[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1450 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1450

To provide certain requirements for labeling textile fiber products and 
     to implement minimum wage and immigration requirements in the 
             Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 24, 1997

 Mr. Miller of California (for himself, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. Kleczka, Mr. 
   Berman, Mr. Stark, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Dingell, Mr. 
 McGovern, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Clay, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Olver, Mr. Evans, 
   Mrs. Mink of Hawaii, Ms. McKinney, Ms. Pelosi, Mrs. Clayton, Mr. 
Dellums, Mr. Green, Mr. Gejdenson, Mr. Kind, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Frank of 
  Massachusetts, Mr. Hefner, Mr. Lantos, Mr. Spratt, and Mr. Brown of 
    Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide certain requirements for labeling textile fiber products and 
     to implement minimum wage and immigration requirements in the 
             Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Insular Fair Wage and Human Rights 
Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) article V of section 503 of the Covenant which 
        established a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 
        provided the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands with 
        an exemption from the minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor 
        Standards Act because immediate application of that Act could 
        have disrupted the struggling local economy of that 
        Commonwealth;
            (2) the economy of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
        Islands has grown significantly and, in 1994, annual gross 
        business revenues had risen to $1,470,000,000;
            (3) the current minimum wage in the Commonwealth of the 
        Northern Mariana Islands is only $2.90 per hour for the garment 
        and construction industry workers and $3.05 per hour for those 
        working in other industries;
            (4) the legislature of the Commonwealth of the Northern 
        Mariana Islands reversed a law that would have provided for 
        small, incremental increases in the Commonwealth of the 
        Northern Mariana Islands minimum wage until that wage reached 
        the Federally-mandated wage;
            (5) all workers on United States soil should be paid a 
        living wage;
            (6) to allay any concerns of the Commonwealth of the 
        Northern Mariana Islands that United States immigration laws 
        would allow unrestricted immigration into the small island 
        communities, article V of the Covenant which established a 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands provided the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands with a partial 
        exemption from the Immigration and Naturalization Act until 
        Congress acts to make other provisions of that law applicable 
        to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands;
            (7) the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands then 
        instituted a largely unrestricted immigration policy, resulting 
        in a population of over 58,800 people with foreign workers 
        outnumbering United States citizens;
            (8) the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has 
        used its immigration policy to recruit a large, low-cost 
        foreign workforce of desperately poor individuals with 
        virtually no voice to demand safe living and working conditions 
        or better wage and benefit options;
            (9) the recruitment of this large, low-cost foreign 
        workforce has led to an unemployment rate of 14 percent among 
        United States citizens in the Commonwealth of the Northern 
        Mariana Islands;
            (10) garments made in the Commonwealth of the Northern 
        Mariana Islands may carry a ``Made in USA'' label, deceiving 
        consumers as to the con- ditions under which the garments have 
        been made and competing directly with garments made on the 
        United States mainland by workers paid a living wage working in 
        a safe environment;
            (11) ``sweatshop'' conditions exist in the Commonwealth of 
        the Northern Mariana Islands, where employers--
                    (A) provide unsafe and unhealthy working and living 
                environments;
                    (B) use bonded and indentured foreign laborers;
                    (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 the fear of retaliation; 
                and
            (12) the government of the Commonwealth of the Northern 
        Mariana Islands has been ineffective in raising the wage and 
        living standards for workers, stemming the flow of immigration 
        onto United States soil, and aggressively prosecuting labor and 
        human rights abuses.

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'' approved March 24, 1976 (48 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), is 
amended--
            (1) by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 7. LABELING OF TEXTILE FIBER PRODUCTS.

    ``(a) In General.--No textile fiber product shall have a stamp, 
tag, label, or other means of identification or substitute therefore on 
or affixed to the product stating `Made in the 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 textile fiber product was paid a wage equal to or 
        greater than the wage set by section 8; and
            ``(2) the product was 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.
    ``(b) A textile fiber product which does not comply with 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) Definition.--For purposes of this section the term `direct 
labor' includes any work provided to prepare, assemble, process, 
package, or transport a textile fiber product, but does not include 
supervisory, management, security, or administrative work.'';
            (2) by adding, after the new section added by paragraph 
        (1), the following new section:

``SEC. 8. MINIMUM WAGE.

    ``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) through December 31, 1997, the minimum wage applicable to the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands shall be $3.55 per hour;
    ``(2) on January 1, 1998, and on July 1 and January 1 of each year 
thereafter, the minimum wage applicable to the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands shall be $0.50 per hour more than the minimum 
wage that was applicable to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands for the preceding six-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 section 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 applicable to the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana 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.''; and
            (3) by adding, after the new sections added by paragraphs 
        (1) and (2), the following new section:

``SEC. 9. APPLICABILITY OF IMMIGRATION LAWS.

    ``Section 506(a) of the foregoing Covenant shall be construed and 
applied as if it included at the end the following subsection:
    ```(e)(1) For purposes of entry into the Northern Mariana Islands 
by any individual (but not for purposes of entry by an individual into 
the United States from the Northern Mariana Islands), the Immigration 
and Nationality Act shall apply as if the Northern Mariana Islands were 
a State (as defined in section 101(a)(36) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act). The Attorney General, acting through the Commissioner 
of Immigration and Naturalization, shall enforce the preceding 
sentence.
    ```(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), with respect to an individual 
seeking entry into the Northern Mariana Islands for purposes of 
employment in the textile, hotel, tourist, or construction industry 
(including employment as a contractor), the Federal statutes and 
regulations governing admission to Guam of individuals described in 
section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
shall apply. Such statutes and regulations shall be so applied by 
substituting the term ``United States citizen, national, or resident 
workers'' for the term ``United States resident workers'', and by 
substituting the term ``the Northern Mariana Islands'' for the term 
``Guam'' each place it appears.
    ```(3) When deploying personnel to enforce the provisions of this 
section, the Attorney General shall coordinate 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 
capabilities and functions currently performed by immigration 
officers.'.''.

SEC. 4. REPORT.

    (a) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall include the results of 
the study required by subsection (b) in the annual report transmitted 
to Congress which is entitled ``Federal-CNMI Initiative on Labor, 
Immigration, and Law Enforcement''.
    (b) Study.--A study shall be conducted of the extent of human 
rights violations and labor rights violations in the Commonwealth of 
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 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Island to address or 
prohibit such violations.
    (c) Consultation Regarding Study.--Appropriate local government 
officials, law enforcement agencies, and non-governmental organizations 
active in instituting and protecting human and labor rights may be 
consulted when preparing and conducting the study required by 
subsection (b).

SEC. 5. EFFECT ON OTHER LAW.

    The provisions of paragraph (1) of section 3 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.).

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATES.

    (a) Labeling of Textile Fiber Products; Immigration of Workers.--
The amendment made by paragraph (1) of section 3 and the provision of 
the amendment made by paragraph (3) of section 3 which is designated as 
``(e)(2)'' shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Minimum Wage.--The amendment made by paragraph (2) of section 3 
shall take effect 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (c) Immigration.--Except as provided in subsection (a), the 
amendment made by paragraph (3) of section 3 shall apply to individuals 
entering the Northern Mariana Islands after the expiration of the 6-
month period beginning with the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.
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