[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5888 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5888

     To amend section 6 of the Joint Resolution entitled ``A 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''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 14, 2016

  Mr. Sablan introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend section 6 of the Joint Resolution entitled ``A 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''.

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

SECTION 1. ENSURING AN ADEQUATE WORKFORCE FOR THE COMMONWEALTH.

    (a) Transition Period.--Section 6 of the Joint Resolution entitled 
``A 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. 1806), is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``2019'' and 
                inserting ``2029''; and
                    (B) by striking paragraph (6), and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(6) Certain education funding.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In addition to fees charged 
                pursuant to section 286(m) of the Immigration and 
                Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356(m)) to recover the full 
                costs of providing adjudication services, the Secretary 
                of Homeland Security shall charge an annual 
                supplemental fee of $150 per temporary worker to each 
                prospective employer who is issued a permit under 
                subsection (d) of this section during the transition 
                program. Such supplemental fee shall be paid into the 
                Treasury of the Commonwealth government for the purpose 
                of funding ongoing vocational educational curricula and 
                program development by Commonwealth educational 
                entities.
                    ``(B) Plan for the expenditure of funds.--At the 
                beginning of each fiscal year, and prior to the payment 
                of the supplemental fee into the Treasury of the 
                Commonwealth government in that fiscal year, the 
                Commonwealth government must provide to the Secretary 
                of Labor, a plan for the expenditure of funds received 
                under this paragraph, a projection of the effectiveness 
                of these expenditures in the placement of United States 
                workers into jobs, and a report on the changes in 
                employment of United States workers attributable to 
                prior year expenditures.
                    ``(C) Report.--The Secretary of Labor shall report 
                to the Congress every 2 years on the effectiveness of 
                meeting the goals set out by the Commonwealth 
                government in its annual plan for the expenditure of 
                funds.'';
            (2) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) by striking the third sentence and 
                        inserting the following: ``This system shall 
                        provide, during the transition period or any 
                        extension thereof, for a reduction in the 
                        allocation of permits for such workers on an 
                        annual basis to zero unless the Secretary 
                        determines that a reduction in the number of 
                        available workers for a fiscal year would 
                        adversely affect the Commonwealth's economy. 
                        Such a determination shall be based upon 
                        verifiable documentation of the economic harm 
                        that would result from a reduction in available 
                        workers. Under such conditions, the Secretary 
                        may decide to make no change to or to increase 
                        the number of available workers for that fiscal 
                        year.''; and
                            (ii) by adding at the end the following: 
                        ``At no time may the number of permits in 
                        effect and valid under this paragraph exceed 
                        18,000.'';
                    (B) in paragraph (3)--
                            (i) by striking ``(3)'' and inserting 
                        ``(3)(A)''; and
                            (ii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) No alien may be admitted or provided CW-1 
                status in an occupational classification unless the 
                employer has filed with the Secretary of Labor an 
                application stating that the employer is offering and 
                will offer, during the period of authorized employment, 
                to aliens admitted or provided CW-1 status--
                            ``(i) wages that are at least the actual 
                        wage level paid by the employer to all other 
                        individuals with similar experience and 
                        qualifications for the specific employment in 
                        question;
                            ``(ii) wages that are at least the 
                        prevailing wage level for the occupational 
                        classification in the area of employment; or
                            ``(iii) for job classifications without a 
                        certified prevailing wage, wages equal to or 
                        greater than the mean wage of the 3 lowest 
                        wages within the Commonwealth's prevailing wage 
                        system.''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6)(A) Not later than April 30, 2027, the Secretary of 
        Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
        the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, and 
        the Governor of the Commonwealth, shall ascertain the current 
        and anticipated labor needs of the Commonwealth and determine 
        whether an extension of up to 5 years of the provisions of this 
        subsection is necessary to ensure an adequate number of workers 
        will be available for legitimate businesses in the 
        Commonwealth. If the Secretary of Labor determines that such an 
        extension is necessary, the Secretary of Labor shall provide 
        for it through a notice published in the Federal Register 
        containing such determination.
            ``(B) For the purpose of this paragraph, a business shall 
        not be considered legitimate if it engages directly or 
        indirectly in prostitution, trafficking in minors, or any other 
        activity that is illegal under Federal or local law. The 
        determinations of whether a business is legitimate and to what 
        extent, if any, it may require alien workers to supplement the 
        resident workforce, shall be made by the Secretary of Homeland 
        Security, in the Secretary's sole discretion.
            ``(C) In making the determination of whether alien workers 
        are necessary to ensure an adequate number of workers for 
        legitimate businesses in the Commonwealth, and if so, the 
        number of such workers that are necessary, the Secretary of 
        Labor may consider, among other relevant factors--
                    ``(i) government, industry, or independent 
                workforce studies reporting on the need, or lack 
                thereof, for alien workers in the Commonwealth's 
                businesses;
                    ``(ii) the unemployment rate of United States 
                citizen workers residing in the Commonwealth;
                    ``(iii) the unemployment rate of aliens in the 
                Commonwealth who have been lawfully admitted for 
                permanent residence;
                    ``(iv) the number of unemployed alien workers in 
                the Commonwealth;
                    ``(v) any good faith efforts to locate, educate, 
                train, or otherwise prepare United States citizen 
                residents, lawful permanent residents, and unemployed 
                alien workers already within the Commonwealth, to 
                assume those jobs;
                    ``(vi) any available evidence tending to show that 
                United States citizen residents, lawful permanent 
                residents, and unemployed alien workers already in the 
                Commonwealth are not willing to accept jobs of the type 
                offered;
                    ``(vii) the extent to which admittance of alien 
                workers will affect the compensation, benefits, and 
                living standards of existing workers within those 
                industries and other industries authorized to employ 
                alien workers; and
                    ``(viii) the prior use, if any, of alien workers to 
                fill those industry jobs, and whether the industry 
                requires alien workers to fill those jobs.
            ``(D) The Secretary of Labor periodically shall provide to 
        the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee 
        on the Judiciary of the Senate, the Committee on Natural 
        Resources and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
        Representatives, and the Delegate to the United States House of 
        Representatives from the Northern Mariana Islands an outline of 
        the Secretary's schedule and process for making determinations 
        under this paragraph.''; and
            (3) in subsection (e), by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6)  Special provision regarding long-term residents of 
        the commonwealth.--
                    ``(A) CNMI-only resident status.--Notwithstanding 
                paragraph (1), an alien described in subparagraph (B) 
                may, upon the application of the alien, be admitted as 
                an immigrant to the Commonwealth subject to the 
                following rules:
                            ``(i) The alien shall be treated as an 
                        immigrant lawfully admitted for permanent 
                        residence in the Commonwealth only, including 
                        permitting entry to and exit from the 
                        Commonwealth, until the earlier of the date on 
                        which--
                                    ``(I) the alien ceases to 
                                permanently reside in the Commonwealth; 
                                or
                                    ``(II) the alien's status is 
                                adjusted under this paragraph or 
                                section 245 of the Immigration and 
                                Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255) to that 
                                of an alien lawfully admitted for 
                                permanent residence in accordance with 
                                all applicable eligibility 
                                requirements.
                            ``(ii) The Secretary of Homeland Security 
                        shall establish a process for such aliens to 
                        apply for CNMI-only permanent resident status 
                        during the 90-day period beginning on the first 
                        day of the sixth month after the date of the 
                        enactment of this paragraph.
                            ``(iii) Nothing in this subparagraph may be 
                        construed to provide any alien granted status 
                        under this subparagraph with public assistance 
                        to which the alien is not otherwise entitled.
                    ``(B) Aliens described.--An alien is described in 
                this subparagraph if the alien--
                            ``(i) is lawfully present in the 
                        Commonwealth under the immigration laws of the 
                        United States;
                            ``(ii) is otherwise admissible to the 
                        United States under the Immigration and 
                        Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.);
                            ``(iii) resided continuously and lawfully 
                        in the Commonwealth from November 28, 2009, 
                        through the date of the enactment of this 
                        paragraph;
                            ``(iv) is not a citizen of the Republic of 
                        the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of 
                        Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau; and
                            ``(v)(I) was born in the Northern Mariana 
                        Islands between January 1, 1974, and January 9, 
                        1978;
                            ``(II) was, on May 8, 2008, and continues 
                        to be as of the date of the enactment of this 
                        paragraph, a permanent resident (as defined in 
                        section 4303 of title 3 of the Northern Mariana 
                        Islands Commonwealth Code, in effect on May 8, 
                        2008);
                            ``(III) is the spouse or child (as defined 
                        in section 101(b)(1) of the Immigration and 
                        Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1))), of an 
                        alien described in subclauses (I) or (II);
                            ``(IV) was, on May 8, 2008, an immediate 
                        relative (as defined in section 4303 of title 3 
                        of the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth 
                        Code, in effect on May 8, 2008), of a United 
                        States citizen, notwithstanding the age of the 
                        United States citizen, and continues to be such 
                        an immediate relative on the date of the 
                        application described in subparagraph (A);
                            ``(V) resided in the Northern Mariana 
                        Islands as a guest worker under Commonwealth 
                        immigration law for at least 5 years before May 
                        8, 2008, and is presently resident under CW-1 
                        status; or
                            ``(VI) is the spouse or child (as defined 
                        in section 101(b)(1) of the Immigration and 
                        Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1))), of the 
                        alien guest worker described in subclause (V) 
                        and is presently resident under CW-2 status.
                    ``(C) Adjustment for long-term and permanent 
                residents.--Beginning on the date that is 5 years after 
                the date of the enactment of this paragraph, an alien 
                described in subparagraph (B) may apply to receive an 
                immigrant visa or to adjust his or her status to that 
                of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent 
                residence.''.
    (b) Additional Reports.--Section 702 of the Consolidated Natural 
Resources Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-229; 122 Stat. 854) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (i), (j), and (k) as 
        subsections (j), (k), and (l); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (h) the following:
    ``(i) Additional Reports.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Comptroller General of the United 
        States shall submit a report to the Congress not later than 2 
        years after the date of the enactment of this subsection, and, 
        beginning on April 30, 2019, every 4 years until the end of the 
        transition program established under section 6 of the Joint 
        Resolution entitled `A 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 (Public Law 94-241; 90 
        Stat. 263, 122 Stat. 854), as added by subsection (a). The 
        report shall include, at a minimum, the following items:
                    ``(A) An assessment of the short-term and long-term 
                impacts of the amendments made by this subtitle on the 
                economy of the Commonwealth, including its ability to 
                obtain workers to supplement its resident workforce and 
                to maintain access to its tourists and customers.
                    ``(B) An analysis of the labor needs of the 
                Commonwealth and of efforts by the Commonwealth 
                government and business to recruit, educate, and train 
                United States citizens and nationals, aliens lawfully 
                admitted to the United States for permanent residence, 
                and citizens of one of the Freely Associated States 
                admitted under the Compacts of Free Association with 
                the United States and residing in the Commonwealth of 
                the Northern Mariana Islands, to replace the temporary 
                workforce.
            ``(2) Data collection.--To assist the Commonwealth's 
        efforts to train United States citizens and nationals, aliens 
        lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence, 
        and citizens of one of the Freely Associated States admitted 
        under the Compacts of Free Association with the United States 
        and residing in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
        Islands, to replace temporary workers, and to assist the 
        Secretary of Labor's analysis of whether the transition program 
        referred to in paragraph (1) should be extended--
                    ``(A) the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
                report to the Congress, not later than 90 days after 
                the end of each fiscal year of the program, the number 
                of permits approved, by occupation, industry, and 
                country of citizenship, for employment of aliens 
                seeking to enter the Commonwealth as a temporary 
                worker; and
                    ``(B) the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the 
                Department of Labor shall collect data on unemployment, 
                employment, pay, and benefits in the Commonwealth of 
                the Northern Mariana Islands beginning with the first 
                fiscal year after the date of the enactment of this 
                subsection.''.
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