonds payable increased from $83 million in Fiscal Year 2002 to $113 million in 

40

7 31 U.S.C. Chp. 75. 

Fiscal Year 2005, representing an increase of 36 percent. CNMI’s balance owed to 

its pension fund increased from $72 million in 2002 to $120 million in 2005, representing an increase of 67 percent. CNMI has also been incurring penalties on the 

unpaid liabilities to the pension fund. The total amount of assessed penalties was 

$24 million as of September 30, 2005. 

Although CNMI’s audited Fiscal Year 2006 financial statements are not yet available, indicators point to a severe fiscal crisis during Fiscal Year 2006. In a May 5, 

2006, letter to CNMI legislative leaders, Governor Benigno R. Fitial stated that ‘‘the 

Commonwealth is facing an unsustainable economic emergency...I regret to say that 

the nature and extent of these financial problems are such that there is no simple 

or painless solution.’’ CNMI implemented several significant cost-cutting and restructuring measures during Fiscal Year 2006. For instance, in August 2006, CNMI 

enacted its Public Law No. 15-24 to implement ‘‘austerity holidays’’ consisting of biweekly furloughs, during which government employees are not paid and many government operations are closed. This measure was taken to help alleviate the financial crisis by saving millions of dollars in both personnel and operational costs. The 

measure declared one unpaid holiday per pay period for the remainder of Fiscal 

Years 2006 and 2007, reducing the government’s normal pay period to 72 hours 

every 2 weeks. In June of 2006, CNMI enacted Public Law No. 15-15 to authorize 

the CNMI government to suspend the government’s employer contributions to the 

retirement fund for the remainder of Fiscal Years 2006 and 2007. In addition, 

CNMI has passed laws to restructure loans among its component units, reform the 

rate of compensation for members of boards and commissions, increase the governor’s authority to reprogram funds, and extend the date for full funding of the retirement fund’s defined benefit plan—the unfunded pension liability was estimated 

at $552,042,142 as of October 1, 2004. CNMI has also created a defined contribution 

retirement plan for government employees hired on or after January 1, 2007. These 

measures are immediate and dramatic, and are indicative of severe financial problems that will likely call for long-term solutions. 

Based on unaudited data recently provided to us by CNMI’s Secretary of Finance, 

it appears that both revenues and expenditures for Fiscal Year 2006 have significantly decreased from Fiscal Year 2005 levels. The significant decline in revenues 

is likely due to declines in the garment manufacturing and tourism industries. Although these unaudited data are showing a balanced budget for the year with no 

significant changes to the cumulative deficit balance, these data are unaudited and 

could change due to adjustments identified in the audit process. 

CNMI’s Financial Accountability Remains Weak 

CNMI has had long-standing financial accountability problems, including the late 

issuance of its single audit reports, the inability to achieve unqualified (‘‘clean’’) 

audit opinions on its financial statements, and numerous material weaknesses in internal controls over financial operations and compliance with laws and regulations 

governing federal grant awards. 

CNMI’s Compliance with Single Audit Requirements 

As a nonfederal entity expending more than $500,000 a year in federal awards, 

CNMI is required to submit a single audit report each year to comply with the Single Audit Act, as amended. 7 Single audits are audits of the recipient organization—

the government in the case of CNMI—that focus on the recipient’s financial statements, internal controls, and compliance with laws and regulations governing federal grants. Single audits provide key information about the federal grantee’s financial management and reporting and are an important control used by federal agencies for overseeing and monitoring the use of federal grants. 

For fiscal years 1997 through 2005, CNMI did not submit its single audit reports 

by the due date, which is generally no later than 9 months after the fiscal year end. 

CNMI’s single audit submissions were significantly late for fiscal years 1997 

through 2004, ranging from 22 months late for Fiscal Year 2004 to 2 months late 

for Fiscal Year 1998. CNMI’s late submission of single audit reports means that the 

federal agencies overseeing federal grants to CNMI did not have current audited information about CNMI’s use of federal grant funds. CNMI made significant progress 

in 2005 by submitting its Fiscal Year 2005 single audit report less than 1 month 

late. According to CNMI’s Secretary of Finance, the Fiscal Year 2006 single audit 

is progressing well and it is anticipated that the single audit report will be submitted to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse on time, by June 30, 2007. 

41

CNMI Unable to Achieve ‘‘Clean’’ Audit Opinions Due to Persistent, Significant 

Weaknesses 

The CNMI government has been unable to achieve unqualified (‘‘clean’’) audit 

opinions on its financial statements, receiving qualified opinions on the financial 

statements issued for fiscal years 1997 through 2005. Auditors render a qualified 

opinion when they identify one or more specific matters that affect the fair presentation of the financial statements. The effect of the auditors’ qualified opinion can 

be significant enough to reduce the usefulness and reliability of CNMI’s financial 

statements. 

CNMI has made some progress in addressing the matters that resulted in the 

qualified opinions on its financial statements for Fiscal Years 2001 through 2003. 

However, some of the issues continued to exist in 2004 and 2005. The auditors identified the following issues in Fiscal Year 2005 that resulted in the most recent 

qualified audit opinion: (1) inadequacies in the accounting records regarding taxes 

receivable, advances, accounts payable, tax rebates payable, other liabilities and accruals, and the reserve for continuing appropriations; (2) inadequacies in accounting 

records and internal controls regarding the capital assets of the Northern Marianas 

College; and (3) the lack of audited financial statements for the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation, which represents a significant component unit of CNMI. 

Auditors for CNMI rendered qualified opinions on CNMI’s compliance with the requirements for major federal award programs from 1997 through 2005. In Fiscal 

Year 2005, the auditors cited noncompliance in the areas of allowable costs, cash 

management, eligibility, property management, procurement, and other requirements. 

CNMI’s Secretary of Finance told us that he expects that the single audit report 

for Fiscal Year 2006 will show improvement from the 2005 reporting in the area 

of qualifications to the audit opinion. 

Weaknesses over Financial Reporting and Compliance with Requirements for Major 

Federal Programs 

CNMI has long-standing and significant internal control weaknesses over financial reporting and compliance with requirements for federal grants. Table 1 shows 

the number of material weaknesses and reportable conditions for CNMI for Fiscal 

Years 2001 through 2005. The large number and the significance of reported internal control weaknesses raise serious questions about the integrity and reliability of 

CNMI’s financial statements and its compliance with requirements of major federal 

programs. Furthermore, the lack of reliable financial information hampers CNMI’s 

ability to monitor programs and financial information such as revenues and expenses and to make timely, informed decisions.

CNMI’s 13 internal control reportable conditions for Fiscal Year 2005, 9 of which 

were material weaknesses, indicate a lack of sound internal control over financial 

reporting needed to provide adequate assurance that transactions are properly recorded, assets are properly safeguarded, and controls are adequate to prevent or detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. For example, one of the material inVerDate 0ct 09 2002 08:34 Sep 12, 2007 Jkt 098700 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 L:\DOCS\34824.TXT Hresour1 PsN: KATHY

34824.004.eps
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8GAO-07-119. 

ternal control weaknesses that the auditors reported for CNMI’s government for 

Fiscal Year 2005 was the lack of audited Fiscal Year 2005 financial statements of 

the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation (Corporation), a significant component unit 

of CNMI. Because the Corporation’s financial statements were unaudited, the auditors could not determine the propriety of account balances presented in the financial 

statements that would affect CNMI’s basic financial statements. CNMI’s auditors 

also reported other significant material internal control weaknesses that have continued from previous years, such as improper tracking and lack of support for advances to vendors, travel advances to employees, liabilities recorded in the General 

Fund, and tax rebates payable. Due to the lack of detailed subsidiary ledgers and 

other supporting evidence, the auditors could not determine the propriety of these 

account balances. According to the auditors, the effect of these weaknesses is a possible misstatement of expenditures and related advances and liabilities, which also 

resulted in a qualification of the opinion on the Fiscal Year 2005 CNMI financial 

statements. Consequently, CNMI’s financial statements may not be reliable. 

As shown in table 1, auditors also reported 38 reportable conditions in CNMI’s 

compliance with requirements for major federal programs and the internal controls 

intended to ensure compliance with these requirements for Fiscal Year 2005, 2 of 

which were material weaknesses. One of the material internal control weaknesses 

affecting compliance with federal programs related to the failure to record expenditures for the Medical Assistance Program when they were incurred. Specifically, the 

auditors identified expenditures in Fiscal Year 2005 for billings from service providers for services rendered in previous years. The effect of this weakness is that 

expenditures reported to the grantor agency, the U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services, are based on the paid date and not, as required, the service date. 

In addition, actual expenditures incurred during the year are not properly recorded 

and, therefore, current year expenditures and unrecorded liabilities are understated. 

The other material weakness affecting compliance related to the lack of adherence 

to established policies and procedures for managing and tracking property and 

equipment purchased with federal grant funds. As a result, CNMI’s government was 

not in compliance with federal property standards and its own property management policies and procedures. The other 36 reportable conditions concerned compliance with requirements regarding allowable costs; cash management; eligibility; 

equipment and property management; matching, level of effort, and earmarking; 

procurement and suspensions and debarment; reporting; subrecipient monitoring; 

and special tests and provisions that are applicable to CNMI’s major federal programs. 

Efforts to Assist CNMI in Its Economic and Accountability Challenges 

OIA has ongoing efforts to support economic development in CNMI and assist 

CNMI in addressing its accountability issues. OIA has in the last 3 years sponsored 

conferences in the United States and business-opportunity missions in the insular 

areas to attract American businesses to the insular areas. 

OIA’s efforts in helping to create links between the business communities in the 

United States and CNMI are key to helping meet some of the economic challenges. 

In our December 2006 report, 8 we concluded that the insular areas would benefit 

from formal periodic OIA evaluation of its conferences and business-opportunity 

missions, including assessments of the cost and benefit of its activities and the extent to which these efforts are creating partnerships with businesses in other nations. We recommended that OIA conduct such formal and periodic evaluations to 

assess the effect of these activities on creating private sector jobs and increasing insular area income. OIA agreed with our recommendation. 

To promote sound financial management processes in the insular area government, OIA has increased its focus on bringing the CNMI government into compliance with the Single Audit Act. For example, OIA created an incentive for CNMI 

to comply with the act by stating that an insular area cannot receive capital funding 

unless its government is in compliance with the act or has presented a plan, approved by OIA, that is designed to bring the government into compliance by a certain date. In addition, OIA provides general technical assistance funds for training 

and other direct assistance, such as grants, to help the insular area governments 

comply with the act and to improve their financial management systems and environments. 

DOI’s OIA and IG, other federal inspectors general, and local auditing authorities 

assist or oversee CNMI’s efforts to improve its financial accountability. OIA monitors the progress of completion and issuance of the single audit reports as well as 

providing general technical assistance funds to provide training for insular area emVerDate 0ct 09 2002 08:34 Sep 12, 2007 Jkt 098700 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 L:\DOCS\34824.TXT Hresour1 PsN: KATHY
43

9GA0-07-119. 

ployees and funds to enhance financial management systems and processes. DOI’s 

IG has audit oversight responsibilities for federal funds in the insular area. 

OIA staff members make site visits to CNMI as part of OIA’s oversight activities. 

In our December 2006 report, 9 we recommended that OIA develop a standardized 

framework for its site visits to improve the effectiveness of its monitoring. We also 

recommended that OIA develop and implement procedures for formal evaluation of 

progress made by the insular areas to resolve accountability findings and set a time 

frame for achieving clean audit opinions. OIA agreed with our recommendations and 

noted that it had already made some progress during Fiscal Year 2006. 

Conclusions 

CNMI faces daunting economic, fiscal, and financial accountability challenges. 

CNMI’s economic and fiscal conditions are affected by its economy’s general dependence on two key industries, which have experienced significant declines in recent 

years. In addition, although progress has been made in improving financial accountability, CNMI continues to have serious internal control and accountability problems 

that increase its risk of fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. 

Efforts to meet formidable fiscal challenges in CNMI are exacerbated by delayed 

and incomplete financial reporting that does not provide officials with the timely 

and complete information they need for effective decision making. Timely and reliable financial information is especially important as CNMI continues to take actions 

to deal with its fiscal crisis. 

OIA has ongoing efforts to assist CNMI in addressing its accountability issues and 

to support economic development in CNMI. OIA officials monitor CNMI’s progress 

in submitting single audit reports, and OIA provides funding to improve financial 

management. Yet, progress has been slow and inconsistent. The benefit to CNMI 

of past and current assistance is unclear. Federal agencies and CNMI have sponsored and participated in conferences, training sessions, and other programs to improve accountability, but knowing what has and has not been effective and drawing 

the right lessons from this experience is hampered by a lack of formal evaluation 

and data collection. 

Strong leadership is needed for CNMI to weather its current crisis and establish 

a sustainable and prosperous path for the future. During 2006, the CNMI government took dramatic steps to reverse prior patterns of deficit spending. The CNMI 

government will need to continue to work toward long-term sustainable solutions. 

A focused effort is called for in which direct and targeted attention is concentrated 

on the challenges facing CNMI, with feedback mechanisms for continuing improvement to help CNMI achieve economic, fiscal, and financial stability. OIA plays a key 

role in this effort. In its comments on our December 2006 report, OIA pointed out 

that it provides ‘‘a crucial leadership role and can provide important technical assistance’’ to help CNMI and the other insular areas improve their business climates, 

identify areas of potential for private sector investment, and market insular areas 

to potential investors. It also noted that improving accountability for federal financial assistance for CNMI and other insular areas is a major priority. OIA has stated 

its commitment to continuing its comprehensive approach and to implementing 

other innovative ideas to assist CNMI and the other insular areas in continuing to 

improve financial management and accountability. Leadership on the part of the 

CNMI government and OIA is critical to addressing the challenges CNMI faces and 

to providing long-term stability and prosperity for this insular area. 

Madam Chairwoman and Members of the Subcommittee, this concludes my statement. I would be pleased to answer any questions that you and other Members of 

the Subcommittee may have at this time.

44


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46

Note 1: Financial data reflect CNMI’s financial statements for its governmental 

activities, which include most of CNMI’s basic services. These financial data do not 

include CNMI’s component units, which are legally separate but related to CNMI. 

These financial data also do not include CNMI’s fiduciary funds, because those 

funds cannot be used to finance CNMI operations. 

Note 2: CNMI’s audited financial statements received qualified opinions from its 

external auditors and, therefore, these amounts are subject to the limitations cited 

by the auditors in their opinions and to the material internal control weaknesses 

identified. aOther financing includes transfers in and out of other funds. 

bGovernmental funds finance most of the basic services provided by the government. cThe end-of-year fund balance for the prior fiscal year may not agree with the beginning-of-year fund balance for the succeeding fiscal year due to amounts being restated in subsequent financial statements. We could not readily identify explanations for these restatements because comparative information was not always 

available or disclosures were not made in subsequent financial statements. dNet assets are capital assets and other assets, such as cash and receivables, less 

liabilities. eThe amount reported is the restated amount from the 2003 single audit report, 

corrected because of excluded and misstated amounts. f

GDP estimates are not available for 2001, 2003, 2004, and 2005. 

Attachment V 

GAO Contacts 

For further information about this testimony, please contact Jeanette Franzel, Director, Financial Management and Assurance at (202) 512-9471 or 

FranzelJ@gao.gov, or David Gootnick, Director, International Affairs and Trade at 

(202) 512-4128 or GootnickD@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this testimony. 

The following individuals made important contributions to this report: Norma Samuel, Emil Friberg, Jr., James Wozny, Sandra Silzer, Nicole McGuire, Meg Mills, and 

Seyda Wentworth. 

Congressional Relations 

Gloria Jarmon, Managing Director, JarmonG@gao.gov (202) 512-4400, U.S. Government Accountability Office, 441 G Street NW, Room 7125, Washington, D.C. 

20548. 

Public Affairs 

Paul Anderson, Managing Director, AndersonP1@gao.gov (202) 512-4800, U.S. 

Government Accountability Office, 441 G Street NW, Room 7149, Washington, D.C. 

20548. 

[NOTE: The GAO report ‘‘U.S. Insular Areas: Economic, 

Fiscal, and Financial Accountability Challenges,’’ GAO-07-

119 (Washington, D.C.: Dec. 12, 2006), submitted for the 

record has been retained in the Committee’s official files.] 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you, Ms. Franzel. I guess I will begin 

with you, since you just finished your testimony. 

I, too, was impressed with the fact that the CNMI really took 

some strong measures to bring their budget into balance, as painful 

as it was and it continues to be. But it shows their commitment 

to try to do the best they can. 

But they have grown, the population has grown to now 70,000, 

of which 56 percent is the foreign workers. Do you think that they 

can get out of this crisis without repatriating a large number of 

those workers? 

Ms. FRANZEL. Certainly, if you look at the population figures—

and we do have a chart in the written statement that shows the 

drastic growth in those figures—many of those residents came to 

work in the apparel industry. And so now that that industry is 

47

shrinking, of course the question becomes what happens to those 

folks. 

I think what is really called for here is a comprehensive type of 

package. And so this would be one very important factor. But really 

a comprehensive multi-faceted plan. And I am assuming that in the 

framework that Mr. Cohen talked about, maybe he can elaborate, 

you know, that many of these factors would be taken into account. 

But you do have the population question. You have got the economic industry question, how can certain areas be grown. The government services question, the solvency question. Multi-faceted 

issues here that need to be addressed. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you. Mr. Cohen, let me follow up, because you did suggest a strategic plan or something—I may not be 

using the exact term. And I know that under your leadership, you 

had hired Dr. Waliosman, the economist formerly with the Bank of 

Hawaii. You have had the Summer Fellows Program offered to 

graduate students from schools of business the opportunity to 

study and to do some research, and to report back to us. 

With all of these resources, have they been able to report back 

to you on some of the better prospects for economic development in 

this new environment, or identified the areas where tourism might 

focus to bring back that industry into the CNMI, or any other outcomes from that research? 

Mr. COHEN. Madame Chairwoman, we have identified a number 

of areas that hopefully show some promise. There are no big surprises; we didn’t come up with any revelatory magic bullets. But 

a lot of the areas that people have talked about are areas that are 

worth looking at. 

Certainly tourism, you know, they have traditionally relied primarily on tourism from Japan. And there are a lot of constraints 

that are beyond their control that have affected tourism from 

Japan in a negative way, including just the reduction in service 

from Japan for reasons that go beyond the desirability of the CNMI 

as a destination. It continues to be a very desirable destination. 

But they have looked at diversified tourism to South Korea. They 

are getting charters now from Taiwan. They are getting charters 

now from Russia. And as the Resident Representative pointed out, 

the tourists from Russia tend to stay longer and spend more 

money, according to the visitor authority’s statistics. 

And as the Resident Representative pointed out, they are the 

only jurisdiction in the United States that has approved destination status from the Peoples Republic of China. Now, being able to 

fully capitalize on that might present a number of challenges that 

we can discuss in greater detail. But there are opportunities, and 

there is indeed an imperative to diversify the tourism sector. 

People have looked at whether there is a potential for education 

as a business to offer, you know, revenues for the CNMI. And that 

continues to be a possibility. There currently isn’t the infrastructure in the CNMI in the educational infrastructure to support that 

fully, and that really depends on the CNMI’s continuing to have a 

competitive advantage over the rest of the U.S. in terms of access. 

Because if it is just as hard for a student with an F-1 visa, for example, to get into the CNMI as it is for such a student to get into 

48

anywhere else in the United States, it would be very difficult for 

the CNMI to compete in that industry. 

But nonetheless, there is a high demand for certifications, you 

know, of various types. Nursing exams have been given in the 

CNMI, but now they are being given in Manila, as well, so the 

promise—there continues to be promise there, but there are also 

challenges. 

There are opportunities, I think the Resident Representative 

mentioned, in the northern islands. There are deposits of a very 

valuable mineral called pozzolan, which some investors have expressed interest in trying to harvest. There are some opportunities 

we have identified in aquaculture, in specialty agriculture, undersea resources, as the Resident Representative has mentioned. 

There are a number of things that we have identified, but a lot of 

them will require a good deal of planning and effort, and also supporting infrastructure, to properly realize, and a stable legal environment, so that potential investors know what they are getting 

into. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you. Mr. Fortun ̃ o, I recognize you for 

your questions. 

Mr. FORTUN ̃ O. Thank you again, Madame Chairwoman. And 

thank you to the members of the panel for being here this morning 

with us. 

You probably were here when I was asking Mr. Tenorio for any 

economic data that he may have, and actually I pass that along to 

both of you, as well. If you think there is any economic data, starting from the date of the compact until today, that may be useful 

for the Committee to understand the whole situation, we will appreciate getting it from both of you, as well. 

I have a question to begin with for Mr. Cohen. We are talking 

about the Federalization of the immigration policies. We have been 

discussing here today minimum wage legislation. 

I am starting to get a sense that perhaps the pendulum in terms 

of this relationship, that moved away from territorial status to a 

free association, may be going back. Could you expand on that? 

Mr. COHEN. Sure. Thank you, Mr. Fortun ̃ o. I guess historically, 

when the CNMI, before it was the CNMI, when the Northern Mariana Islands was part of the trust territory of the Pacific Islands, 

you know, the different island communities in the trust territory, 

had different views of how they wanted, how they envisioned their 

future. 

So three parts of that old trust territory opted for free association, and now we have the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the 

Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau. And the 

Northern Mariana Islands is the only island chain in the old trust 

territory that opted to join the United States through the covenant 

as a commonwealth. 

So I am not sure if it is accurate to say the pendulum is swinging, although you could certainly——

Mr. FORTUN ̃ O. If I may, there is no spillover to the other territories that compose the whole number of islands of this economic 

situation at all? There has been none? 

Mr. COHEN. Well, that is a very good question. I mean, there is 

an impact, because the economies of the different islands, 

49

especially in Micronesia, are linked. They are certainly linked 

when there are negative impacts in, you know, the Federated 

States of Micronesia, for example. It results in migration to places 

like Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. 

And then also migration from Saipan to Guam and elsewhere in 

the United States when, as now, the economy is doing poorly. 

But the CNMI situation is fairly unique, because it is part of the 

United States of America. Under the covenant it was given the opportunity to control its own immigration and set minimum wage. 

Congress reserved the right to reimpose that at such time and in 

such manner as it chose. 

I don’t agree with the observations of those who said that this 

was inevitable, and it was merely postponed because the trust territory was still in effect. I think a reading of the history shows that 

that observation is actually not correct. 

But what is correct is that Congress has the authority at any 

time it wants to impose immigration control and apply Federal 

minimum wage law to the CNMI. And I think the pendulum is 

swinging in that direction. And indeed, now that that issue has 

been raised, now that we have had both Houses of Congress pass 

minimum wage Federalization legislation, and now that there is active discussion of Federalizing immigration, I would suggest that it 

is very important that these issues be handled with great care and 

thought, and also expeditiously. 

Because, as the Resident Representative pointed out, as long as 

we have this cloud of uncertainty hanging over the CNMI, and potential investors don’t know what the rules are going to be, and 

hence, they don’t know whether they want to commit resources to 

the CNMI, it has a chilling effect on the economy at precisely the 

wrong time. 

When I was in the CNMI last month, I was told that as a result 

of our most recent conference in Honolulu, the Secretary’s Conference on Business Opportunities in the Islands, that there were 

at least 12 potential investors—this is according to the knowledge 

of only one person that was dealing with these companies—that 

were interested in investing in the CNMI, but wanted to know 

what the rules of the game were going to be. 

So I would urge us all to work together to resolve these issues 

as expeditiously and as thoughtfully as we can. 

Mr. FORTUN ̃ O. Thank you. My time is up, so I yield back. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. We should have another round I think, 

though. Ms. Bordallo, you are recognized. 

Ms. BORDALLO. Thank you. Thank you very much, Madame 

Chairman. I have one question for Mr. Cohen. 

What is the Administration’s current position on the application 

of the Immigration and Nationality Act to the CNMI? And can you 

enlighten us on any evolution in the Administration’s position on 

the Federalization of immigration in the CNMI since 2001, when 

the Senate considered in past legislation sponsored by Senators 

Murkowski and Akaka? 

Please clarify for us what the Administration’s position was at 

that time on the legislation, and what it is today on the same principles and objectives put forward in that legislation, given the 

events that have transpired since the Senate passed that bill. 

50

Mr. COHEN. Thank you, Congresswoman Bordallo. In 2001, the 

Administration expressed its strong support for the MurkowskiAkaka Bill that passed the Senate. That was through the Justice 

Department, but it was cleared through the Administration, so that 

was an Administration position strongly in support of that legislation to Federalize immigration in the CNMI, and, as you have said, 

apply the Immigration and Nationality Act to the CNMI. 

We were asked last year whether that was still our position, and 

our interim response was that a lot has changed since then. So we 

would like to consider this carefully in light of all the developments 

that have occurred since then, including the changing state of the 

economy, including progress that has been made in terms of protecting the rights of workers, and challenges that have arisen since 

then in terms of protecting the rights of workers, and all of the 

other factors that go into this mix. 

The current position of the Administration is that we are willing 

to work with Congress on this concept called flexible Federalization. We were given a drafting service by the Senate Committee on 

Energy and Natural Resources, and we are working very closely 

with our colleagues on the Senate side to draft legislation. 

When we present our product to the Senate, it will not carry 

with it at that time the endorsement of the Administration. But 

then we will work within the Administration to formulate a position. 

So the Administration will take a position on specific legislation 

when that legislation is ready, and we are working with the Congress to develop that legislation. But we are going to wait until the 

legislation is in place. 

Ms. BORDALLO. Thank you. Thank you, Secretary Cohen. A report originating within DOJ written after 9/11 spoke of security 

and border concerns that stem from the CNMI’s local control of immigration. And also, the Subcommittee staff recently had briefings 

in Guam with the Naval and the Air Force bases, where both commanders confirmed that CNMI’s local control over immigration 

caused a security concern, especially considering the plans for increased military presence and relocation of assets in the region. 

Given this track record of concern, would you agree that, absent 

a Federal presence at CNMI’s ports of entry, the security risk that 

has been expressed will continue to be a concern in the Marianas 

region? 

Mr. COHEN. We would agree that a Federal presence at the 

CNMI’s ports of entry could be very beneficial in helping to address 

these security concerns, and it would give the Federal government 

a much greater degree of confidence that these concerns are being 

addressed. 

Ms. BORDALLO. One followup, if I could, Madame Chairman. I 

just want you to know that with the enhancement of the military, 

the big movement to Guam, the CNMI, especially Saipan, will be 

considered as a training area. So I want to allay the fears of Representative Tenorio. I know he has been questioning me on that. 

But that for sure I know, that they are considering CNMI as a 

training area. 

I have one other question for you, Mr. Cohen. It is on a different 

topic. Does the government, the CNMI Government, enter into an 

51

MOU or something like that with the garment factories as to how 

they treat their workers upon closing? Such as severance pay or return airline tickets. 

I know that right now you currently have 13 factories still in existence, and two are supposed to close. Recently one of the largest 

factories closed, with 900 factory workers. What has happened to 

them? Are they leaving the island? Are they going elsewhere illegally? 

Mr. COHEN. Thank you, Congresswoman. I am going to start to 

answer the question, but also, since you have mentioned the arrangements that the government has had, you know, to address 

garment factory closures, I am going to also get the insights from 

someone who was directly involved in the discussions that helped 

formulate that policy, Mr. Benedetto. 

But actually, the number of garment factories is always a moving 

target because when larger garment factories close down, often others spring up that are smaller, perhaps operating much closer to 

the margin and much closer to the edge of what we would like to 

think of as best practice. 

So that is always a moving target. So there may be more than 

13 at this point, but still, employment in the garment industry is 

rapidly declining. 

The CNMI has devoted a great deal of thought to how it will deal 

with major closures. And since Jim Benedetto was very actively involved in working up an agreement with the government and other 

interested parties in how to address this, if I could call on him to 

give you some more insights on that. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. No objection. 

Mr. BENEDETTO. Thank you. There is a memorandum of agreement in place between the Attorney General’s Office, the Department of Labor, the Ombudsman’s Office, the Chinese Economic Development Association and other stakeholders in the CNMI with 

regard to garment factory closures. 

Upon receiving notice that there is going to be a garment factory 

that is going to close its doors, each of the parties that are involved 

have respective duties which they are supposed to discharge within 

a certain number of days. 

The Attorney General’s Office checks to see whether there are 

wages that might be owed to the workers, or whether there are 

taxes that might be owed to the CNMI Government, and takes 

steps to prevent the principals in some cases in those garment factories from leaving the jurisdiction without addressing those issues. 

The Department of Labor has the largest role. And what it does 

is it agrees to open up a compliance agency case, which does a 

speedy investigation into the causes for the closure, and then holds 

a transfer hearing for all the garment workers that are displaced. 

So that if the finding is made that the factory closed due to no fault 

of the workers, then they are all granted transfer relief within a 

certain amount of time. 

The Ombudsman’s Office provides translator assistance so that 

they can conduct their investigations, and tries to ascertain whether there are going to be any problems with the travel documents 

of any of the workers that may choose to leave. 

52

And the Chinese Economic Development Association will assist 

in the speedy reapplication for travel documents that have expired 

or are close to expiration. 

Ms. BORDALLO. Would you say these rules and regs are being 

followed? 

Mr. BENEDETTO. In my observation, yes, they are. 

Ms. BORDALLO. So you don’t have many workers roaming around 

on the island without any work, is that correct? 

Mr. BENEDETTO. Well, we do have a fair number of workers that 

are unemployed. And nobody knows how many of those have pending labor cases, or how many are simply overstaying. 

But the trend in the past year or so anyway has been, with respect to garment workers, that they are departing in large numbers once they realize that there are no jobs there for them to 

transfer to. 

And I don’t have any figures available to give you, but I am told 

from the Department of Labor that something like 90 percent of 

those workers that are displaced due to garment factory closures 

are choosing to go home, and have departed. 

Ms. BORDALLO. Thank you. Thank you, Madame Chairman. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you. Mr. Flake, you are recognized for 

five minutes. 

Mr. FLAKE. Thank you. Mr. Cohen, with regard to this flexible 

Federalization, do you envision really any changes to the current 

immigration policy that CNMI has in terms of desired destination, 

with the memorandum of understanding they have with China or 

the others? Would those things be possible under this flexible Federalization? Is there anything that they are doing now, CNMI, or 

wish to do that you know of, that would be prohibited by the kind 

of flexible Federalization you envision? 

Mr. COHEN. Congressman, we are actively working now to develop the specific contours of the policy. But we are making every 

effort to include in that whatever the CNMI is doing now, other 

than things that, you know, I guess people would largely disapprove of. 

But all of the legitimate, you know, tourist markets and other 

types of visitor markets that they are currently engaging in, and 

others that have been mentioned to show promise, we are doing 

our best to see if those can be accommodated. So we are looking 

at the approved destination status agreement with China. We are 

looking at Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, the other tourist markets 

that show promise. 

And we are looking at ways to try to provide greater flexibility, 

in terms of access to the CNMI, than exists for the rest of the 

United States, and justifying that by maintaining what I call in my 

written statement the second firewall between the CNMI and the 

rest of the United States. 

In other words, continuing to treat travelers from the CNMI as 

if they are coming from a foreign country. Say, when they go to 

Guam or Honolulu. And requiring separate independent travel authorization to get into the rest of the United States. 

We are still discussing these. I had a very good meeting with a 

number of officials from various agencies of the Department of 

Homeland Security. We are discussing this with our colleagues in 

53

the Senate. But the hope is to find a way to offer as much flexibility as possible, including accommodating all of the activities that 

are currently ongoing and envisioned. 

Mr. FLAKE. Are there any countries that are excluded totally 

under CNMI immigration policy, that are not excluded by Guam or 

the mainland? 

Mr. COHEN. Yes, there are. In fact, there is a provision in CNMI 

immigration law that excludes certain countries, and I think at 

least one province in China from supplying visitors to the CNMI. 

Mr. FLAKE. What are the reasons for that? 

Mr. COHEN. I think the reasons are that there are concerns about 

these countries, and perhaps a policy decision by the CNMI that 

the resources that would be necessary to satisfy all the concerns 

about visitors from these places, it is not worth committing the resources for the benefit that you would receive by allowing these 

visitors in. 

And at least one or perhaps two—and I will defer to Jim on 

this—countries that are on the Guam visa waiver list are excluded 

under CNMI law. 

Do you have anything to add to that? 

Mr. BENEDETTO. I believe that Malaysia is one. 

Mr. COHEN. Malaysia. Indonesia? 

Mr. BENEDETTO. And I think Indonesia is another. 

Mr. COHEN. And Fujian Province in China. 

Mr. FLAKE. With regard to, it was mentioned that there was a 

point at which it was decided—and I understand on the minimum 

wage it has been an issue that has percolated and been discussed 

here quite a bit—when and what prompted the decision to Federalize or have some form of Federalization of immigration policy? 

What were the concerns? Were there certain incidents that prompted this type of analysis or conclusion that we needed to Federalize 

it? Can you go into that? 

Mr. COHEN. Sure. The concerns were, I guess in this round——

Mr. FLAKE. Or were they just general concerns? You know, after 

9/11 we need to be more careful. 

Mr. COHEN. Certainly. Well, there was the risk assessment that 

Congresswoman Bordallo mentioned. That risk assessment was 

very valuable. It was very rough. I mean, it was more in the spirit 

of, well, here are horrible scenarios that could possibly happen, and 

it didn’t really get to the level of evaluating the probability that 

any of those scenarios might happen. But that would be, you know, 

a logical next step. So it was pretty much painting worst-case scenarios, but it was very valuable, you know, to help us focus on 

things that could conceivably happen in the CNMI. 

From the Senate side, both the Chairman and Ranking Member 

of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources have 

expressed these concerns, and asked us to take a look at it. And 

we have made every effort to be responsive to those requests. 

And the declining economy has prompted us all, in the CNMI, 

has prompted us all to ask the question, does the CNMI still have 

the ability to control its borders, even in the manner that it had 

in the past. And what types of pressures are going to be put on the 

CNMI in light of the rapid job loss in the garment industry, and 

54

the need to repatriate workers. Is it still going to be able to handle 

all of these concerns. 

We also have concerns about human trafficking. Because there is 

such a high percentage of aliens in the CNMI, there is a concern 

that there will be a disproportionate amount of that type of activity 

in the CNMI. So all of these things have contributed to a renewed 

interest in the immigration system in the CNMI. 

Mr. FLAKE. Thank you. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you, Mr. Flake. Mr. Benedetto maybe, 

I would like to follow up on the question about China, Indonesia, 

the other countries. Because one of the examples that the CNMI 

usually uses to show that they are, their immigration policy is a 

strong one, is their ability to refuse immigration from localities 

such as those in China and other places. 

What can you tell us about the enforcement, about that policy 

and how it is being enforced? 

Mr. BENEDETTO. Thank you for the question. The Division of Immigration has its own regulations. And under Section 804 they 

have a list of excluded locations, and these are locations that they 

have concern about for two reasons. 

Number one is the authenticity of travel documents. If they don’t 

have confidence in the authenticity of those documents, then you 

don’t know who you are letting in. 

And the second is the return of individuals who have been identified as over-stayers or people who should not be there. And if the 

country of origin does not want to take back its nationals, then 

that is also of great concern. 

There are about a dozen and a half, I guess, countries on that 

list. And one of them is the Fujian Province of China. And I believe 

this is a sound policy that the CNMI Government has adopted. 

However, there are some exceptions to it. You can get an Attorney General waiver or a Governor’s exemption. And I have in the 

past written a number of letters to the CNMI Government to complain about the typical scam that we see, where people pay large 

amounts of money from Fujian Province to a recruiter, and then 

they are given contract documents and brought to the CNMI for a 

non-existent job, and then maybe coerced into prostitution or just 

left there with nothing to do, and a large debt at home. 

It is a matter of record that some of these human trafficking victims and these people who have been victimized by these scams 

have come in from Fujian Province under Governor’s exemptions. 

And so there are obviously some things that need to occur in the 

followup there. 

I have recommended in the letters that I have sent to the government that they do prompt investigations of these cases; that they 

prosecute or take other enforcement action; and that they undertake a reexamination of their policies and regulations to try and 

stop those incidents from occurring. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you. Mr. Cohen, I am asking this 

question because it has been an issue before. So the question is, do 

you think the question of whether CNMI should have a delegate 

ought to be tied in any way to fixing these problems that we are 

discussing this morning? 

55

Mr. COHEN. Thank you, Madame Chairwoman. The answer is no, 

I don’t. And the reason I say that there should be no conditionality 

on granting the CNMI representation in this body is every single 

other state and territory has representation in this body, is that we 

don’t apply those standards to any other state and territory. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Right. 

Mr. COHEN. We have problems in every single state and every 

single territory in this great nation. I remember, you know, before 

I moved out here from southern California, we had a great sweatshop scandal in southern California, where a bunch of people from 

Thailand were basically held prisoner in barracks in essentially an 

illegal garment factory. And we all, the authorities took appropriate measures to address that, but no one questioned whether 

the people of southern California had therefore sacrificed their 

right to representation in Congress, and were somehow no longer 

worth of representation in Congress. 

In fact, we don’t have any sort of fitness test, other than you not 

be a convicted felon, that we apply to any other community for representation in Congress. And you all on this panel have spoken 

very eloquently about this subject in the past. 

So one would ask why would we apply some sort of fitness test 

to the CNMI? If certain people disagree with electoral decisions 

that they have made, or if certain people disagree with policy decisions that they have made, or even disapprove of policy decisions 

that they have made, that is well and good in the democratic process. We can work those things out. 

But for one group of Americans to sit in judgment about the 

democratic decisions that have been made by another group of 

Americans, and say therefore, you guys do not deserve to be represented in Congress the way that everybody else in America is 

represented, to me is not consistent with the principles that those 

soldiers from Saipan, Tinian, and Rota are fighting and dying for 

in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you. My last question is to you, Ms. 

Franzel, because I understand that you have done a lot of work 

with the D.C. Government, or some work, and so you may be familiar with their establishment of their Chief Fiscal Officer and the 

effects that that office has had on projecting revenue, keeping within spending limits, accounting for such expenditures, and so forth. 

Given the longstanding audit problems associated with the 

CNMI, would such a position be a positive, a step that you would 

recommend? Or would a CFO be an essential part of their recovery 

strategies? 

Ms. FRANZEL. The establishment of a CFO with certain responsibilities and reporting requirements was a very important element 

of the D.C. recovery. 

What you refer to as the D.C. situation in the early nineties, 

where the District of Columbia was literally bankrupt, not paying 

its bills, and many agencies were in dysfunction, there was a 

comprehensive reform package put in place which involved a combination of oversight, financial reform, some programmatic reforms 

where certain agencies were put into receivership; some assistance 

also from the Federal government, and some very stringent 

reporting and monitoring-type requirements. 

56

So the CFO was part of all of that. And the establishment of the 

CFO with those reporting requirements was a very important element. 

One of the conditions for coming out of the control period for the 

District of Columbia did deal with balanced budgets, clean audit 

opinions, et cetera. And so the District did achieve that, as well as 

many other factors to come out of the control period. So it was a 

very important factor, as part of a comprehensive set of reform and 

assistance. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you. Do you have any further 

questions? 

Mr. FORTUN ̃ O. Just a couple, perhaps. Ms. Franzel, you had mentioned unfunded pension liabilities of the CNMI. Could you expand 

a little bit about what were you referring to? And could you compare that situation with CNMI with perhaps a couple of the other 

territories, if you may? 

Ms. FRANZEL. The unfunded pension liability situation refers to 

accumulated promises that workers have earned under the current 

system. So for instance, they are part of the government retirement 

system; they have put in certain amounts of years of service. And 

under the current system, they have earned certain benefits. And 

funding means that the CNMI Government would be putting away 

a portion of that for future use. 

So for instance, really saving up for the time when those workers 

retire, and then using those funds to pay the retirees, so that you 

are really matching the earning of those benefits with the paying 

of that expense. 

There has been a long-term mismatch, OK, in the CNMI between 

the time period when the workers are earning the benefits, and 

there is just not enough in the savings account for future pensions. 

The numbers are very alarming. At September 30, 2005, it was reported as a $552 million shortfall if benefits were to be paid out 

at the promised amount, based on what people earned. 

Now, it could also be that the benefits need to be looked at, also. 

So you have really got both sides of the equation. Are the benefits 

being promised too generous? But you have also got the situation 

where the CNMI Government hasn’t been paying into that fund. 

This is a long-term issue that will need to be dealt with. 

Mr. FORTUN ̃ O. Do you have an idea what—you gave the total 

amount—what is the ratio, cover ratio, in terms of those benefits 

versus what is available? Is it 50 percent? Is it 40 percent? 

Ms. FRANZEL. I do not know the details of their pension plan, but 

that is certainly something that needs to be looked at in light of 

this situation. 

I will mention that many other local jurisdictions in the mainland are having problems with their unfunded pensions right now. 

There have been new accounting rules put in place requiring local 

and state jurisdictions to do these calculations to figure out to what 

extent our pension plans are underfunded, and many local jurisdictions are starting to look at how generous are those benefits in relation to other benchmarks. 

So yes, it should be looked at for CNMI. And I just want to mention that other jurisdictions are going through this same type of 

analysis. 

57

Mr. FORTUN ̃ O. OK. Well, thank you very much. I yield back the 

balance of my time. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you. Mr. Bordallo, do you have further 

questions? 

Ms. BORDALLO. Yes, thank you. First I want to clear the record 

a bit on the movement of the Marines to Guam. I said earlier that 

they are looking at Saipan, I think, and what I should have said 

was that they are seriously considering training in Tinian. 

And second, Saipan will see some economic results, especially 

through the port. And that is that they are moving in there for supplies, and there will be embarkation and disembarkation activities 

going on. So Saipan will see activity with this enhancement of the 

Marines to Guam, and it is Tinian that is being seriously considered for training. So I just wanted to correct the record. 

I have a question here for Secretary Cohen. Is it possible, Secretary, to make a distinction between Federal control and a separate guest worker visa waiver program? Is this something that we 

can think about? 

Mr. COHEN. Thank you, Congresswoman Bordallo. We can certainly think about all sorts of ways to offer the CNMI the flexibility 

that it needs, first of all to continue to have a proper labor supply. 

Because when all is said and done, the indigenous work force in 

the CNMI is still very small. Almost anyone that has looked at this 

concludes that they are going to continue to need a significant 

amount of supplementation to their work force from outside; that 

they probably will not be able to attract from other jurisdictions in 

the U.S. or the federated states or the freely associated states. 

So we are definitely looking at how to continue to provide some 

degree of flexibility in that regard, as well as flexibility to let visitors in—in ways that visitors cannot access the rest of the U.S. 

Ms. BORDALLO. And then I have another question for Ms. 

Franzel. Your testimony focused a lot around the inability for the 

CNMI to achieve unqualified audits. And sadly, today it was reported in the Saipan Tribune that due to the expected 15.6 percent 

budget cut that will be implemented across government agencies, 

the cash-strapped public school system may have no choice but to 

start the next school year in October instead of the usual August. 

Does this inability on the part of the CNMI Government give any 

indication as to the overall management of the government and its 

ability to provide essential services to the community? 

Ms. FRANZEL. I will say that financial reporting and accounting 

is just a basic management function, and it is something that 

CNMI has struggled with for years. 

And so you can say, if CNMI is having troubles with this basic 

function, perhaps there are problems in other management functions for similar reasons. For instance, CNMI has had difficulty attracting people to the islands who have the financial expertise 

needed to really help fix the problems. And so it could be that other 

areas would be suffering from the same issues. 

And so these have been longstanding problems. I will say, however, that in times like this, it is extremely important to have a 

very good management and finance team on board for regular reporting, for decisions like these. You know, did they have timely, 

accurate financial information and other information available 

58

when making this decision? That is really the key question. And 

is the management and finance team suffering from the inability 

to attract and keep qualified people. 

Ms. BORDALLO. You said in your statement earlier that things 

seem to be improving, but you are waiting for the latest audit, is 

that correct? 

Ms. FRANZEL. Things are improving in terms of timeliness. Now, 

I will tell you that that is for the audit report, and they do have 

nine months after the fiscal year to complete the audit report. 

We have been told by the Secretary of Finance that it will be on 

time. But those numbers are as of September 30, 2006. So in terms 

of management decisions, that is still way too late; however, in 

terms of complying with Federal law for grant recipients, which 

CNMI is, this might be the first year that CNMI has complied with 

that deadline. 

Ms. BORDALLO. Thank you. Madame Chairman, in closing, this 

is probably going to be the last round, I just want to again say that 

I will continue to work very closely with the Resident Commissioner or the Resident Representative from the CNMI, Mr. Tenorio, 

until such time that U.S. Congress gives them what they deserve; 

and that is a voting representative to be a Member of the U.S. Congress. 

I always keep in mind that the citizens of CNMI are our brothers 

and sisters. And so until such time we decide to give them a voting 

representative in the U.S. Congress, I will continue to work with 

the CNMI Government. 

Thank you very much. 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you. I wanted to also thank all of the 

witnesses for their testimony and their thoughtful, insightful 

answers to our questions. 

I think the first step that we need to take in that regard, Ms. 

Bordallo, maybe both of us need to reintroduce the bill. Because, 

I was inquiring, it has not yet been reintroduced, so we will move 

swiftly to do that. 

And we have a complex set of issues ahead of us, and the solutions are going to be just as complex. And so I look forward also 

to working with Mr. Tenorio, the Government of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Department of Interior Office of Insular Affairs, 

utilizing the expertise of the Government Accountability Office, and 

working with my colleagues to come up with some solutions to help 

our brothers and sisters in the CNMI. 

So thank you again for taking the time to be here with us this 

morning, and for your testimony. 

Let me just also add that the hearing record will be open for 10 

days for responses that we would ask in writing. And if there is 

no further business before this Subcommittee, the Chairman again 

thanks the Members. And additional questions will be submitted in 

writing. We have 10 days for that. 

And therefore, if there is no further statement or business, the 

Subcommittee stands adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 12:02 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]

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