[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 111 (Thursday, July 31, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8552-S8558]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. AKAKA (for himself, Ms. Collins, Mr. Hutchinson, Ms. 
        Landrieu, Mr. Bumpers, Mr. Ford, Mr. Bingaman, and Mr. 
        Hollings):
  S. 1100. A bill to amend the Covenant To Establish a Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union With the United States 
of America, the legislation approving such covenant, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.


          the commonwealth of the northern mariana reform act

  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands Reform Act, a bipartisan initiative to 
curb immigration, wage, and apparel labeling abuses in the CNMI. 
Senators Collins, Hutchinson of Arkansas, Landrieu, Bumpers, Ford, 
Bingaman, and Hollings are cosponsors of this legislation.
  The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is located 3,900 
miles west of Hawaii. Following World War II, the United States 
administered the islands under a U.N. Trusteeship.
  In 1975, the people of the CNMI voted for political union with the 
United States. Today the CNMI is a U.S. territory.
  A 1976 covenant enacted by Congress gave U.S. citizenship to 
residents of the CNMI. The covenant exempted the Commonwealth from U.S. 
immigration and minimum wage laws, however. This omission has led to a 
number of abuses in the CNMI that my bill would rectify.


                     immigration abuse in the cnmi

  I am sure many Senators will find it hard to believe that the 
Immigration and Nationality Act does not apply to all territories in 
the U.S. As surprising as it may be, the CNMI is exempt from U.S. 
immigration law.
  Let me explain the origins of this unique situation. At the time that 
the covenant establishing the CNMI was negotiated, the Northern 
Marianas leadership expressed concern that immigrants from neighboring 
Asian countries might settle in the CNMI and thereby alter the 
Commonwealth's culture. The island government requested that it be 
given exclusive authority over immigration so that it could limit the 
entry of aliens and preserve local culture and customs. Congress agreed 
to the request, but specifically reserved the right to extend Federal 
immigration law to the CNMI if the situation warranted.
  After 20 years, CNMI immigration policy is a proven failure. In 1980, 
the Commonwealth's population was 16,780. Of these, 12 percent were 
alien residents. Today, CNMI's population is 59,000, more than half of 
whom are aliens.
  Rather than preventing an influx of immigrants, the CNMI has 
established an aggressive policy of recruiting low-wage, foreign guest 
workers to operate an ever-expanding garment and tourism industry. 
According to the CNMI representative in Washington, local immigration 
policy has ``no limit. It is wide open, unrestricted.''
  The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service reports that CNMI 
authorities have no reliable records of aliens who have entered the 
CNMI, how long they remain, and when, if ever, they depart. Ninety-one 
percent of the private sector work force are alien guest workers. These 
workers have overwhelmed the CNMI, driving up unemployment in the 
Commonwealth to 14 percent. There is no justification for an 
immigration policy that admits foreign workers in such overwhelming 
numbers that it leads to double-digit unemployment.
  The application of U.S. immigration law to the CNMI is long overdue. 
The CNMI has exploited its immigration exemption to the point where 
alien workers constitute a majority of the CNMI population. The 
Commonwealth's exemption from the Immigration and Nationality Act has 
been so abused that protecting the island culture ceases to be an 
issue.
  Despite a 3-year effort by the U.S. Departments of Justice, Labor, 
and Interior, and an appropriation of $10 million by Congress, there 
had been little or no improvement in CNMI immigration policy. In fact, 
the Commonwealth's immigration policy has grown worse. Between January 
1995 and May 1996, 23 new garment companies received operating 
licenses, prompting the CNMI Government to enact legislation to double 
the number of foreign workers permitted in the island's garment 
industry.


                         ``made in usa'' abuse

  The U.S. apparel industry would be shocked to learn that in 1996, 
$555 million of textile products labeled ``Made in USA'' were cut and 
sewn in the CNMI by workers who enjoy none of the protections typically 
associated with the ``Made in USA'' label. Even more frightening is the 
fact that the CNMI textile industry is growing at a rate of 30 percent 
annually. Textile manufacturers across the United States who pay their 
employees the Federal minimum wage are undercut by CNMI competitors who 
label their garments ``Made in USA'' but employ foreign laborers to sew 
foreign fabric, pay them $3.05 an hour and subject them to feudal 
working conditions.
  The evidence that garments sewn in the CNMI directly and unfairly 
compete with U.S. apparel manufacturers is very strong. According to 
the Commerce Department, 85 percent of CNMI apparel is classified as 
import sensitive. This classification means that the CNMI garments 
compete with segments of the U.S. apparel industry that are 
experiencing significant decline due to heavy import penetration.

[[Page S8553]]

  Apparel manufacturers in the CNMI enjoy benefits that far exceed 
those enjoyed by foreign or domestic manufacturers. CNMI garment 
factories are not subject to the U.S. minimum wage and pay no duty on 
fabrics they import. Furthermore, quotas do not apply to either fabric 
imported into the Commonwealth, or to finished garments cut and sewn in 
the CNMI using foreign labor. Yet these products are labeled ``Made in 
the USA'' and compete unfairly with apparel employment elsewhere in the 
United States.
  The July 1997 report on labor, immigration, and law enforcement in 
the CNMI confirms my analysis of the Commonwealth's garment industry. 
Page 13 of the report contains the following finding:

       The duty and quota-free preferences afforded to products of 
     the CNMI, coupled with local control of immigration and 
     minimum wage, have led to a rapidly growing garment 
     manufacturing industry. Apparel manufacturers operating in 
     the CNMI, who mainly employ workers from the People's 
     Republic of China, label their products ``Made in the USA,'' 
     and use Chinese fabric not subject to United States duty or 
     quota. By using the CNMI as an apparel manufacturing base, 
     these manufacturers avoid duties and are not subject to 
     United States quotas on finished products. These imports 
     adversely affect the United States apparel industry's 
     employment and profits.

  In some cases, these garment factories are transplanted to the CNMI 
from the People's Republic of China. They are owned or managed by 
Chinese nationals, and staffed by bonded and indentured Chinese 
laborers. Despite promises of the American dream if they work in the 
CNMI, laborers must sign contracts with government officials in the 
People's Republic of China that waive rights guaranteed to U.S. 
workers, forbid participation in religious and political activities 
while in the U.S., prohibit workers from marrying, and subject 
employees to penalties in China for violations of their labor 
contracts.
  In factories with close ties to China, compliance with labor 
contracts is directly monitored by representatives of the Chinese 
government. These working conditions hardly justify granting ``Made in 
the USA'' status to CNMI garments.


          cnmi denies employment opportunities to u.s. workers

  The 1976 covenant exempts the CNMI from the Federal minimum wage. 
This exemption was granted with the understanding that as its economy 
grew and prospered, the CNMI would raise its minimum wage to the 
Federal level. Foreign workers typically enter the CNMI under 1-year 
work permits and are paid a minimum of wage of $3.05.
  According to the July 1997 report by the Department of the Interior, 
the lower minimum wage, combined with unlimited access to foreign 
labor, creates an incentive for employers to hire foreign labor for all 
jobs, including skilled and entry level jobs at or near the minimum 
wage. Employment statistics clearly support the Interior Department 
analysis.
  Ninety-one percent of the private sector work force are alien guest 
workers. U.S. citizens who can find work, and there are many who 
cannot, are typically employed by the government in jobs that pay more 
than the minimum wage. Due to its irresponsible immigration policy, 
foreign workers have overwhelmed the CNMI to the point where 
unemployment among U.S. citizens living in the Commonwealth is 14 
percent. The CNMI preference for foreign laborers deprives U.S. 
citizens of private sector opportunities and leaves them with the 
limited options of government work, unemployment and welfare, or 
relocation to Guam or the mainland.
  The minimum wage is sometimes a lightning-rod issue for Republicans. 
However, in a labor market where there is an unlimited supply of guest 
workers, the low CNMI minimum wage means that low-wage alien laborers 
are displacing U.S. workers. Any policy that favors foreign workers 
over the interests of employed and unemployed U.S. citizens is 
indefensible.


                        labor abuse in the cnmi

  CNMI immigration and wage abuses have caused a number of collateral 
problems. Pervasive labor abuses in the Commonwealth have provoked 
international outrage. In 1995, the Philippine government imposed a 
moratorium on immigration of Filipino workers in the CNMI. The 
Philippine Government's extraordinary action to protect its citizens 
from employment in the CNMI was the first such decision by a foreign 
government in U.S. history. Although the Philippine Government has 
since lifted the moratorium, recurring abuses prompted Philippine 
officials to announce that the moratorium may soon be reimposed.
  While the U.S. minimum wage does not apply, CNMI must adhere to all 
other Federal labor laws. The U.S. Department of Labor has uncovered a 
systematic pattern of labor abuses in the CNMI. These abuses are a 
direct consequence of the Commonwealth's unrestricted immigration 
policy. Examples include involuntary servitude and peonage, illegal 
withholding of wages, nonpayment of overtime wages, illegal deductions 
from paychecks to cover employer expenses, kickbacks of wages to 
employers, and employee lock-downs in work sites and living barracks.


                     human rights and sexual abuse

  The Commonwealth's immigration policy results in serious problems in 
other areas. The Justice Department has documented numerous cases of 
women and girls being recruited from the Philippines, China, and other 
Asian countries expressly for criminal sexual activity. These abuses 
are a direct consequence of the Commonwealth's unrestricted immigration 
policy.
  Typically, these women are told they will work in the CNMI as 
waitresses, but are forced into nude dancing and prostitution upon 
their arrival. The Justice Department described this situation as the 
``systematic trafficking of women and minors for prostitution,'' which 
may also involve illegal smuggling, organized crime, immigration 
document fraud, and pornography. Cases of sexual servitude have also 
been identified.
  The U.S. Justice Department also found cases of female guest workers 
and aliens living in the CNMI being forced into prostitution through 
intimidation or threats of physical harm. In some instances, women who 
resist are kidnapped, raped, and tortured.
  To correct these abuses in the CNMI, my bill makes three changes in 
Federal law. First, it extends the Immigration and Nationality Act to 
the Commonwealth so that the CNMI will end its dependence on foreign 
labor.
  Second, it would limit use of the ``Made in USA'' label to apparel 
manufactured with a minimum percentage of U.S. citizen labor. In 1999, 
the minimum percentage of U.S. citizen labor must be 20 percent. In 
2000, the minimum percentage must be 35 percent and thereafter the 
minimum percentage rises to 50 percent.
  Finally, my bill would make the U.S. minimum wage applicable to the 
CNMI so that the CNMI garment industry competes fairly with industry on 
the U.S. mainland.
  Despite efforts to portray itself as an economic miracle, there is a 
dark side to the CNMI economy. Citizens and foreign laborers pay a very 
high price for the Commonwealth's economic success, and enjoy few 
benefits of that success. The time for patience has ended. The time has 
come to force changes that the Commonwealth has been unwilling to 
enact.
  I ask unanimous consent that a copy of my bill be printed in the 
Record.
  I also ask unanimous consent that the following additional documents 
be printed in the Record: the executive summary of the Clinton 
administration's July 1997 report on labor, immigration, and law 
enforcement in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the 
Library of Congress translation of a Chinese shadow contract, the memo 
from the State Department confirming that an agency of the Chinese 
Government is a party to the shadow contract, and a June 20, 1997, 
Washington Times article and a June 6, 1997, Honolulu Star-Bulletin 
article on the CNMI.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1100

       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 ``Commonwealth of the Northern 
     Mariana Islands Reform Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Congress finds that--
       (1) the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the 
     Northern Mariana Islands in

[[Page S8554]]

     Political Union with the United States of America was 
     approved by Congress pursuant to Public Law 94-241, 90 Stat. 
     263;
       (2) at the time that the Covenant was being negotiated, 
     representatives of the government of the Northern Mariana 
     Islands expressed concern that United States immigration laws 
     would allow unrestricted immigration into their small island 
     community;
       (3) in response to these concerns, section 503(a) of the 
     Covenant provided that the Immigration and Naturalization Act 
     did not immediately apply to the Commonwealth of the Northern 
     Mariana Islands;
       (4) Congress expressly reserved the right to extend the 
     Immigration and Naturalization Act to the Commonwealth of the 
     Northern Mariana Islands at a future date;
       (5) following the enactment of the Covenant, the 
     Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands instituted a 
     largely unrestricted immigration policy, causing the 
     Commonwealth's population to increase from 16,780 in 1980 to 
     a population of over 58,800 in 1995, with foreign workers 
     outnumbering United States citizens;
       (6) as a result of these immigration policies, 91 percent 
     of the private sector work force in the Commonwealth is 
     comprised of foreign workers;
       (7) the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has 
     used its immigration policy to recruit a large, low-cost 
     foreign work force of desperately poor individuals with no 
     meaningful opportunity to demand safe living and working 
     conditions or fair wages and benefits;
       (8) notwithstanding an unemployment rate of 14 percent 
     among United States citizens, the Commonwealth has recruited 
     increasing numbers of foreign workers;
       (9) even though the Commonwealth alleges that unfilled job 
     openings justify recruitment of an increasing number of 
     foreign workers, the Commonwealth's own statistics indicate 
     an unemployment rate of 4.5 percent foreign workers;
       (10) the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service 
     reported that the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
     Islands has no reliable records of aliens who have entered 
     the Commonwealth, how long they remain, and when, if ever, 
     they depart;
       (11) at the time that the Covenant was being negotiated, 
     representatives of the government of the Northern Mariana 
     Islands expressed concern that the minimum wage provisions of 
     the Fair Labor Standards Act would disrupt the Commonwealth's 
     struggling local economy;
       (12) in response to these concerns, section 503(c) of the 
     Covenant provided that the minimum wage provisions of the 
     Fair Labor Standards Act did not immediately apply to the 
     Commonwealth;
       (13) Congress expressly reserved the right to extend the 
     minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act to 
     the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands at a future 
     date;
       (14) the economy of the Commonwealth of the Northern 
     Mariana Islands has grown significantly and, in 1996, annual 
     gross business revenues rose to $1,500,000,000, a 6-fold 
     increase during the past decade;
       (15) the current minimum wage in the Commonwealth of the 
     Northern Mariana Islands is only $3.05 per hour for garment 
     and construction industry workers and $3.05 per hour for 
     those working in other industries;
       (16) the U.S. Department of Labor has uncovered a 
     systematic pattern of labor abuses in the Commonwealth of the 
     Northern Mariana Islands, including--
       (a) involuntary servitude and peonage,
       (b) illegal withholding of wages earned,
       (c) non-payment of overtime wages,
       (d) illegal deductions from paychecks,
       (e) kickbacks of wages paid to employees,
       (f) employee lock-downs in work sites and living barracks, 
     and
       (g) unsafe and unhealthy working and living environments;
       (17) despite an expectation that they will enjoy the 
     American dream in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
     Islands, foreign workers have been required to sign contracts 
     with government representatives in the Peoples Republic of 
     China which--
       (a) waive rights guaranteed to U.S. workers,
       (b) forbid participation in religious and political 
     activities while in the United States,
       (c) prohibit workers from dating or marrying in the United 
     States,
       (d) subject employees to civil and labor penalties if 
     returned to China, and
       (e) permit Chinese government recruiters to charge a fee of 
     25 percent of an employee's net pay for a period of two 
     years;
       (18) the U.S. Department of Justice has determined that the 
     immigration and labor situation in the Commonwealth of the 
     Northern Mariana Islands has created a major organized crime 
     problem in the Commonwealth which involves--
       (a) Immigration document fraud,
       (b) Public corruption,
       (c) Racketeering,
       (d) Drug trafficking,
       (e) Prostitution,
       (f) Pornography,
       (g) Extortion,
       (h) Gambling,
       (i) Smuggling, and
       (j) Other forms of violent crime;
       (19) the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating 
     numerous cases in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
     Islands of women being recruited from the Philippines, China, 
     and other Asian countries expressly for criminal sexual 
     activity, and has also described this situation as the 
     ``systematic trafficking of women and minors for 
     prostitution;''
       (20) the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is 
     exempt from Federal immigration law, the Federal minimum wage 
     law, and Federal tariffs and taxes, yet its products are sold 
     as ``Made in USA'' although 95 percent of the workers in the 
     garment manufacturing industry are not U.S. citizens;
       (21) garments made in the Commonwealth of the Northern 
     Mariana Islands carrying the ``Made in USA'' label compete 
     directly with garments made on the United States mainland by 
     workers and businesses that are subject to Federal 
     immigration law, the Federal minimum wage law, and Federal 
     taxes;
       (22) in 1996, garment manufacturers in the Commonwealth 
     shipped garments to the Continental United States with a 
     wholesale value of $555 million, a 30 percent increase over 
     the previous year;
       (23) Congress appropriated $10 million to fund a 3-year 
     initiative by the U.S. Departments of Justice, Labor, and 
     Interior to assist the Commonwealth in its efforts to improve 
     its labor and immigration policies;
       (24) despite this appropriation there has been little or no 
     improvement in the immigration and labor policies of the 
     Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands;
       (25) the government of the Commonwealth of the Northern 
     Mariana Islands has been ineffective in stemming the flow of 
     immigration onto United States soil, raising the wage and 
     living standards for workers, and aggressively 
     prosecuting labor and human rights abuses;
       (26) despite efforts by the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton 
     administrations to persuade the government of the 
     Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to correct 
     problems in the Commonwealth, the situation has only 
     deteriorated; and
       (27) the continuing concern about labor abuses, the 
     Commonwealth's immigration policy, and the employment of 
     foreign workers in a manner that unfairly competes with other 
     U.S. manufacturing prompted President Clinton on May 30, 1997 
     to notify the Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern 
     Mariana Islands that Federal immigration and minimum wage 
     laws should be applied to the Commonwealth.

     SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF IMMIGRATION LAW.

       (a) Article V, Section 506 of the Covenant to Establish a 
     Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political 
     Union with the United States of America (approved by Public 
     Law 94-241, 90 Stat. 263) is amended by adding at the end 
     thereof the following:
       ``(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).
       ``(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. For 
     purposes of this paragraph--
       ``(A) references in such statutes and regulations to United 
     States resident workers shall be deemed to be references to 
     United States citizens, national or resident workers; and
       ``(B) references in such statutes and regulations to Guam 
     shall be deemed to be references to the Northern Mariana 
     Islands.
       ``(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.
       ``(4) The Attorney General shall prescribe and implement a 
     transition period for the amendments made to section 506(a) 
     of the Covenant. The transition period shall not exceed 4 
     years from the effective date of this subsection. Not later 
     than 2 years after the date of enactment of the Commonwealth 
     of the Northern Mariana Islands Reform Act, the Attorney 
     General shall submit a report on the status of implementing 
     this section.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) 
     shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of 
     this Act except that the amendment designated as ``(e)(2)'' 
     shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 4. LABELING REQUIREMENTS FOR TEXTILE FIBER PRODUCTS.

       (a) Public Law 94-241 is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:

     ``SEC. 6. LABELING OF TEXTILE FIBER PRODUCTS.

       ``(a) No textile fiber product that is made or assembled in 
     the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands shall have a 
     stamp, tag, label, or other means of identification or 
     substitute therefore 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 the 
     product is made or assembled using direct labor that meets 
     the required percentage of qualified manhours.

[[Page S8555]]

       ``(b) A textile fiber product that does not meet the 
     requirements of subsection (a) shall be deemed to be 
     misbranded for purposes of the Textile Fiber Products 
     Identification Act (Public Law 85-897, 72 Stat. 1717).
       ``(c) In this 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) Freely associated states.--The term `Freely 
     Associated States'  means the Republic of Palau, the Republic 
     of the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of 
     Micronesia.
       ``(3) Qualified manhours.--The term `qualified manhours 
     means the manhours of direct labor performed by persons who 
     are citizens or nationals of the United States or citizen of 
     the Freely Associated States.
       ``(4) Required percentage.--The term `required percentage' 
     means--
       ``(A) 20 percent, for the period beginning January 1, 1998, 
     through December 31, 1998;
       ``(B) 35 percent, for the period beginning January 1, 1999, 
     through December 31, 1999; and
       ``(C) 50 percent, for the period beginning January 1, 2000, 
     and thereafter.
       ``(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act.''.

     SEC. 5. MINIMUM WAGE REQUIREMENTS.

       (a) Section 503 of Article V of the Covenant to Establish a 
     Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political 
     Union with the United States of America, approved by Public 
     Law 94-241 is amended by deleting ``States; and (c) the 
     minimum wage provisions of Section 6, Act of June 25, 1938, 
     52 Stat. 1062, as amended,'' and inserting in lieu thereof 
     ``States.''.
       (b) Public Law 94-241, 90 Stat. 263, is amended by adding 
     at the end thereof the following:

     ``SEC. 7. MINIMUM WAGES IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN 
                   MARIANA ISLANDS.

       ``(a) The minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor 
     Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)) shall apply to 
     the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, except 
     that--
       ``(1) during the period beginning 30 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act and ending on December 31, 1997, the 
     minimum wage rate applicable to the Commonwealth of the 
     Northern Mariana Islands shall be $3.05 an hour for an 
     employee; and
       ``(2) beginning on January 1, 1998, and each calendar year 
     thereafter, the minimum wage rate applicable to the 
     Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands for an employee 
     for each such calendar year shall be the minimum wage rate 
     applicable to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
     Islands for the preceding calendar year increased by 30 cents 
     or the amount necessary to increase the minimum wage rate to 
     the rate described in section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor 
     Standards Act of 1938, whichever is less; and
       ``(3) after the calendar year in which the minimum wage 
     rate applicable to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
     Islands has been increased under subparagraph (A) to the 
     minimum wage rate described in section 6(a)(1) of the Fair 
     Labor Standards Act of 1938, the minimum wage rate applicable 
     to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands for an 
     employee for any succeeding calendar year shall be the rate 
     described in such section.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall take effect 30 days after the date of enactment of this 
     Act.

     SEC. 6. REPORT.

       Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with 
     other Federal agencies, shall conduct a study 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 Islands to address or 
     prohibit such violations. The Secretary of the Interior shall 
     include the results of such study in the annual report, 
     entitled ``Federal-CNMI Initiative on Labor, Immigration, and 
     Law Enforcement,'' transmitted to Congress.

     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.
                                                                    ____


 Federal-CNMI Initiative on Labor, Immigration, and Law Enforcement In 
      the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, July 1997


                           executive summary

       The United States took the Northern Mariana Islands from 
     Japan in 1944 and administered the islands under a United 
     Nations trusteeship agreement until 1986. At that time, the 
     Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
     Islands in Political Union with the United States of America 
     (Covenant) came into full effect, and the residents were 
     granted United States citizenship. In developing their 
     Covenant agreement with the United States, the Northern 
     Marianas negotiators expressed concern that the Federal 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) would permit excessive 
     immigration to the islands from neighboring Asian countries 
     that would permanently overwhelm the local culture and 
     community. Federal negotiators and the Congress, therefore, 
     agreed to not immediately extend Federal immigration control. 
     Ironically, CNMI policies have resulted in aliens becoming a 
     majority of the island's population. These policies include 
     use of low-wage temporary alien workers for permanent jobs 
     and the aggressive promotion of garment manufacturing. Wages 
     lower than the Federal minimum wage are possible because the 
     Federal minimum wage was not extended to the Northern Mariana 
     Islands. The garment industry takes advantage of the 
     immigration and minimum wage exemption privileges, as well as 
     privileged exceptions to the Federal trade laws, to ship 
     products partially manufactured in the islands into the 
     United States market even though the islands are outside the 
     customs territory of the United States.
       Federal officials have expressed concern about the CNMI 
     alien labor system since at least 1984, when the Interior 
     Department's Assistant Secretary for Territorial and 
     International Affairs first officially suggested the 
     extension of Federal immigration authority as provided in 
     section 503 of the Covenant. Despite repeated expressions of 
     Federal concern with CNMI policies, the CNMI imported 
     increasing numbers of temporary alien workers and promoted 
     the garment industry's expansion. The Congress, in 1994, 
     directed the establishment of a joint program with the CNMI 
     to respond to the widening range of labor, immigration, and 
     law enforcement problems. After three years under this 
     Federal-CNMI Initiative on Labor, Immigration, and Law 
     Enforcement (Initiative), agencies report that these negative 
     trends not only persist, but in a number of instances, are 
     worsening:
       United States citizens--mostly indigenous people--are now a 
     minority of the population. The CNMI population has grown by 
     250 percent since the 1980 census. Temporary alien workers 
     now comprise 69 percent of the labor force. The children of 
     alien mothers not born in the CNMI, the United States or the 
     freely associated states account for 16 percent of United 
     States citizens in the CNMI.
       The Immigration and Naturalization Service finds that the 
     CNMI immigration system is ineffective, resulting in a large 
     CNMI illegal immigrant population and the smuggling of 
     illegals into the United States immigration zone. Estimates 
     of illegal aliens in the CNMI range from 4.2 percent to 25.5 
     percent of United States citizen population in the CNMI. The 
     Department of Justice finds that the foreign criminal 
     presence is increasing.
       Alien workers account for over 90 percent of the CNMI's 
     private sector workforce, while unemployment among locally-
     born United States citizens is at 14.2 percent.
       Worker complaints over wages due and working conditions 
     continue undiminished, with the governments of the 
     Philippines and China expressing concern about the treatment 
     of their citizens. Allegations persist regarding the CHMI's 
     inability to protect workers against crimes such as 
     illegal recruitment, battery, rape, child labor, and 
     forced prostitution.
       Some workers labor under ``shadow'' or secondary contracts 
     signed in their home country that subvert their rights under 
     the Constitution of the United States, such as their right to 
     engage in political and religious activities while on United 
     States soil.
       CNMI alien labor policies are having a profound negative 
     effect on public services and infrastructure such as 
     education, health care, public safety, water, sewer, and 
     solid waste disposal.
       Apparel manufacturers operating in the CNMI, who mainly 
     employ workers from the People's Republic of China, label 
     their products ``Made in USA'', and use Chinese fabric not 
     subject to United States duty or quota. By using the CNMI as 
     an apparel manufacturing base, these manufacturers avoid 
     duties and are not subject to United States quotas on 
     finished products. These imports adversely affect the United 
     States apparel industry's employment and profits.
       The CNMI is a producer of several sensitive apparel 
     products where United States producers' share of the market 
     is 50 percent or less. Imports of these sensitive apparel 
     products from the CNMI, at an average landed value of $462.7 
     million in 1996, represented 5.7 percent of total United 
     States imports of these products. In recent years, total 
     garment shipments from the CNMI to the United States have 
     increased by 30 percent a year, with an acceleration to 45 
     percent in the first four months of 1997 over the same months 
     in 1996. The average landed value of CNMI garment shipments 
     to the United States is now at a rate of $625 million 
     annually.
       Federal agencies have worked closely with the CNMI leaders 
     to correct these problems under the Initiative. Work 
     continues with many conscientious CNMI officials. The 
     Administration, however, finds that the government of the 
     CNMI is unwilling to alter its basic immigration, minimum 
     wage, and garment manufacturing policies; and that there are 
     fundamental weaknesses in law enforcement.
       The Administration, therefore, believes that a Federal 
     policy framework addressing immigration, minimum wage, and 
     the duty-free shipment of products is needed to properly 
     address these problems and to promote CNMI economic 
     development consistent with our country's policies and 
     values.
       Accordingly, the Administration recommends that the 
     Congress extend Federal

[[Page S8556]]

     immigration and minimum wage policies as provided in section 
     503 of the Covenant. In addition, the Administration 
     recommends that the Congress close the loophole being 
     exploited by the CNMI garment industry by requiring 
     certification that at least 50 percent United States labor 
     (and freely associated state citizen labor) is employed in 
     order for products to carry the ``Made in USA'' label and 
     receive duty-free access to the United States market. 
     Finally, in order to minimize adverse economic consequences, 
     the Administration plans to work with CNMI representatives, 
     and proposes that these measures be phased in by the Congress 
     in a reasonable and appropriate manner.
                                                                    ____


      Department of State, Office of Chinese and Mongolian affairs

     Date: July 22, 1997.
     To: Patrick McGary, Office of Senator Akaka.
     From: Cari Enav.
     RE: Hiuzhou Corporation of the Overseas Labor Service.
       Message: According to the Huizhou Foreign Affairs Office, 
     the Huizhou Corporation of the Overseas Labor Services is 
     state-owned enterprise. It is under the municipal labor 
     bureau.
                                                                    ____

                                   Congressional Research Service,


                                          Library of Congress,

                                                   Washington, DC.

                        Overseas Labor Contract

       Party A: Hui Zhou Company of the Overseas Labor Services, 
     Guangdong Province.
       Part B: Name redacted.
       Party B, of his own free will, accepts the invitation of 
     Party A to engage in carpentry work on Saiban Island 
     [transliteration] for a term of two years. Party A and Party 
     B both agree to abide by the following terms and conditions:
       1. From the date of the signing of this contract by Party A 
     and Party B, Party B agrees to obey the leadership of and 
     accept arrangements made by Party A, and comply with rules 
     and regulations made by Party A. During the period when Party 
     B is sent to work overseas, Party B must strictly observe 
     decrees, laws and regulations of the local government; may 
     not participate locally in any political or religious 
     activities; and, among other things, may not engage in 
     smuggling, prostitution, theft, gambling, drugs, fighting, 
     excessive drinking, or watching pornographic videos. While 
     working overseas, Party B may not date or get married. Any 
     violation of the aforesaid may entail investigation into 
     financial and legal liabilities, including deduction and/or 
     withholding of salary and/or bonus as well as payment for 
     round trip expenses, or punishment in accordance with the 
     relevant criminal laws, depending on the seriousness of 
     circumstances.
       2. While fulfilling his contractual obligations, Party B 
     shall accept reasonable work arrangements made by the 
     employer; work diligently; may not be, for any reason, slack 
     at work; may not, without permission, request the employer to 
     change the type of work or increase the salary; may not look 
     for other employment locally; and may not go on strike. An 
     individual who has violated the aforesaid agreement shall be 
     subject to action by Party A, and employment may be 
     terminated immediately; such individual will bear 
     responsibility for round trip expenses, and will be liable 
     for all financial losses thus incurred, in accordance with 
     the seriousness of the impact on foreign affairs.
       3. Party B shall provide labor services for the term of the 
     contract, and may not suspend service unilaterally, or 
     request an early return to China. Party B shall [illegible] 
     to overcome family difficulties, if any, and may not use such 
     difficulties as an excuse to suspend service or return to 
     China early. If it becomes impossible for Party B to work due 
     to the employer's failure to arrange appropriate work or for 
     any other reason caused by the employer, Party B can 
     accurately report the situation to Party A. Party A shall 
     have the responsibility to negotiate with and make 
     representations to the employer, according to contractual 
     terms and conditions, and Party B shall abide by the decision 
     made through consultations and negotiations between Party A 
     and the employer.
       Upon expiration of the contract, the term of the service 
     may be extended appropriately based on the work requirements, 
     and Party B shall, in principle, comply with the decision 
     made by Party A.
       4. Upon completion of the service, Party B may not 
     [illegible] stay overseas, and shall return to China strictly 
     according to the route provided. Party B may not carry 
     contraband on entry or exit at customs, or sell foreign 
     currency or duty-free goods for profit.
       5. While providing labor service oveseas, Party B shall 
     receive a monthly salary of ____, of which ____ will be 
     remitted to China, together with the domestic management fee, 
     and converted into RMB based on the prevailing market 
     quotation for his or her family. Payment for overtime and 
     bonuses shall, in principle, be made by the employer directly 
     to Party B.
       6. While working overseas, Party B may not borrow money 
     from or lend money to the employer or any other party.
       7. Party B agrees to pay a deposit in the amount of RMB 
     3,000. When Party B returns his or her passport, Party A 
     shall return to Party B the entire amount of the deposit. 
     Party B agrees to pay a fee in the amount of RMB 400 for the 
     handling of necessary dcuments. If, for some reason, Party B 
     is unable to work overseas after Party A has completed the 
     necessary procedures required for Party B to work overseas, 
     the deposit and handling fee will not be returned to Party B. 
     If Party B is unable to work overseas for reasons caused by 
     Party A, the deposit and 50% of the handling fee shall be 
     refunded.
       8. If Party B has the need [illegible] economic [illegible] 
     while working overseas, such compensation shall also be 
     deducted from the deposit.
       9. If a situation arises where Party B is required to make 
     compensation, but is unable to make the payment while he or 
     she is working overseas, the guarantor agrees to make the 
     payment for financial compensation on behalf of Party B, 
     while Party B accepts full financial responsibilities.
       10. During the period of Party B's labor services, the 
     employer shall be responsible for all expenses for 
     transportation to and from work, return airfare to China, 
     room and board, medical insurance, life insurance and 
     applicable taxes imposed by the local country. Party A shall 
     urge the employer to provide various benefits that Party B 
     shall be entitled to while working overseas, as provided in 
     the labor service contract.
       11. This contract has three copies, one each for Party A, 
     Party B and the guarantor. All three copies have equal legal 
     effect. This contract shall take effect from the date of 
     signing. Party A shall formally notify Party B, upon his or 
     her return to China of the termination of the employment 
     relationship, and this contact shall automatically become 
     invalid.
                                                                    ____


               [From the Washington Times, June 20, 1997]

                 Northern Marianas Hit as Rights Abuser


                Natives take advantage of guest workers

                            (By Henry Hurt)

       Wendy Doromal was asleep in her home on the island of Rota 
     when the telephone rang at 5:30 a.m. A housekeeper named 
     Thelma Landeza, the caller said, had been raped by her 
     employer, a politically well-connected businessman. Afraid to 
     go to the local authorities, Mrs. Landeza had walked for 
     hours to the refuge of an underground network on Rota.
       Mrs. Doromal, then 40, quickly dressed and set out to help. 
     Such missions were in stark contrast to what the art teacher 
     from Vernon, Conn., expected when she first came to the U.S.-
     owned Northern Mariana Islands, a scattering of volcanic 
     specks in the western Pacific Ocean.
       Mrs. Doromal and her family loved Rota's sandy beaches and 
     clear, blue ocean. But drastic changes were taking place in 
     this paradise--changes that have deeply stained America's 
     reputation as the champion of human rights all over the 
     world.
       Lured by fee-driven recruiters, thousands of poor Asian 
     ``guest workers'' were entering the Northern Marianas. 
     Virtually every native household had at least one Philippine 
     maid.
       Mrs. Doromal soon discovered serious cases of workers being 
     cheated out of wages and physically abused. The transgressors 
     were the native population--an elite minority who maintained 
     effective control of every government function. Although the 
     newcomers outnumbered the natives, they had no voice or vote. 
     And so Wendy Doromal, less than 5 feet tall but forceful and 
     articulate, gradually became their advocate.
       ``When I saw Thelma that morning,'' Mrs. Doromal recalls, 
     ``the fear shot from her face into my heart. She'd been 
     beaten and she was crying and trembling.''
       Mrs. Landeza's tale was harrowing. At 38 and widowed, the 
     small, sweet-faced woman had sought work in the Northern 
     Marianas to send money to her five children in the 
     Philippines. ``It was supposed to be like going to America,'' 
     she said.
       But that's not the way it turned out for Mrs. Landeza or 
     thousands of other men and women like her. From 1990 to 1993, 
     she says, she was paid the domestic wage of 69 cents an hour 
     for 12-hour days; she also was ``rented out'' to another 
     party for an additional six hours a day, for which she never 
     saw a cent. Mrs. Landeza was supposed to have Sundays off but 
     says she did not.
       Like many other workers, Mrs. Landeza was afraid to 
     complain to local labor officials. She says her boss, Rafael 
     Quitugua, flaunted his connections with those very people. 
     She couldn't risk being returned jobless to the Philippines.
       Then, according to Mrs. Landeza, on the night of Oct. 16, 
     1993, Mr. Quitugua ordered her to clean up a bar he owned. 
     Driving her back home, the man reached for Mrs. Landeza and 
     said, ``I like you very much.'' He veered down a path toward 
     an isolated beach.


                            no action taken

       ``I screamed and fought him and begged him to take me 
     home,'' she said. ``But he beat me and finally raped me. He 
     said, `If you ever tell what happened, I'll kill you.' ''
       Mrs. Doromal didn't want this to become another 
     unprosecuted case because of ``insufficient evidence.'' So 
     she and Mrs. Landeza took the first morning flight to the 
     island of Saipan, the Northern Marianas' seat of government.
       There, Dr. David McGarey of the Commonwealth Health Center 
     noted abrasions on Mrs. Landeza's body. He diagnosed 
     ``apparent rape'' and collected specimens for a rape evidence 
     kit that he turned over to authorities.
       Mrs. Doromal also summoned Renato Villapando, principal 
     officer of the Philippine consulate. To assure immediate 
     attention, he wrote a detailed account of Mrs.

[[Page S8557]]

     Landeza's story that he sent to the attorney general of the 
     Northern Marianas.
       Weeks passed, however, and then months. No charges were 
     brought. Mr. Quitugua, meanwhile, maintained his innocence.
       American interest in the Northern Marianas was born in the 
     blood of 5,289 troops who died there in 1944 wresting the 
     islands from the Japanese. The territories languished for 
     decades until 1976, when the U.S. Congress created the 
     Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).
       A decade later, its residents became American citizens. 
     Under the agreement, Congress allowed the CNMI to set its own 
     immigration policies, and the U.S. minimum wage would not 
     apply to its workers.
       The result was rapid economic growth as entrepreneurs 
     flocked to Saipan to open factories and develop tourism. The 
     most common products were garments carrying the coveted 
     ``Made in U.S.A.'' label that entered the U.S. mainland duty-
     free. From all over Asia, especially the Philippines, 
     destitute workers arrived to work in these factories and in 
     the islands' booming hotels, restaurants and bars.
       Their wages, though higher than in their native countries, 
     were quite low--and remain so today. The biggest winners are 
     the natives. The law grants a legal monopoly of all land in 
     the Northern Marianas to these Pacific islanders, who can 
     lease their property to factory and hotel operators at 
     handsome prices.
       Today only about 38 percent of the CNMI population of 
     59,000 is of native descent.
       ``They are an exclusive minority with the power to dominate 
     and exploit others,'' said Mikel W. Schwab, assistant U.S. 
     attorney and chief of the civil division that oversees the 
     CNMI. ``What's missing is equal protection under the law.''
       Responsibility for human rights abuses lies ultimately with 
     the U.S. Congress, which oversees CNMI wage and immigration 
     policies. Legislation addressing these issues is now being 
     considered.
       The case of Thelma Landeza was one of more than 500 
     complaints that reached Mrs. Doromal starting in 1989.
       While more than half the cases involved wage disputes, 
     others included workers tortured, forced into prostitution 
     and held in sexual servitude.
       ``In my own experience as a civil prosecutor,'' said Mr. 
     Schwab, ``I have witnessed a level of human exploitation that 
     makes Doromal's cases ring with credibility.''
       But his civil division had no primary authority to 
     investigate or prosecute rapes and assaults that occurred in 
     jurisdictions under the control of the CNMI attorney 
     general's office.
       Mrs. Doromal and her husband, Boboy, provided food and 
     shelter for workers and helped them file complaints. Most 
     important, they stood beside them in the face of predictable 
     wrath from their employers and government officials.


                            hollow promises

       As Mrs. Doromal continued her fearless campaign, CNMI 
     authorities sought to discredit her. She was accused of 
     everything from fabricating stories to harboring illegal 
     workers. By the summer of 1994, however, her files had become 
     the basis for a government task force investigation.
       Growing publicity about worker abuses set off local rage 
     against Mrs. Doromal and her family. Anonymous phone calls 
     threatened death. The tires of the family car were slashed. 
     Her family was ostracized, and this pressure forced Mrs. 
     Doromal to resign from her teaching position.
       On Aug. 29, 1994, the Doromals fled to Saipan. There, CNMI 
     Gov. Froilan C. Tenorio met with Mrs. Doromal and assured her 
     that the worst labor abusers would be prosecuted.
       In September, Mr. Tenorio sat before a U.S. Senate 
     subcommittee in Washington. With great humility he conceded 
     that many of the charges reported in the press--which were 
     first raised by Mrs. Doromal--were accurate:
       ``I am saddened and ashamed. Workers have been cheated and 
     forced to live in subhuman conditions, locked in during 
     nonwork hours, and been beaten and raped. Our administration 
     will do everything in our power to end labor abuse''.


                           blaming the victim

       A few days after meeting with Mr. Tenorio, Mrs. Doromal 
     received a call from Rota's underground network. A hysterical 
     young woman named Teresa--not her real name--was claiming 
     that for several weeks she had been locked up by her employer 
     and repeatedly raped.
       Mrs Doromal arranged for Teresa to be brought to a Saipan 
     hospital. ``She kept going into corners and rocking back and 
     forth, crying,'' Mrs. Doromal said.
       Teresa, 24, was an animated woman who had studied hotel and 
     restaurant management in the Philippines. But employment 
     there was scarce. A job on Rota with an establishment 
     described by the recruiter as an ``upscale restaurant'' 
     seemed the surest route to good money. The establishment, 
     however, was little more than a brothel.
       In desperation, Teresa accepted the friendly overtures of a 
     politically well-connected many who got her out of the club. 
     Teresa says she went to work for him--only to be locked in a 
     remote farmhouse where she was tied up, beaten and raped 
     daily until she escaped after three weeks.
       Under the glare of publicity stirred up by Mrs. Doromal, 
     the CNMI attorney general's office investigated Teresa's 
     case. Four months later, it concluded that the evidence was 
     insufficient to go to trial. The case was dropped.
       Two weeks after Teresa's case was dropped, Mr. Tenorio was 
     back in Washington to inform Congress that his administration 
     was making substantial progress in cleaning up human rights 
     violations. Employers who abuse contract workers, he said, 
     ``are being investigated, prosecuted and convicted.''
       To Mrs. Doromal, such words meant that nothing had changed. 
     But with no regular job, her family couldn't stay in the 
     Northern Marianas; they returned to the U.S. mainland in May 
     1995.
       In December 1995, nearly a year after Mr. Tenorio last told 
     Congress he was cleaning up human right violations, Maria--
     not her real name--a tiny Philippine woman with a childlike 
     face, stood frozen on the stage of a Rota nightclub tears in 
     her eyes. It was Maria's first night of work, and she had 
     been promised she would never be asked to dance nude. But now 
     amid catcalls, her boss was demanding that she strip.
       He threatened her until she gave in. But that wasn't 
     enough; soon he demanded that she have sex with him and ``go 
     out with customers.'' Maria refused. She was forced from her 
     job and returned to the Philippines, where she told her story 
     to Reader's Digest.
       Despite such reports, CNMI acting Attorney General Robert 
     B. Dunlap II claims conditions are much improved.
       ``We sent two investigators to Rota,'' he said. ``They 
     stayed a week trying to attract a prostitute--and never found 
     one.''
       Mr. Tenorio, up for re-election in November, maintains he 
     is doing all he can to make a good situation for contract 
     workers even better. Meanwhile, he is conducting a $1 million 
     public relations campaign to shore up the CNMI's image, 
     bringing dozens of congressmen and staffers to tour the 
     Northern Marianas.
       ``The thinking is `Don't fix the problem, fix the image,' 
     '' said Eric Grigoire, a New Jersey native who is the human 
     rights advocate for the Catholic Church in the Northern 
     Marianas. He is still summoned to Rota regularly by Mrs. 
     Doromal's original underground network.
       What of Thelma Landeza? In February 1995--more than 16 
     months after she reported being kidnapped, raped and beaten--
     her boss, Rafael Quitugua, was charged with the crime, He 
     pleaded not guilty. In December 1995 the charge was dropped.
                                                                    ____


                 [From the Star-Bulletin, June 6, 1997]

           Exploited in Saipan Sex Bar, Teen Finds Haven Here


 Isle Filipino Coalition for Solidarity is a Godsend for Abused Workers

                          (By Susan Kreifels)

       Katrina turns 16 Monday, finally getting a taste of 
     sweetness in her otherwise bitter dose of life.
       Hawaii's Filipino Coalition for Solidarity has provided the 
     teenage girl haven since March from her grim life in Saipan, 
     where she said she had been sexually exploited in a barroom 
     since she was 14.
       The civil rights advocacy group hopes to find a way to keep 
     her in the United States, far from threats from her former 
     employers, who now face a federal lawsuit on Saipan for 
     alleged violations of child labor and wage laws.
       Katrina is the young girl's stage name. Her real name is 
     being withheld to protect her identity in the eighth-grade 
     classroom she now attends on Oahu.
       Born in Manila to a poor squatter family, she ran away when 
     she was 13, ending up in the arms of unscrupulous recruiters.
       Although she admits she lied that she was 19 in the 
     beginning, Katrina said she later told the recruiters her 
     real age.
       But, according to the girl, the recruiters arranged a 
     passport that claimed she was born in 1974 instead of 1981.
       Katrina ended up in Saipan, where her recruiter-boss 
     promised to make her a ``starlet.'' But for the then 14-year-
     old, it was a horror role in which customers abused her naked 
     body and had live sex with her and other bar girls on stage.
       Performances, she said, were videotaped. If she didn't do 
     what she was told, her bosses threatened to ship her back to 
     the Philippines at her own expense.
       ``I was scared. I don't have any money. What happens to me? 
     Maybe I will die.''
       Katrina describes her life as one much older than her 
     years.
       She and other Filipino women who worked in the Saipan bar 
     stayed in barracks, virtual prisoners who couldn't go out. 
     ``They treated us like animals.''
       She sent most of her salary home to her mother.
       ``In school, I was very religious. I feel there is no God 
     anymore. I prayed but no response,'' she said.
       She drank alcohol every night because ``it's easier to do 
     anything if you're drunk. You can't really feel anything.
       ``I try to put it behind me. Sometimes I think, how did I 
     do that? Animal people only do that. I get depressed.''
       Last October she went to government labor officials on 
     Saipan and filed a complaint, which led to the U.S. 
     Department of Labor lawsuit. Her former employers tried to 
     bribe her to give up her complaint, ``but I wanted to see 
     justice.''
       And, she says with some disbelief, ``after all I 
     experienced, suddenly I'm here.''


                       Coalition monitors Saipan

       Nic Musico of the Filipino Coalition for Solidarity said 
     the Hawaii group has been

[[Page S8558]]

     monitoring abuse of Filipino workers in the Commonwealth of 
     Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory 3,900 miles west 
     of Hawaii, for the last four years. The group has given haven 
     to other Filipino workers.
       The commonwealth, which doesn't fall under U.S. wage or 
     immigration laws, offers low minimum wages ($2.95) and tax 
     incentives that have fueled Saipan's $500 million-a-year 
     garment industry. More than 30,000 imported laborers from the 
     Philippines, China and other Asian countries work the mills 
     on this small island of 25,000 citizens. The government says 
     without the foreign workers, its garment and tourism industry 
     would collapse.
       There were more than 500 labor complaints filed last year, 
     according to the commonwealth government. Some are passed 
     along to the U.S. Department of Labor to pursue. In 1994, the 
     department successfully sued a Japanese company that owned 
     several bars employing underage girls.
       The lawsuit involving Katrina and her co-workers, filed in 
     the U.S. District Court in Saipan, is not expected to go to 
     trial until late this year. Defendants Eugene R. Zamora, Sr., 
     and Marylou ``Malou'' Zamora, whom Katrina said brought her 
     to Saipan from the Philippines, are believed to have returned 
     to their home country. Defendant Francisco Matsunaga, the 
     Zamoras' partner at the Club Kalesa, where Katrina worked, 
     died last November.
       Michael Bayer, wage and hour investigator on Saipan for the 
     U.S. Department of Labor, said the foreign workers are tied 
     to one-year contracts they know don't have to be renewed.
       ``The more abused, poor, desperate they are in their home 
     country, the more willing they are to put up with someplace 
     else,'' said Bayer, emphasizing he was giving a personal 
     opinion rather than an official one. ``They have no voice. 
     There are no unions. The only outlet is to file a 
     complaint.''


                         clinton sends warning

       There are moves in Congress to force the commonwealth to 
     comply with U.S. wage and immigration laws. Last week 
     President Clinton sent commonwealth Gov. Froilan C. Tenorio a 
     letter warning that his administration would work with 
     Congress to extend U.S. laws there:
       ``The minimum wage is plainly inadequate; there have been 
     persistent incidents of improper treatment of alien workers 
     and inadequate enforcement of their rights; and manufacturers 
     using foreign workers unfairly compete with other production 
     under the U.S. flag,'' Clinton's letter said. He said he 
     would work with Congress to amend the 1976 covenant that 
     created a political union with the islands and made their 
     residents U.S. citizens but allowed the commonwealth to 
     control its immigration and minimum wage.
       Dave Ecret, acting public information officer for Tenorlo's 
     office, said the commonwealth has made ``tremendous 
     improvements'' in the labor situation and believes Clinton 
     has been misinformed of the current situation.
       Some Republicans in Congress agree. Rep. Dick Armey, House 
     majority leader, and Rep. Tom DeLay, House majority whip, 
     assured Tenorio this week in a letter that any legislation 
     that would ``harm the economic, social or political well 
     being of the CNMI is counter to the principles of the 
     Republican Party, and this Congress has no intention of 
     voting on such legislation.'' The two commended the islands 
     for their commitment to ending labor problems.


                          Akaka backs Clinton

       Hawaii's Sen. Daniel Akaka, a Democrat, said yesterday at 
     he supported Clinton's letter and would work to bring changes 
     in the commonwealth, where ``horror stories of labor abuses 
     continue to abound, while CNMI (commonwealth) officials 
     launch a public relations campaign touting the territory as 
     an economic model for the rest of the nation.''
       Ecret said the government has forced companies to clean up 
     workers' barracks and doubled the commonwealth government's 
     immigration and labor staffs to more quickly resolve abuse 
     cases.
       Ecret also said businesses must pay room and board in 
     addition to minimum wages, raising the cost of labor of 
     Saipan. He said any changes in labor and immigration laws on 
     Saipan would be ``devastating'' to the economy.
       While politicians debate the bigger issues, members of the 
     Filipino Coalition for Solidarity are working to protect the 
     people caught up in them, like Katrina. Musico said his group 
     has solicited people to adopt Katrina, but time is running 
     out--an adoption application must be filed before she turns 
     16. Musico is more optimistic that she will be granted 
     special asylum.
       For now, Katrina has been given permission to stay in the 
     United States until November.
                                 ______