Calendar No. 134

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 638

[Report No. 104–101]

A BILL

To authorize appropriations for United States

J

insular areas, and for other purposes.

UNE 30 (legislative day, JUNE 19), 1995

Reported with an amendment
II

Calendar No. 134

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 638

[Report No. 104–101]

To authorize appropriations for United States insular areas, and for other

purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 28 (legislative day, MARCH 27), 1995

Mr. MURKOWSKI (by request) introduced the following bill; which was read

twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

JUNE 30 (legislative day, JUNE 19), 1995

Reported by Mr. MURKOWSKI, with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To authorize appropriations for United States insular areas,

and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Insular Development

5 Act of 1995’’.
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1 SEC. 2. NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS.

2 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec3 retary of the Interior for the Commonwealth of the North4 ern Mariana Islands $6,140,000, backed by the full faith

5 and credit of the United States, for each of fiscal years

6 1996 through 2001, for capital improvement projects in

7 the environmental, health, and public safety areas, admin8 istration and enforcement of immigration and labor laws,

9 and contribution toward costs of the compacts of free as10 sociation (for the same duration and purposes as are ap11 plied to Guam in Public Law 99–239 as amended by sec12 tion 3 of this Act).

13 SEC. 3. IMPACT OF THE COMPACT.

14 Paragraph (6) of subsection (e) of section 104 of

15 Public Law 99–239 (99 Stat. 1770, 48 U.S.C. 1681 note),

16 is amended by striking everything after the word ‘‘after’’

17 and inserting in lieu thereof the following language: ‘‘Sep18 tember 30, 1995, and ending September 30, 2001,

19 $4,580,000 annually, backed by the full faith and credit

20 of the United States, for Guam, as a contribution toward

21 costs that result from increased demands for education

22 and social program benefits by immigrants from the Mar23 shall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and

24 Palau.’’.
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1 SEC. 4. CAPITAL INFRASTRUCTURE.

2 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec3 retary of the Interior $17,000,000 for each fiscal year be4 ginning after September 30, 1995, and ending September

5 30, 2001, backed by the full faith and credit of the United

6 States, for grants for capital infrastructure construction

7 in American Samoa, Guam, and the United States Virgin

8 Islands: Provided, That the annual grant to American

9 Samoa shall not exceed $15,000,000 and the annual

10 grants for Guam and the United States Virgin Islands

11 shall not exceed $3,000,000 each.

12 SEC. 5. CAPITAL INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING REQUIRE13 MENTS.

14 (a) No funds shall be granted under this Act for cap15 ital improvement projects without the submission by the

16 respective government of a master plan of capital needs

17 that—

18 (1) ranks proposed projects in order of priority,

19 and

20 (2) has been reviewed and approved by the De21 partment of the Interior and the United States

22 Army Corps of Engineers.

23 The insular areas’ individual master plans, with com24 ments, shall be presented in the Department of the Interi25 or’s annual report on the state of the Islands, and shall

26 be the basis for any requests for capital improvement
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1 funding through the Department of the Interior or the

2 Congress.

3 (b) Each grant by the Department of the Interior

4 shall include a five percent payment into a trust fund, to

5 be administered by the Governor (as trustee) of the terri6 tory in which the project is located, solely for the mainte7 nance of such project. No funds shall be paid pursuant

8 to a grant under subsection (a) of this section without the

9 prior appropriation and payment by the respective terri10 torial government to the trustee, of an amount equal to

11 the Federal contribution for maintenance of the project.

12 A maintenance plan covering the anticipated life of each

13 project shall be adopted by the Governor of the respective

14 insular area and approved by the Department of the Inte15 rior before any grant payment for construction is released

16 by the Department of the Interior.

17 (c) The capital infrastructure funding authorized

18 under this Act is authorized to be extended for an addi19 tional three-year phaseout period: Provided, That each

20 grant during the additional period contains a dollar shar21 ing by each grantee and the grantor in the following ra22 tios: 25/75 percent for the first year, 50/50 percent for

23 the second year, 75/25 percent for the third year: Provided

24 further, That funding for capital infrastructure for the

25 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands shall not
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1 exceed $3,000,000 annually during the period of such ex2 tension.

3 SEC. 6. REPEAL.

4 Effective after September 30, 1995, no additional

5 funds shall be made available under subsection (b) of sec6 tion 4 of Public Law 94–241 (90 Stat. 263, 48 U.S.C.

7 1681 note), and such subsection is repealed.

8 SECTION 1. TERRITORIAL AND FREELY ASSOCIATED STATE

9 INFRASTRUCTURE ASSISTANCE.

10 Section 4(b) of Public Law 94–241 (90 Stat. 263) as

11 added by section 10 of Public Law 99–396 (99 Stat. 837,

12 841) is amended by deleting ‘‘until Congress otherwise pro13 vides by law.’’ and inserting in lieu thereof: ‘‘except that,

14 for fiscal years 1996 and thereafter, payments to the Com15 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands pursuant to

16 the multi-year funding agreements contemplated under the

17 Covenant shall be limited to the amounts set forth in the

18 Agreement of the Special Representatives on Future Federal

19 Financial Assistance of the Northern Mariana Islands, exe20 cuted on December 17, 1992 between the special representa21 tive of the President of the United States and special rep22 resentatives of the Governor of the Northern Mariana Is23 lands and shall be subject to all the requirements of such

24 Agreement with any additional amounts otherwise made

25 available under this section in any fiscal year and not re-
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1 quired to meet the schedule of payments set forth in the

2 Agreement to be provided as set forth in subsection (c) until

3 Congress otherwise provides by law.

4 ‘‘(c) The additional amounts referred to in subsection

5 (b) shall be made available to the Secretary for obligation

6 as follows:

7 ‘‘(1) for fiscal year 1996, all such amounts shall

8 be provided for capital infrastructure projects in

9 American Samoa; and

10 ‘‘(2) for fiscal years 1997 and thereafter, all such

11 amounts shall be available solely for capital infra12 structure projects in Guam, the Virgin Islands, Amer13 ican Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar14 iana Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Federated

15 States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall

16 Islands: Provided, That, in fiscal year 1997, $3 mil17 lion of such amounts shall be made available to the

18 College of the Northern Marianas and beginning in

19 fiscal year 1997, and in each year thereafter, not to

20 exceed $3 million may be allocated, as provided in

21 Appropriation Acts, to the Secretary of the Interior

22 for use by Federal agencies or the Commonwealth of

23 the Northern Mariana Islands to address immigra24 tion, labor, and law enforcement issues in the North25 ern Mariana Islands, including, but not limited to
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1 detention and corrections needs. The specific projects

2 to be funded shall be set forth in a five-year plan for

3 infrastructure assistance developed by the Secretary of

4 the Interior in consultation with each of the island

5 governments and updated annually and submitted to

6 the Congress concurrent with the budget justifications

7 for the Department of the Interior. In developing and

8 updating the five year plan for capital infrastructure

9 needs, the Secretary shall indicate the highest priority

10 projects, consider the extent to which particular

11 projects are part of an overall master plan, whether

12 such project has been reviewed by the Corps of Engi13 neers and any recommendations made as a result of

14 such review, the extent to which a set-aside for main15 tenance would enhance the life of the project, the de16 gree to which a local cost-share requirement would be

17 consistent with local economic and fiscal capabilities,

18 and may propose an incremental set-aside, not to ex19 ceed $2 million per year, to remain available without

20 fiscal year limitation, as an emergency fund in the

21 event of natural or other disasters to supplement other

22 assistance in the repair, replacement, or hardening of

23 essential facilities: Provided further, That the cumu24 lative amount set aside for such emergency fund may

25 not exceed $10 million at any time.
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1 ‘‘(d) Within the amounts allocated for infrastructure

2 pursuant to this section, and subject to the specific alloca3 tions made in subsection (c), additional contributions may

4 be made, as set forth in Appropriation Acts, to assist in

5 the resettlement of Rongelap Atoll: Provided, That the total

6 of all contributions from any Federal source after January

7 1, 1995 may not exceed $32 million and shall be contingent

8 upon an agreement, satisfactory to the President, that such

9 contributions are a full and final settlement of all obliga10 tions of the United States to assist in the resettlement of

11 Rongelap Atoll and that such funds will be expended solely

12 on resettlement activities and will be properly audited and

13 accounted for. In order to provide such contributions in a

14 timely manner, each Federal agency providing assistance

15 or services, or conducting activities, in the Republic of the

16 Marshall Islands, is authorized to make funds available,

17 through the Secretary of the Interior, to assist in the reset18 tlement of Rongelap. Nothing in this subsection shall be con19 strued to limit the provision of ex gratia assistance pursu20 ant to section 105(c)(2) of the Compact of Free Association

21 Act of 1985 (Public Law 99–239, 99 Stat. 1770, 1792) in22 cluding for individuals choosing not to resettle at Rongelap,

23 except that no such assistance for such individuals may be

24 provided until the Secretary notifies the Congress that the
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1 full amount of all funds necessary for resettlement at

2 Rongelap has been provided.’’.

3 SEC. 2. FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE.

4 Effective thirty days after the date of enactment of this

5 Act, the minimum wage provisions, including, but not lim6 ited to, the coverage and exemptions provisions, of section

7 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of June 25, 1938 (52

8 Stat. 1062), as amended, shall apply to the Commonwealth

9 of the Northern Mariana Islands, except—

10 (a) on the effective date, the minimum wage rate

11 applicable to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar12 iana Islands shall be $2.75 per hour;

13 (b) effective January 1, 1996, the minimum

14 wage rate applicable to the Commonwealth of the

15 Northern Mariana Islands shall be $3.05 per hour;

16 (c) effective January 1, 1997 and every January

17 1 thereafter, the minimum wage rate shall be raised

18 by thirty cents per hour or the amount necessary to

19 raise the minimum wage rate to the wage rate set

20 forth in section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards

21 act, whichever is less; and

22 (d) once the minimum wage rate is equal to the

23 wage rate set forth in section 6(a)(1) of the Fair

24 Labor Standards Act, the minimum wage rate appli25 cable to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
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1 Islands shall thereafter be the wage rate set forth in

2 section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

3 SEC. 3. REPORT.

4 The Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the

5 Attorney General and Secretaries of Treasury, Labor and

6 State, shall report to the Congress by the March 15 follow7 ing each fiscal year for which funds are allocated pursuant

8 to section 4(c) of Public Law 94–241 for use by Federal

9 agencies or the Commonwealth to address immigration,

10 labor or law enforcement activities. The report shall include

11 but not be limited to—

12 (1) pertinent immigration information provided

13 by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, in14 cluding the number of non-United States citizen con15 tract workers in the CNMI, based on data the Immi16 gration and Naturalization Service may require of

17 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

18 on a semiannual basis, or more often if deemed nec19 essary by the Immigration and Naturalization Serv20 ice,

21 (2) the treatment and conditions of non-United

22 States citizen contract workers, including foreign gov23 ernment interference with workers’ ability to assert

24 their rights under United States law,
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1 (3) the effect of laws of the Northern Mariana Is2 lands on Federal interests,

3 (4) the adequacy of detention facilities in the

4 Northern Mariana Islands,

5 (5) the accuracy and reliability of the computer6 ized alien identification and tracking system and its

7 compatibility with the system of the Immigration and

8 Naturalization Service, and

9 (6) the reasons why Federal agencies are unable

10 or unwilling to fully and effectively enforce Federal

11 laws applicable within the Commonwealth of the

12 Northern Mariana Islands unless such activities are

13 funded by the Secretary of the Interior.

14 SEC. 4. IMMIGRATION COOPERATION.

15 The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

16 and the Immigration and Naturalization Service shall co17 operate in the identification and, if necessary, exclusion or

18 deportation from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mari19 ana Islands of persons who represent security or law en20 forcement risks to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mari21 ana Islands or the United States.
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1 SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION OF LOCAL EMPLOYMENT IN THE

2 MARIANAS.

3 (a) Section 8103(i) of title 46 of the United States

4 Code is amended by renumbering paragraph (3) as para5 graph (4) and by adding a new paragraph (3) as follows:

6 ‘‘(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this

7 subsection, any alien allowed to be employed under

8 the immigration laws of the Commonwealth of the

9 Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) may serve as an

10 unlicensed seaman on a fishing, fish processing, or

11 fish tender vessel that is operated exclusively from a

12 port within the CNMI and within the navigable wa13 ters and exclusive economic zone of the United States

14 surrounding the CNMI. Pursuant to 46 U.S.C. 8704,

15 such persons are deemed to be employed in the United

16 States and are considered to have the permission of

17 the Attorney General of the United States to accept

18 such employment: Provided, That paragraph (2) of

19 this subsection shall not apply to persons allowed to

20 be employed under this paragraph.’’.

21 (b) Section 8103(i)(1) of title 46 of the United States

22 Code is amended by deleting ‘‘paragraph (3) of this sub23 section’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘paragraph (4) of this

24 subsection’’.
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1 SEC. 6. CLARIFICATION OF OWNERSHIP OF SUBMERGED

2 LANDS IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE

3 NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS.

4 Public Law 93–435 (88 Stat. 1210), as amended, is

5 further amended by—

6 (a) striking ‘‘Guam, the Virgin Islands’’ in sec7 tion 1 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Guam, the Com8 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Vir9 gin Islands’’ each place the words appear;

10 (b) striking ‘‘Guam, American Samoa’’ in sec11 tion 2 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Guam, the Com12 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Amer13 ican Samoa’’; and

14 (c) striking ‘‘Guam, the Virgin Islands’’ in sec15 tion 2 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Guam, the Com16 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Vir17 gin Islands.’’.

18 With respect to the Commonwealth of the Northern

19 Mariana Islands, references to ‘‘the date of enactment of this

20 Act’’ or ‘‘date of enactment of this subsection’’ contained

21 in Public Law 93–435, as amended, shall mean the date

22 of enactment of this section.

23 SEC. 7. ANNUAL STATE OF THE ISLANDS REPORT.

24 The Secretary of the Interior shall submit to the Con25 gress, annually, a ‘‘State of the Islands’’ report on Amer26 ican Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, the
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1 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Re2 public of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and

3 the Federated States of Micronesia that includes basic eco4 nomic development information, data on direct and indi5 rect Federal assistance, local revenues and expenditures,

6 employment and unemployment, the adequacy of essential

7 infrastructure and maintenance thereof, and an assessment

8 of local financial management and administrative capabili9 ties, and Federal efforts to improve those capabilities.

10 SEC. 8. TECHNICAL CORRECTION.

11 Section 501 of Public Law 95–134 (91 Stat. 1159,

12 1164), as amended, is further amended by deleting ‘‘the

13 Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands,’’ and inserting in

14 lieu thereof ‘‘the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Mar15 shall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia,’’.

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