[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 137 (Monday, October 6, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H8414]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           STATUS OF THE CNMI

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Hawaii [Mrs. Mink] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. MINK of Hawaii. Mr. Speaker, I have introduced a bill today that 
will allow the people of the CNMI to decide whether they will abide by 
all of the laws of the United States or whether they chose to seek 
independence.
  Reports of abuses in the CNMI are not new. Reports surfaced as long 
as 13 years ago. In response, Congress directed the establishment of a 
joint program with the CNMI to respond to this widening range of 
abuses. After 3 years, these agencies investigating these abuses report 
the negative trends worsening. They report:
  Chinese garment and construction workers sign shadow contracts with a 
government recruitment agency before leaving China for employment in 
the CNMI. These contracts restrict their civil rights and threaten to 
return them to China if workers make labor complaints while in the 
CNMI.
  Wages for domestic maids average $0.64 an hour for an average work 
week of 72 hours. The domestic service sector averages the highest 
percentage of labor complaints out of all sectors.
  Many businesses in the CNMI are not subject to the Fair Labor 
Standards Act, resulting in their failing to pay the employees, going 
bankrupt and eventually going into another line of business under a 
different name.
  The CNMI does not require visas for investors. A business entry 
permit allows foreign businessmen to enter the CNMI with $50,000 to set 
up a business. There is no evidence that the CNMI verifies or 
authenticates the amount, nature, or source of the claimed investment.
  Reports have found an appearance of a large number of underage 
dancers and other underage workers in the CNMI. Many of these persons 
are alleged to be engaged in prostitution. CNMI lacks the resources to 
determine the authenticity of birth certificates and other documents 
and therefore in many cases simply admits these persons on the basis of 
approved work permits. In addition, many of these nonresident alien 
victims fail to report their cases to authorities because of fear of 
retaliations or loss of employment.
  The INS reports the CNMI has had limited success in improving 
immigration control, including adjudications, examinations, inspection, 
and investigations. CNMI immigration worksite enforcement is 
nonexistent.
  The CNMI can ship duty-free goods to the United States under General 
Note 3(a)(iv) of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, which provides duty-
free entry to qualifying products of the CNMI and other U.S. insular 
possession. The duty-free and quota-free preferences coupled with the 
CNMI's local control of its immigration policy and its minimum wage 
rate, have created a loophole that enables foreign interests to 
establish apparel productions facilities in the CNMI with unlimited 
access to the U.S. market, thereby giving the CNMI garment industry 
advantages that are not enjoyed in the US market.

  The CNMI has flooded the islands with low-cost foreign labor, 
resulting in a huge population increase and high unemployment among 
native U.S. Citizens. As a result, many indigenous people are living at 
the poverty level or below.
  These abuses are happening in our own backyard. Because of that, we 
cannot look the other way and allow them to continue when they are 
occurring in the U.S. jurisdiction.
  The covenant agreement adopted by Congress and the CNMI gave local 
control of immigration and the minimum wage to the Commonwealth. In 
establishing the covenant, the residents of the CNMI expressed concern 
that Federal immigration laws would permit excessive immigration to the 
islands from neighboring countries thus overwhelming the local culture 
and community. Isn't it ironic that these policies have produced the 
opposite result. U.S. citizens are now a minority of the population. 
Temporary alien workers now compromise 60 percent of the total labor 
force and 90 percent of the private sector labor force.
  In response to calls that the CNMI be subject to U.S. immigration and 
wage laws, the Governor and various local leaders spoke out stating 
they would prefer independence than to fall under our laws. My response 
to the Government and other local leaders is this: OK. Lets bring this 
issue to the citizens who live in the CNMI. Lets ask the people: Shall 
the CNMI be governed under U.S. immigration and wage laws or shall the 
CNMI seek independence.
  The days of status quo have come and gone. We now must take 
responsibility for the abuses occurring and take measures to remedy 
them. If the CNMI does not agree, they are free to choose self-
determination. However, if they are to remain as a part of the United 
States then they must adhere to all of our laws.

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