[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 638 Referred in House (RFH)]

  1st Session
                                 S. 638


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 24, 1995

                 Referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
 To authorize appropriations for United States insular areas, and for 
                            other purposes.
    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. TERRITORIAL AND FREELY ASSOCIATED STATE INFRASTRUCTURE 
              ASSISTANCE.

    Section 4(b) of Public Law 94-241 (90 Stat. 263) as added by 
section 10 of Public Law 99-396 (99 Stat. 837, 841) is amended by 
deleting ``until Congress otherwise provides by law.'' and inserting in 
lieu thereof: ``except that, for fiscal years 1996 and thereafter, 
payments to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands pursuant 
to the multi-year funding agreements contemplated under the Covenant 
shall be limited to the amounts set forth in the Agreement of the 
Special Representatives on Future Federal Financial Assistance of the 
Northern Mariana Islands, executed on December 17, 1992 between the 
special representative of the President of the United States and 
special representatives of the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands 
and shall be subject to all the requirements of such Agreement with any 
additional amounts otherwise made available under this section in any 
fiscal year and not required to meet the schedule of payments set forth 
in the Agreement to be provided as set forth in subsection (c) until 
Congress otherwise provides by law.
    ``(c) The additional amounts referred to in subsection (b) shall be 
made available to the Secretary for obligation as follows:
            ``(1) for fiscal year 1996, all such amounts shall be 
        provided for capital infrastructure projects in American Samoa; 
        and
            ``(2) for fiscal years 1997 and thereafter, all such 
        amounts shall be available solely for capital infrastructure 
        projects in Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of 
        Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of 
        the Marshall Islands: Provided, That, in fiscal year 1997, $3 
        million of such amounts shall be made available to the College 
        of the Northern Marianas and beginning in fiscal year 1997, and 
        in each year thereafter, not to exceed $3 million may be 
        allocated, as provided in Appropriation Acts, to the Secretary 
        of the Interior for use by Federal agencies or the Commonwealth 
        of the Northern Mariana Islands to address immigration, labor, 
        and law enforcement issues in the Northern Mariana Islands, 
        including, but not limited to detention and corrections needs. 
        The specific projects to be funded shall be set forth in a 
        five-year plan for infrastructure assistance developed by the 
        Secretary of the Interior in consultation with each of the 
        island governments and updated annually and submitted to the 
        Congress concurrent with the budget justifications for the 
        Department of the Interior. In developing and updating the five 
        year plan for capital infrastructure needs, the Secretary shall 
        indicate the highest priority projects, consider the extent to 
        which particular projects are part of an overall master plan, 
        whether such project has been reviewed by the Corps of 
        Engineers and any recommendations made as a result of such 
        review, the extent to which a set-aside for maintenance would 
        enhance the life of the project, the degree to which a local 
        cost-share requirement would be consistent with local economic 
        and fiscal capabilities, and may propose an incremental set-
        aside, not to exceed $2 million per year, to remain available 
        without fiscal year limitation, as an emergency fund in the 
        event of natural or other disasters to supplement other 
        assistance in the repair, replacement, or hardening of 
        essential facilities: Provided further, That the cumulative 
        amount set aside for such emergency fund may not exceed $10 
        million at any time.
    ``(d) Within the amounts allocated for infrastructure pursuant to 
this section, and subject to the specific allocations made in 
subsection (c), additional contributions may be made, as set forth in 
Appropriation Acts, to assist in the resettlement of Rongelap Atoll: 
Provided, That the total of all contributions from any Federal source 
after January 1, 1995 may not exceed $32 million and shall be 
contingent upon an agreement, satisfactory to the President, that such 
contributions are a full and final settlement of all obligations of the 
United States to assist in the resettlement of Rongelap Atoll and that 
such funds will be expended solely on resettlement activities and will 
be properly audited and accounted for. In order to provide such 
contributions in a timely manner, each Federal agency providing 
assistance or services, or conducting activities, in the Republic of 
the Marshall Islands, is authorized to make funds available, through 
the Secretary of the Interior, to assist in the resettlement of 
Rongelap. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit the 
provision of ex gratia assistance pursuant to section 105(c)(2) of the 
Compact of Free Association Act of 1985 (Public Law 99-239, 99 Stat. 
1770, 1792) including for individuals choosing not to resettle at 
Rongelap, except that no such assistance for such individuals may be 
provided until the Secretary notifies the Congress that the full amount 
of all funds necessary for resettlement at Rongelap has been 
provided.''.

SEC. 2. FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE.

    Effective thirty days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
minimum wage provisions, including, but not limited to, the coverage 
and exemptions provisions, of section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act 
of June 25, 1938 (52 Stat. 1062), as amended, shall apply to the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, except--
            (a) on the effective date, the minimum wage rate applicable 
        to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands shall be 
        $2.75 per hour;
            (b) effective January 1, 1996, the minimum wage rate 
        applicable to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 
        shall be $3.05 per hour;
            (c) effective January 1, 1997 and every January 1 
        thereafter, the minimum wage rate shall be raised by thirty 
        cents per hour or the amount necessary to raise the minimum 
        wage rate to the wage rate set forth in section 6(a)(1) of the 
        Fair Labor Standards act, whichever is less; and
            (d) once the minimum wage rate is equal to the wage rate 
        set forth in section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 
        the minimum wage rate applicable to the Commonwealth of the 
        Northern Mariana Islands shall thereafter be the wage rate set 
        forth in section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

SEC. 3. REPORT.

    The Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Attorney 
General and Secretaries of Treasury, Labor and State, shall report to 
the Congress by the March 15 following each fiscal year for which funds 
are allocated pursuant to section 4(c) of Public Law 94-241 for use by 
Federal agencies or the Commonwealth to address immigration, labor or 
law enforcement activities. The report shall include but not be limited 
to--
            (1) pertinent immigration information provided by the 
        Immigration and Naturalization Service, including the number of 
        non-United States citizen contract workers in the CNMI, based 
        on data the Immigration and Naturalization Service may require 
        of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands on a 
        semiannual basis, or more often if deemed necessary by the 
        Immigration and Naturalization Service,
            (2) the treatment and conditions of non-United States 
        citizen contract workers, including foreign government 
        interference with workers' ability to assert their rights under 
        United States law,
            (3) the effect of laws of the Northern Mariana Islands on 
        Federal interests,
            (4) the adequacy of detention facilities in the Northern 
        Mariana Islands,
            (5) the accuracy and reliability of the computerized alien 
        identification and tracking system and its compatibility with 
        the system of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and
            (6) the reasons why Federal agencies are unable or 
        unwilling to fully and effectively enforce Federal laws 
        applicable within the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
        Islands unless such activities are funded by the Secretary of 
        the Interior.

SEC. 4. IMMIGRATION COOPERATION.

    The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the 
Immigration and Naturalization Service shall cooperate in the 
identification and, if necessary, exclusion or deportation from the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands of persons who represent 
security or law enforcement risks to the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands or the United States.

SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION OF LOCAL EMPLOYMENT IN THE MARIANAS.

    (a) Section 8103(i) of title 46 of the United States Code is 
amended by renumbering paragraph (3) as paragraph (4) and by adding a 
new paragraph (3) as follows:
            ``(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 
        subsection, any alien allowed to be employed under the 
        immigration laws of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
        Islands (CNMI) may serve as an unlicensed seaman on a fishing, 
        fish processing, or fish tender vessel that is operated 
        exclusively from a port within the CNMI and within the 
        navigable waters and exclusive economic zone of the United 
        States surrounding the CNMI. Pursuant to 46 U.S.C. 8704, such 
        persons are deemed to be employed in the United States and are 
        considered to have the permission of the Attorney General of 
        the United States to accept such employment: Provided, That 
        paragraph (2) of this subsection shall not apply to persons 
        allowed to be employed under this paragraph.''.
    (b) Section 8103(i)(1) of title 46 of the United States Code is 
amended by deleting ``paragraph (3) of this subsection'' and inserting 
in lieu thereof ``paragraph (4) of this subsection''.

SEC. 6. CLARIFICATION OF OWNERSHIP OF SUBMERGED LANDS IN THE 
              COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS.

    Public Law 93-435 (88 Stat. 1210), as amended, is further amended 
by--
            (a) striking ``Guam, the Virgin Islands'' in section 1 and 
        inserting in lieu thereof ``Guam, the Commonwealth of the 
        Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands'' each place the 
        words appear;
            (b) striking ``Guam, American Samoa'' in section 2 and 
        inserting in lieu thereof ``Guam, the Commonwealth of the 
        Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa''; and
            (c) striking ``Guam, the Virgin Islands'' in section 2 and 
        inserting in lieu thereof ``Guam, the Commonwealth of the 
        Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands.''.
    With respect to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 
references to ``the date of enactment of this Act'' or ``date of 
enactment of this subsection'' contained in Public Law 93-435, as 
amended, shall mean the date of enactment of this section.

SEC. 7. ANNUAL STATE OF THE ISLANDS REPORT.

    The Secretary of the Interior shall submit to the Congress, 
annually, a ``State of the Islands'' report on American Samoa, Guam, 
the United States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall 
Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia that includes basic 
economic development information, data on direct and indirect Federal 
assistance, local revenues and expenditures, employment and 
unemployment, the adequacy of essential infrastructure and maintenance 
thereof, and an assessment of local financial management and 
administrative capabilities, and Federal efforts to improve those 
capabilities.

SEC. 8. TECHNICAL CORRECTION.

    Section 501 of Public Law 95-134 (91 Stat. 1159, 1164), as amended, 
is further amended by deleting ``the Trust Territory of the Pacific 
Islands,'' and inserting in lieu thereof ``the Republic of Palau, the 
Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of 
Micronesia,''.
            Passed the Senate July 20 (legislative day, July 10), 1995.

            Attest:

                                             KELLY D. JOHNSTON,

                                                             Secretary.