I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2661
To provide certain requirements for labeling textile fiber products and for
duty-free and quota-free treatment of products of, and to implement
minimum wage and immigration requirements in, the Northern Mariana
Islands, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 26, 2001
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California (for himself, Mr. SPRATT, Mr. BONIOR,
Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. FRANK, Mr.
KUCINICH, 
Ms. 
KAPTUR, 
Mr. 
HILLIARD, 
Mr. 
CAPUANO, 
Ms.
SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. FILNER, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. STARK, Mr. FROST, Mr.
ABERCROMBIE, Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. LUTHER, Mr.
BRADY of Pennsylvania, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. HINCHEY, Mrs. CLAYTON, Ms.
LEE, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Ms. WOOLSEY,
Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr.
ENGEL, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. EVANS, Ms.
LOFGREN, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. OWENS, Ms.
BALDWIN, Mr. KLECZKA, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. MASCARA, Mr. RAHALL,
Mr. TRAFICANT, Mr. ALLEN, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. MCDERMOTT, and
Mr. VISCLOSKY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and
Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned
A BILL
To provide certain requirements for labeling textile fiber
products and for duty-free and quota-free treatment of
products of, and to implement minimum wage and immi-
gration requirements in, the Northern Mariana Islands,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States-Com-
monwealth of the Northern Marianas Human Dignity
Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Between 1955 and 1975, the people of the
Northern Mariana Islands, through their duly elect-
ed representatives, expressed on numerous occasions
formally and informally to the United States and to
the United Nations their strong desire to become a
part of the United States.
(2) In 1975 the legislature of the Northern
Mariana Islands unanimously endorsed the Covenant
to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mar-
iana Islands in Political Union with the United
States of America, and the Covenant was put before
the voters of the Northern Mariana Islands on June
17, 1975, with 95 percent of eligible voters casting
ballots and 78.8 percent voting to approve the Cov-
enant.
(3) To allay any concerns of the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands that United States
immigration laws would allow mass immigration into
the small island communities, article V of the Cov-
enant which established a Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands provided the Common-
wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands with a par-
tial exemption from the Immigration and Nationality
Act until the United Nations trusteeship over the Is-
lands ended in 1986.
(4) The Commonwealth of the Northern Mar-
iana Islands then instituted a largely unrestricted
immigration policy, resulting in a population explo-
sion of over 250 percent in 15 years, so that in
1999, 80,000 people live in the Northern Mariana
Islands of which only 40 percent are United States
residents and 60 percent are foreign contract work-
ers.
(5) The Commonwealth of the Northern Mar-
iana Islands has used its immigration policy to re-
cruit a large, low-cost foreign workforce of des-
perately poor individuals with virtually no voice to
demand safe living and working conditions or better
wage and benefit options.
(6) In 1999, more than 85 percent of all pri-
vate sector jobs in the Northern Mariana Islands
were held by temporary contract workers from for-
eign countries while nearly 50 percent of all em-
ployed United States citizens in the Northern Mar-
iana Islands work for the local government.
(7) The recruitment of this large, low-cost for-
eign workforce has led to a consistent unemployment
rate of 10 percent among United States citizens in
the Northern Mariana Islands compared to less than
5 percent in the United States as a whole.
(8) 35 percent of locally born United States
citizens live below the poverty rate, despite this high
poverty rate every 2.6 local households employ at
least 1 foreign contracted live-in maid.
(9) More than $1,025,000,000 worth of gar-
ments made by alien contract workers using mostly
foreign-made fabric entered the United States in
2000, quota- and duty-free, at a cost to the United
States treasury of more than $200,000,000.
(10) On February 4, 1999, the Senate of the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
passed legislation to allow up to an additional 2,400
contract workers to be brought into the Northern
Mariana Islands.
(11) Article V of section 503 of the Covenant
which established a Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands provided the Commonwealth of the
(16) ‘‘Sweatshop’’ conditions exist in the North-
ern Mariana Islands, where employers—
(A) provide unsafe and unhealthy working
and living environments;
(B) use bonded and indentured foreign la-
borers;
(C) do not pay wages required under the
Fair Labor Standards Act; and
(D) refuse to recognize the legal rights of
workers to form labor unions without fear of re-
taliation.
(17) The Government of the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands has repeatedly re-
fused to raise the wage and living standards for
workers, or to aggressively prosecute labor and
human rights abuses.
(18) United States Customs agents and Cus-
toms agents of the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands are not permitted under current
law to open and inspect cargo containers entering
the Northern Mariana Islands without the owner of
the container present.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS.
The Joint Resolution entitled ‘‘Joint Resolution to
approve the ‘Covenant To Establish a Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the
United States of America’, and for other purposes’’ ap-
proved March 24, 1976 (48 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), is
amended by adding at the end the following new sections:
‘‘SEC. 7. LABELING OF TEXTILE FIBER AND OTHER PROD-
UCTS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No product, including textile
fiber products, shall have a stamp, tag, label, or other
means of identification or substitute therefor on or affixed
to the product stating ‘Made in USA’ or otherwise stating
or implying that the product was made or assembled in
the United States unless—
‘‘(1) each individual providing direct labor in
production of such product was paid a wage equal
to or greater than the wage set by the Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.);
‘‘(2) the product was produced or manufactured
in compliance with all Federal laws relating to labor
rights and working conditions, including, but not
limited to, the National Labor Relations Act, the
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, and
the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938;
‘‘(3) the factory or other business concern pro-
ducing or manufacturing the product does not em-
ploy individuals under conditions of indentured ser-
vitude.
‘‘(b) RESULT OF NONCOMPLIANCE REGARDING TEX-
TILE FIBER PRODUCTS.—A textile fiber product, which
is stamped, tagged, labeled, or otherwise identified in vio-
lation of subsection (a) shall be deemed to be misbranded
for purposes of the Textile Fiber Products Identification
Act (15 U.S.C. 70 et seq.).
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of the section:
‘‘(1) DIRECT LABOR.—The term ‘direct labor’
includes any work provided to prepare, assemble,
process, package, or transport a textile fiber prod-
uct, but does not include supervisory, management,
security, or administrative work.
‘‘(2) INDENTURED SERVITUDE.—The term ‘in-
dentured servitude’ includes all labor for which an
alien worker is in the Commonwealth of the North-
ern Mariana Islands solely by virtue of an employ-
ment contract with a specific and sole employer or
‘master’ who is in control of the duration of the stay
of the indentured alien worker in the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands. If the worker dis-
pleases the employer/master, the contract is termi-
nated and the employee must leave the Common-
wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
‘‘SEC. 8. MINIMUM WAGE.
‘‘Section 503(c) of the foregoing Covenant shall be
construed and applied as if it read as follows:
‘‘ ‘(c) The minimum wage provisions of the Fair
Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.),
shall apply to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, except that—
‘‘ ‘(1) until the beginning of the day that is 30
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
minimum wage applicable to the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands shall be $3.55 per
hour;
‘‘ ‘(2) on the day that is 30 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, and every six months
thereafter, the minimum wage applicable to the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
shall be $1.00 per hour more than the minimum
wage that was applicable to the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands for the preceding 6-
month period until the minimum wage applicable to
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
is equal to the minimum wage rate set forth in sec-
tion 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of
1938; and
‘‘ ‘(3) after the minimum wage applicable to the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is
equal to the minimum wage rate set forth in section
6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938,
pursuant to paragraph (2), the minimum wage ap-
plicable to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar-
iana Islands shall increase as necessary to remain
equal to the minimum wage rate set forth in section
6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.’
‘‘SEC. 9. CONDITIONS FOR DUTY-FREE AND QUOTA-FREE
TREATMENT.
‘‘(a) CONDITIONS.—No product of the Northern Mar-
iana Islands may enter the customs territory of the United
States duty-free or not subject to quota as the product
of an insular possession, unless—
‘‘(1) each individual providing direct labor in
production of the product was paid a wage equal to
or greater than the wage set by the Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.);
‘‘(2) the product was produced or manufactured
in compliance with all Federal laws relating to labor
rights and working conditions, including, but not
limited to, the National Labor Relations Act, the
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, and
the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938;
‘‘(3) the factory or other business concern pro-
ducing or manufacturing the product does not em-
ploy individuals under conditions of indentured ser-
vitude; and
‘‘(4) the Commissioner of Customs has certified
that the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is-
lands is taking adequate measures—
‘‘(A) to prevent unlawful transshipment of
goods that is carried out by rerouting, false
declaration concerning country or place of ori-
gin, falsification of documents, evasion of
United States rules of origin, or any other
means; and
‘‘(B) to prevent being used as a transit
point for the shipment of goods in violation of
the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing re-
ferred to in section 101(d)(4) of the Uruguay
Round Agreements Act or any other applicable
trade agreement.
‘‘(b) PENALTIES
AGAINST
EXPORTERS.—If the
President determines, based on sufficient evidence, that
an exporter has willfully falsified information regarding
the country of origin, manufacture, processing, or assem-
bly of a product of the Northern Mariana Islands for
which duty-free or quota-free treatment is claimed, then
the President shall deny to such exporter, and any succes-
sors of such exporter, for a period of 2 years, duty-free
and quota-free treatment for such product.
‘‘(c) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section:
‘‘(1) DIRECT LABOR.—The term ‘direct labor’
includes any work provided to prepare, assemble,
process, package, or transport a product, but does
not include supervisory, management, security, or
administrative work.
‘‘(2) INDENTURED SERVITUDE.—The term ‘in-
dentured servitude’ includes all labor for which an
alien worker is in the Commonwealth of the North-
ern Mariana Islands solely by virtue of an employ-
ment contract with a specific and sole employer or
‘master’ who is in control of the duration of the stay
of the indentured alien worker in the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands. If the worker dis-
pleases the employer/master, the contract is termi-
nated and the employee must leave the Common-
wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
‘‘SEC. 10. APPLICABILITY OF IMMIGRATION LAWS.
‘‘Section 506 of the foregoing Covenant shall be con-
strued and applied as if it included at the end the fol-
lowing subsection:
‘‘ ‘(e)(1) The provisions of the Immigration and Na-
tionality Act shall apply to the Northern Mariana Islands
as if the Northern Mariana Islands were a State (as de-
fined in section 101(a)(36) of such Act), and a part of
the United States (as defined in section 101(a)(38) of
such Act). Such Act shall supersede and replace all laws,
provisions, or programs of the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands relating to the admission and
removal of aliens from the Northern Mariana Islands.
‘‘ ‘(2)(A) The Attorney General may adjust the status
of an alien described in subparagraph (B) to that of an
alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if the
alien—
‘‘ ‘(i) applies for such adjustment;
‘‘ ‘(ii) is physically present in the Common-
wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands on the date
such application is filed;
‘‘ ‘(iii) is admissible to the United States as an
immigrant;
‘‘ ‘(iv) during the 5-year period preceding such
application, has been and still is a person of good
moral character;
‘‘ ‘(v) has not accepted or continued in unau-
thorized employment in the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands prior to filing such appli-
cation, is not in unlawful immigration status on the
date of filing such application, and has not failed
(other than through no fault of the alien or for tech-
nical reasons) to maintain continuously a lawful sta-
tus since entry into the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands; and
‘‘ ‘(vi) establishes to the satisfaction of the At-
torney General that the denial of such application
would result in exceptional and extremely unusual
hardship to the alien.
‘‘ ‘(B) The benefits provided by subparagraph (A)
shall apply to any alien who—
‘‘ ‘(i) during the 4-year period preceding the
date of the enactment of the United States-Com-
monwealth of the Northern Marianas Human Dig-
nity Act, was continuously authorized by the Govern-
ment of the Northern Mariana Islands (pursuant to
the immigration laws of the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands) to enter into and remain
temporarily in the Northern Mariana Islands in
order to perform temporary service or labor in the
Northern Mariana Islands; or
‘‘ ‘(ii) is the alien spouse or minor child of an
alien described in clause (i).
‘‘ ‘(C) When an alien is granted the status of having
been lawfully admitted for permanent residence pursuant
to this paragraph, the Secretary of State shall not be re-
quired to reduce the number of immigrant visas author-
ized to be issued under the Immigration and Nationality
Act and the Attorney General shall not be required to
charge the alien any fee.
‘‘ ‘(D) The definitions contained in the Immigration
and Nationality Act shall apply in the administration of
this paragraph. Nothing contained in this paragraph shall
be held to repeal, amend, alter, modify, effect, or restrict
the powers, duties, functions, or authority of the Attorney
General in the administration and enforcement of such
Act or any other law relating to immigration, nationality,
or naturalization. The fact that an alien may be eligible
to be granted the status of having been lawfully admitted
for permanent residence under this paragraph shall not
preclude the alien from seeking such status under any
other provision of law for which the alien may be eligible.
‘‘ ‘(3)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B),
paragraphs (1) and (2) shall take effect after the expira-
tion of the 3-month period beginning on the date of the
enactment of the United States-Commonwealth of the
Northern Marianas Human Dignity Act.
‘‘ ‘(B) With respect to an alien who, on the day pre-
ceding the date of the enactment of the United States-
Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Human Dignity
Act, is authorized by the Government of the Northern
Mariana Islands (pursuant to the immigration laws of the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) to enter
into and remain temporarily in the Northern Mariana Is-
lands in order to perform temporary service or labor in
the Northern Mariana Islands (and any relatives of the
alien if such relatives were authorized to accompany or
follow to join the alien)—
‘‘ ‘(i) paragraph (1) shall apply to the alien be-
ginning after the earlier of—
‘‘ ‘(I) the date on which such authorization
expires (such authorization not being subject to
extension or renewal by the Government of the
Northern Mariana Islands after the expiration
of the 3-month period beginning on the date of
the enactment of the United States-Common-
wealth of the Northern Marianas Human Dig-
nity Act);
‘‘ ‘(II) the date that is 2 years after the
date of the enactment of the United States-
Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas
Human Dignity Act; or
‘‘ ‘(III) the date on which the status of the
alien is adjusted to that of an alien lawfully ad-
mitted for permanent residence under para-
graph (2); and
‘‘ ‘(ii) if otherwise eligible, the alien may apply
for adjustment of status under paragraph (2) begin-
ning on the effective date of such paragraph.
‘‘ ‘(4) When deploying personnel to enforce the provi-
sions of this subsection, the Attorney General shall coordi-
nate with, and act in conjunction with, State and local
law enforcement agencies to ensure that such deployment
does not degrade or compromise the law enforcement ca-
pabilities and functions currently performed by immigra-
tion officers.’.’’.
SEC. 4. AUTHORITY OF CUSTOMS SERVICE TO BOARD
SHIPS.
Section 467 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C.
1467) is amended by striking ‘‘or the Virgin Islands,’’
each place it appears and inserting ‘‘, the Virgin Islands,
or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,’’.
SEC. 5. RATE OF WAGES FOR LABORERS AND MECHANICS.
No Federal assistance of any kind, including funds
made available through Acts of appropriation, may be
used for or in relation to any project for construction, al-
teration, or repair (including painting and decorating) of
public buildings or public works within the geographical
limits of the Northern Mariana Islands and which requires
or involves the employment of mechanics or laborers shall
unless the project is subject to a contract that contains
the following:
(1) A provision requiring that the minimum
wages to be paid the laborers and mechanics work-
ing on or in relation to the project shall be at a rate
set by the Secretary of Labor that is not less than
the minimum wage set forth in section 6 of the Fair
Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206).
(2) A provision requiring the contractor or his
subcontractor to pay all mechanics and laborers em-
ployed directly upon the site of the work, uncondi-
tionally and not less often than once a week, and
without subsequent deduction or rebate on any ac-
count, the full amounts accrued at time of payment,
computed at wage rates not less than those stated
in the contract, regardless of any contractual rela-
tionship which may be alleged to exist between the
contractor or subcontractor and such laborers and
mechanics.
(3) A provision requiring that the scale of
wages to be paid shall be posted by the contractor
in a prominent and easily accessible place at the site
of the work in English and the predominant lan-
guage of each worker.
(4) A provision requiring that there shall be
withheld from the contractor so much of accrued
payments as may be considered necessary by the
contracting officer to pay to laborers and mechanics
employed by the contractor or any subcontractor on
the work the difference between the rates of wages
required by the contract to be paid laborers and me-
chanics on the work and the rates of wages received
by such laborers and mechanics and not refunded to
the contractor, subcontractors, or their agents.
SEC. 6. STUDY; REPORT.
(a) STUDY.—The Secretary of the Interior shall con-
duct a study of the extent of human rights violations and
labor rights violations in the Northern Mariana Islands,
including the use of forced or indentured labor, and any
efforts being taken by the Government of the United
States or the Government of the Northern Mariana Island
to address or prohibit such violations.
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior
shall transmit to the Committee on Resources of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources of the Senate a report on the re-
sults of the study required by subsection (a).
(c) CONSULTATION.—Appropriate local government
officials, law enforcement agencies, and nongovernmental
organizations active in instituting and protecting human
and labor rights may be consulted when conducting the
study and preparing the report required by this section.
SEC. 7. EFFECT ON OTHER LAW.
The provisions of the amendments made by this Act
shall be in addition to, but shall not otherwise modify, the
requirements of the Textile Fiber Products Identification
Act (15 U.S.C. 70 et seq.).
Æ