II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2325 

To incentivize the hiring of United States workers in the Commonwealth 

of the Northern Mariana Islands, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 19, 2018 

Ms. MURKOWSKI introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To incentivize the hiring of United States workers in the 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 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 ‘‘Northern Mariana Is5 lands U.S. Workforce Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is— 

8 (1) to increase the percentage of United States 

9 workers (as defined in section 6(i) of the Joint Reso10 lution entitled ‘‘A Joint Resolution to approve the 


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1 ‘Covenant To Establish a Commonwealth of the 

2 Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with 

3 the United States of America’, and for other pur4 poses’’ (48 U.S.C. 1806)) in the total workforce of 

5 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is6 lands, while maintaining the minimum number of 

7 workers who are not United States workers to meet 

8 the changing demands of the Northern Mariana Is9 lands’ economy; 

10 (2) to incentivize the hiring of United States 

11 workers into such workforce; and 

12 (3) to ensure that no United States worker— 

13 (A) is at a competitive disadvantage for 

14 employment compared to workers who are not 

15 United States workers; or 

16 (B) is displaced by a worker who is not a 

17 United States worker. 

18 SEC. 3. TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6 of the Joint Resolution 

20 entitled ‘‘A Joint Resolution to approve the ‘Covenant To 

21 Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is22 lands in Political Union with the United States of Amer23 ica’, and for other purposes’’ (48 U.S.C. 1806) is amend24 ed— 

25 (1) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘2019’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

3 (B) by amending paragraph (6) to read as 

4 follows: 

5 ‘‘(6) FEES FOR TRAINING UNITED STATES

6 WORKERS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) SUPPLEMENTAL FEE.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In addition to fees 

9 imposed pursuant to sections 208(d)(3) 

10 and 245(i), the Immigration and Nation11 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(d)(3) and 

12 1255(i)) to recover the full costs of adju13 dication services, the Secretary shall im14 pose an annual supplemental fee of $200 

15 per nonimmigrant worker on each prospec16 tive employer who is issued a permit under 

17 subsection (d)(3) during the transition pro18 gram. 

19 ‘‘(ii) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—Be20 ginning in fiscal year 2020, the Secretary 

21 may annually adjust the fee imposed under 

22 clause (i) by a percentage equal to the an23 nual change in the Consumer Price Index 

24 for All Urban Consumers published by the 

25 Bureau of Labor Statistics. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts col2 lected pursuant to clause (i) shall be annu3 ally deposited into the Treasury of the 

4 Commonwealth Government for the sole 

5 and exclusive purpose of funding vocational 

6 education, apprenticeships, or other train7 ing programs for United States workers. 

8 ‘‘(B) PLAN FOR THE EXPENDITURE OF

9 FUNDS.—At the beginning of each calendar 

10 year, and before any of the supplemental fees 

11 are deposited into the Treasury of the Com12 monwealth Government for that calendar year, 

13 the Commonwealth Government shall submit to 

14 the Secretary of Labor— 

15 ‘‘(i) a plan for the expenditures of 

16 amounts deposited under subparagraph 

17 (A)(iii); 

18 ‘‘(ii) a projection of the effectiveness 

19 of such expenditures in the placement of 

20 United States workers into jobs held by 

21 non-United States workers; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) a report on the changes in em23 ployment of United States workers attrib24 utable to expenditures of such amounts 

25 during the previous year. 


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1 ‘‘(C) PAYMENT RESTRICTION.—Payments 

2 may not be made from amounts deposited 

3 under subparagraph (A)(iii) until after the Sec4 retary of Labor has approved the expenditure 

5 plan submitted under subparagraph (B)(i). 

6 ‘‘(D) REPORT.—The Secretary of Labor 

7 shall submit an annual report to Congress that 

8 describes the effectiveness of the Common9 wealth Government at meeting the goals set 

10 forth in the expenditure plan submitted under 

11 subparagraph (B)(i).’’; 

12 (2) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the 

15 date of the enactment of the Northern Mariana Is16 lands U.S. Workforce Act, the Secretary shall sub17 mit a report to the Committee on Energy and Nat18 ural Resources of the Senate, the Committee on the 

19 Judiciary of the Senate, the Committee on Natural 

20 Resources of the House of Representatives, and the 

21 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep22 resentatives that— 

23 ‘‘(A) projects the number of asylum claims 

24 the Secretary anticipates following the termi25 nation of the transition period; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) describes the efforts of the Secretary 

2 to ensure appropriate interdiction efforts, pro3 vide for appropriate treatment of asylum seek4 ers, and prepare to accept and adjudicate asy5 lum claims in the Commonwealth.’’; 

6 (3) in subsection (d)— 

7 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

8 through (5) as paragraphs (3) through (6), re9 spectively; 

10 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(2) PROTECTION FOR UNITED STATES WORK13 ERS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) FOREIGN LABOR CERTIFICATION.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Before applying 

16 for a nonimmigrant worker permit under 

17 this subsection, a prospective employer 

18 shall obtain a certification from the De19 partment of Labor confirming the prospec20 tive employer’s assertion that— 

21 ‘‘(I) no qualified United States 

22 worker is able, willing, qualified, and 

23 available to accept the proposed job at 

24 the prevailing wage for that occupa25 tion in the Commonwealth; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) employment of the foreign 

2 worker will not adversely affect the 

3 wages and working conditions of simi4 larly employed United States workers. 

5 ‘‘(ii) PETITION.—After receiving a 

6 certification under clause (i), a prospective 

7 employer may submit a petition to U.S. 

8 Citizenship and Immigration Services for a 

9 Commonwealth Only Transitional Worker 

10 permit on behalf of the foreign worker. 

11 ‘‘(B) PREVAILING WAGE SURVEY.—In 

12 order to effectuate the requirement for foreign 

13 labor certification, the Department of Labor 

14 shall conduct periodic prevailing wage surveys 

15 in the Commonwealth. 

16 ‘‘(C) MINIMUM WAGE.—An employer shall 

17 pay each Commonwealth Only Transitional 

18 Worker a wage that is not less than the greater 

19 of— 

20 ‘‘(i) the statutory minimum wage in 

21 the Commonwealth; 

22 ‘‘(ii) the Federal minimum wage; 

23 ‘‘(iii) the prevailing wage in the Com24 monwealth for the occupation in which the 

25 worker is employed; or 


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1 ‘‘(iv) the actual wage level paid by the 

2 employer to any other individual employed 

3 in the same occupation.’’; 

4 (C) by amending paragraph (3), as redes5 ignated, to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(3) PERMITS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

8 establish, administer, and enforce a system for 

9 allocating and determining the number, terms, 

10 and conditions of permits to be issued to pro11 spective employers for each such nonimmigrant 

12 worker described in this subsection who would 

13 not otherwise be eligible for admission under 

14 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

15 1101 et seq.). 

16 ‘‘(B) COMMENTS FROM GOVERNOR.—In 

17 carrying out this paragraph, the Secretary— 

18 ‘‘(i) shall consider, in good faith, any 

19 comments or advice submitted by the Gov20 ernor of the Commonwealth, including any 

21 recommendation to reserve a number of 

22 permits each year for occupational cat23 egories necessary to maintain public health 

24 or safety in the Commonwealth; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) shall, not later than 30 days 

2 after the receipt of such comments or ad3 vice, submit a written response to the Gov4 ernor; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) in the Secretary’s sole discre6 tion, may make the reservation of permits 

7 recommended by the Governor. 

8 ‘‘(C) NUMERICAL CAP.—The number of 

9 permits issued under subparagraph (A) may 

10 not exceed 13,000 during fiscal year 2019. 

11 ‘‘(D) ANNUAL ADJUSTMENTS.—Beginning 

12 in fiscal year 2020, and annually thereafter, the 

13 number of permits issued under subparagraph 

14 (A) may not exceed a number that is 500 fewer 

15 than the number of permits that were issued 

16 during the immediately preceding fiscal year. 

17 ‘‘(E) REPORTS REGARDING THE PERCENT18 AGE OF DOMESTIC WORKERS.— 

19 ‘‘(i) BY GOVERNOR.—Not later than 

20 60 days before the end of each calendar 

21 year, the Governor shall submit a report to 

22 the Secretary that identifies the ratio be23 tween domestic workers to non-domestic 

24 workers in the Commonwealth’s workforce 


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1 based on income tax filings with the Com2 monwealth for the tax year. 

3 ‘‘(ii) BY GAO.—Not later than Decem4 ber 31, 2019, and biennially thereafter, the 

5 Comptroller General of the United States 

6 shall submit a report to the Chair and 

7 Ranking Member of the Committee on En8 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate 

9 and the Chair and Ranking Member of the 

10 Committee on Natural Resources of the 

11 House of Representatives that identifies 

12 the ratio between domestic workers and 

13 non-domestic workers in the Common14 wealth’s workforce during each of the pre15 vious 5 calendar years. 

16 ‘‘(F) APPLICATION; ISSUANCE OF PER17 MITS.— 

18 ‘‘(i) SUBMISSION.—A prospective em19 ployer may submit an application— 

20 ‘‘(I) for a new permit 180 days 

21 before the beginning of the allocation 

22 year in which the permit will become 

23 effective; or 

24 ‘‘(II) for the renewal of an exist25 ing permit 180 days before the end of 


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1 the allocation year in which the exist2 ing permit expires. 

3 ‘‘(ii) ADJUDICATION.—The Secretary 

4 shall adjudicate an application for a permit 

5 submitted pursuant to clause (i) not later 

6 than 60 days after the receipt of such ap7 plication. 

8 ‘‘(iii) EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION.— 

9 The Secretary shall establish a system for 

10 each employer of a Commonwealth Only 

11 Transitional Worker to submit a quarterly 

12 report to the U.S. Immigration and Cus13 toms Enforcement office in the Common14 wealth that provides evidence to verify the 

15 continuing employment and payment of 

16 such worker under the terms and condi17 tions set forth in the permit petition that 

18 the employer filed on behalf of such work19 er. 

20 ‘‘(iv) REVOCATION.— 

21 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Sec22 retary may revoke a permit approved 

23 under this paragraph if— 

24 ‘‘(aa) the employer fails to 

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1 ment of the subject worker, fails 

2 to pay the subject worker, or 

3 commits any other violation of 

4 the terms and conditions of em5 ployment; or 

6 ‘‘(bb) the beneficiary of such 

7 petition does not apply for a visa 

8 within 60 days after the approval 

9 of such petition. 

10 ‘‘(II) USE OF REVOKED PETI11 TION.—A revoked petition under this 

12 paragraph shall be immediately avail13 able for use within the same fiscal 

14 year for which the petition was ap15 proved and shall not be further count16 ed against the numerical limit for that 

17 year. 

18 ‘‘(v) LEGITIMATE BUSINESS.— 

19 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A prospective 

20 employer that is not a legitimate busi21 ness may not be granted a petition. 

22 ‘‘(II) DEFINED TERM.—In this 

23 clause, the term ‘legitimate business’ 

24 means a real, active, and operating 

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1 taking that the Secretary, in the Sec2 retary’s sole discretion, determines— 

3 ‘‘(aa) produces services or 

4 goods for profit, or is a govern5 mental, charitable, or other val6 idly recognized nonprofit entity; 

7 ‘‘(bb) meets applicable legal 

8 requirements for doing business 

9 in the Commonwealth; 

10 ‘‘(cc) has substantially com11 plied with wage and hour laws, 

12 occupational safety and health 

13 requirements, and all other Fed14 eral requirements related to em15 ployment during the preceding 5 

16 years; and 

17 ‘‘(dd) does not directly or in18 directly engage in prostitution, 

19 human trafficking, or any other 

20 activity that is illegal under Fed21 eral or Commonwealth law. 

22 ‘‘(vi) CONSTRUCTION OCCUPATIONS.— 

23 A permit for Construction and Extraction 

24 Occupations (as defined by the Depart25 ment of Labor as Standard Occupational 


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1 Classification Group 47–0000) may only be 

2 issued to extend a permit that was first 

3 issued before October 1, 2015.’’; 

4 (D) in paragraph (4), as redesignated, by 

5 inserting ‘‘or to Guam for the purpose of tran6 sit only’’ after ‘‘except admission to the Com7 monwealth’’; 

8 (E) in paragraph (5), as redesignated, by 

9 adding at the end the following: ‘‘Approval of a 

10 petition filed by the new employer within the 

11 same fiscal year as the current permit shall not 

12 count against the numerical limitation for that 

13 period.’’; and 

14 (F) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(7) CW–3 WORKERS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary shall 

17 designate an alien admitted under this sub18 section as a ‘CW–3 worker’ if the alien— 

19 ‘‘(i) was admitted to the Common20 wealth as a Commonwealth Only Transi21 tional Worker during fiscal year 2014 and 

22 every subsequent fiscal year beginning be23 fore the date of the enactment of the 

24 Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce 

25 Act; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) is otherwise admissible. 

2 ‘‘(B) PERMIT.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each CW–3 work4 er shall be deemed to have met the foreign 

5 labor certification requirement under para6 graph (2) and, upon application, shall be 

7 issued a permit to remain in the Common8 wealth during the 3-year period beginning 

9 on the date of the enactment of the North10 ern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act. 

11 ‘‘(ii) RENEWAL.—The permit issued 

12 under clause (i) may be renewed in 3-year 

13 increments during the transition period de14 scribed in subsection (a)(2) if the alien re15 mains outside of the United States for a 

16 continuous period of not less than 30 days 

17 during the 180-day period immediately 

18 preceding each such renewal. 

19 ‘‘(iii) NUMERICAL LIMITATION.—Each 

20 permit issued under clause (i) shall count 

21 against the annual numerical limitations 

22 set forth in subparagraphs (C) and (D) of 

23 paragraph (3). 

24 ‘‘(C) ROSTER.—The Secretary shall main25 tain a roster of aliens in this category. 


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1 ‘‘(D) FEE.—Employers of CW–3 workers 

2 shall be subject to the annual education fee 

3 under subsection (a)(6). 

4 ‘‘(8) REQUIREMENT TO REMAIN OUTSIDE OF

5 THE UNITED STATES.—Except as provided in para6 graph (7), the permit for a Commonwealth Only 

7 Transitional Worker may not be renewed for more 

8 than 2 consecutive years. An alien may not again be 

9 eligible for such a permit until after the alien has re10 mained outside of the United States for a contin11 uous period of not less than 30 days.’’; and 

12 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 ‘‘(1) ALLOCATION YEAR.—The term ‘allocation 

15 year’ means the fiscal year immediately following the 

16 current year. 

17 ‘‘(2) COMMONWEALTH.—The term ‘Common18 wealth’ means the Commonwealth of the Northern 

19 Mariana Islands. 

20 ‘‘(3) COMMONWEALTH ONLY TRANSITION

21 WORKER.—The term ‘Commonwealth Only Transi22 tion Worker’ means an alien who has been admitted 

23 into the Commonwealth under the transition pro24 gram for the purposes of a permit provided under 

25 subsection (d)(3). 


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1 ‘‘(4) CURRENT YEAR.—The term ‘current year’ 

2 means the fiscal year in which an allocation is deter3 mined for the allocation year. 

4 ‘‘(5) DOMESTIC WORKER.—The term ‘domestic 

5 worker’ means any worker who is— 

6 ‘‘(A) a United States worker; or 

7 ‘‘(B) a citizen of the Republic of the Mar8 shall Islands, the Federated States of Micro9 nesia, or the Republic of Palau (known collec10 tively as the ‘Freely Associated States’) who 

11 has been lawfully admitted to the United States 

12 pursuant to— 

13 ‘‘(i) section 141 of the Compact of 

14 Free Association between the Government 

15 of the United States and the Governments 

16 of the Marshall Islands and the Federated 

17 States of Micronesia (48 U.S.C. 1921 

18 note); or 

19 ‘‘(ii) section 141 of the Compact of 

20 Free Association between the United 

21 States and the Government of Palau (48 

22 U.S.C. 1931 note). 

23 ‘‘(6) GOVERNOR.—The term ‘Governor’ means 

24 the Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern 

25 Mariana Islands. 


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1 ‘‘(7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

2 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

3 ‘‘(8) TAX YEAR.—The term ‘tax year’ means 

4 the fiscal year immediately preceding the current 

5 year. 

6 ‘‘(9) UNITED STATES WORKER.—The term 

7 ‘United States worker’ means any worker who is— 

8 ‘‘(A) a citizen or national of the United 

9 States; or 

10 ‘‘(B) an alien who has been— 

11 ‘‘(i) lawfully admitted for permanent 

12 residence; 

13 ‘‘(ii) admitted as a refugee under sec14 tion 207 of the Immigration and Nation15 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157); or 

16 ‘‘(iii) granted asylum under section 

17 208 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1158).’’. 

18 (b) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 60 days after the 

19 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Home20 land Security shall publish regulations in the Federal Reg21 ister to implement the amendments made by subsection 

22 (a). 

23 (c) DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR TECHNICAL AS24 SISTANCE.—Not later than October 1, 2019, and bienni25 ally thereafter, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit 


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1 a report to Congress that describes the fulfillment of the 

2 Department of the Interior’s responsibilities to the Com3 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands— 

4 (1) to identify opportunities for economic 

5 growth and diversification; 

6 (2) to provide assistance in recruiting, training, 

7 and hiring United States workers; and 

8 (3) to provide such other technical assistance 

9 and consultation as outlined in section 702(e) of the 

10 Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (48 

11 U.S.C. 1807). 

Æ 


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