[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2661 Introduced in House (IH)]







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 jurisdiction 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 immigration requirements in, the Northern Mariana 
                    Islands, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``United States-Commonwealth 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 elected 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 Mariana 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 Covenant.
            (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 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 Nationality Act until the United Nations 
        trusteeship over the Islands ended in 1986.
            (4) The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands then 
        instituted a largely unrestricted immigration policy, resulting 
        in a population explosion 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 workers.
            (5) 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.
            (6) In 1999, more than 85 percent of all private sector 
        jobs in the Northern Mariana Islands were held by temporary 
        contract workers from foreign countries while nearly 50 percent 
        of all employed United States citizens in the Northern Mariana 
        Islands work for the local government.
            (7) The recruitment of this large, low-cost foreign 
        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 garments 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 Northern Mariana Islands with 
        a temporary exemption from the minimum wage provisions of the 
        Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 in order to assist the growth 
        of the Islands' economy.
            (12) The economy of the Northern Mariana Islands has grown 
        significantly and, in 2000, the garment industry alone sent 
        over $1,025,000,000 worth of garments to the United States 
        mainland; yet the current minimum wage in the Northern Mariana 
        Islands is as low as $3.05 per hour.
            (13) The legislature of the Commonwealth of the Northern 
        Mariana Islands reversed a law that would have provided for 
        small, incremental increases in the minimum wage in the 
        Northern Mariana Islands until that wage reached the federally 
        mandated wage.
            (14) All workers on United States soil should be paid a 
        living wage.
            (15) Garments made in the Northern Mariana Islands may 
        carry a ``Made in USA'' label, deceiving consumers as to the 
        conditions 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.
            (16) ``Sweatshop'' conditions exist in 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 fear of retaliation.
            (17) The Government of the Commonwealth of the Northern 
        Mariana Islands has repeatedly refused to raise the wage and 
        living standards for workers, or to aggressively prosecute 
        labor and human rights abuses.
            (18) United States Customs agents and Customs 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'' approved 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 PRODUCTS.

    ``(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 producing or 
        manufacturing the product does not employ individuals under 
        conditions of indentured servitude.
    ``(b) Result of Noncompliance Regarding Textile Fiber Products.--A 
textile fiber product, which is stamped, tagged, labeled, or otherwise 
identified in violation 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 product, but does not include 
        supervisory, management, security, or administrative work.
            ``(2) Indentured servitude.--The term `indentured 
        servitude' includes all labor for which an alien worker is in 
        the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands solely by 
        virtue of an employment 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 displeases the 
        employer/master, the contract is terminated and the employee 
        must leave the Commonwealth 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 
        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.'

``SEC. 9. CONDITIONS FOR DUTY-FREE AND QUOTA-FREE TREATMENT.

    ``(a) Conditions.--No product of the Northern Mariana 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 producing or 
        manufacturing the product does not employ individuals under 
        conditions of indentured servitude; and
            ``(4) the Commissioner of Customs has certified that the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is taking adequate 
        measures--
                    ``(A) to prevent unlawful transshipment of goods 
                that is carried out by rerouting, false declaration 
                concerning country or place of origin, 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 referred 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 assembly 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 successors 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 `indentured 
        servitude' includes all labor for which an alien worker is in 
        the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands solely by 
        virtue of an employment 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 displeases the 
        employer/master, the contract is terminated and the employee 
        must leave the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

``SEC. 10. APPLICABILITY OF IMMIGRATION LAWS.

    ``Section 506 of the foregoing Covenant shall be construed and 
applied as if it included at the end the following subsection:
    ```(e)(1) The provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
shall apply to the Northern Mariana Islands as if the Northern Mariana 
Islands were a State (as defined 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 Commonwealth 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 unauthorized 
        employment in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 
        prior to filing such application, 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 technical reasons) to maintain continuously a lawful status since 
entry into the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; and
            ```(vi) establishes to the satisfaction of the Attorney 
        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-Commonwealth of the Northern 
        Marianas Human Dignity Act, was continuously 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 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 required to reduce the number of 
immigrant visas authorized 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 expiration 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 preceding 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 Islands 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 beginning 
        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-Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Human 
                Dignity 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 admitted for 
                permanent residence under paragraph (2); and
            ```(ii) if otherwise eligible, the alien may apply for 
        adjustment of status under paragraph (2) beginning on the 
        effective date of such paragraph.
    ```(4) When deploying personnel to enforce the provisions of this 
subsection, 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. 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, alteration, 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 working 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 employed 
        directly upon the site of the work, unconditionally and not 
        less often than once a week, and without subsequent deduction 
        or rebate on any account, the full amounts accrued at time of 
        payment, computed at wage rates not less than those stated in 
        the contract, regardless of any contractual relationship 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 language 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 mechanics 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 conduct 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 
results 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.).
                                 <all>