[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 111 (Friday, August 7, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1616-E1617]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    STATEMENT ON INTRODUCTION OF THE NORTHERN MARIANAS DELEGATE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 6, 1998

  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the Northern Marianas 
Delegate Act, to provide for a non-voting Delegate to the House of 
Representatives to represent the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands (CNMI).
  The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is the newest and 
only American territory acquired by the United States in this century. 
The composition of the CNMI includes the principal islands of Saipan, 
Tinian and Rota as well as other northern islands in the Mariana Island 
chain. Guam is also located in the Marianas chain and sits as CNMI's 
closest neighbor in the Pacific and sister American territory. It is 
befitting that the people of Guam have the honor today to share in the 
introduction of this bill for our neighbors, and for our brothers and 
sisters of Chamorro heritage in the Northern Marianas who share Guam's 
indigenous identity.
  The Northern Mariana Islands began its relationship with the United 
States more than fifty years ago. On the beaches of Saipan and Tinian, 
American Forces expelled a colonial power that had acquired these 
islands as part of its larger Pacific empire. In the following years, 
the seeds of American democracy sprouted a young vibrant American 
community eager to venture their own path. In 1976, the Northern 
Mariana Islands entered into a commonwealth arrangement with its 
American liberators and have since made great strides in developing its 
unique island community and economy.
  This legislation is consistent with recommendations of the Commission 
of Federal Laws appointed by Presidents Reagan, which recommended a 
CNMI Delegate in 1985. The Commission outlined three reasons for this 
recommendation: Fairness, Democratic principles and Practical utility.
  Today the American citizens who live in the Northern Marianas 
contribute and participate in the life of our nation in all the same 
ways that every other American citizen does in his own community. They 
pay taxes, serve in the military and work hard for the progress of 
their communities.
  America's experiment with democracy continues to evolve and develop. 
We seek and pursue a more perfect union. We are a proud nation of free 
citizens that enjoy elected representation in the federal government. 
It is unfortunate that our current system dictates that Americans in 
the fifty states enjoy perfect representation in the forms of 
Congressional representatives and U.S. Senators, representation of our 
citizens in the territories and the District of Columbia are by 
Delegates and a Resident Commissioner who cannot vote on the floor of 
this House and then there are those American citizens in the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands who receive no 
representation at all.
  Citizens of American territories are a unique group. Our constituents 
are grateful Americans and the citizenry are perhaps more loyal than 
any other in any state. Per capita, we have more men and women serving 
in the armed services and protecting our country and our way of life. 
With fervor, we engage ourselves in the political process. At 
elections, our voter participation far exceeds the national average. 
Our citizens are excited about freedom and we work to preserve 
democratic ideals and strive for equality of opportunities.
  It is no different for my Pacific brethren to the North of Guam. They 
too are committed to the ideals of American democracy and have a long 
history of developing their island within the American political 
framework. They chose to have a close and permanent relationship with 
the United States through a commonwealth arrangement. However, when the 
CNMI signed a covenant with the U.S., they were denied representation 
in Congress. Their current non-representation in the U.S. House of 
Representatives is the least perfect representation of any citizen on 
American soil. The dedication and loyalty of our American citizens in 
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands should not be 
overlooked. They deserve representation in the U.S. House of 
Representatives. It is an injustice that the American citizens in the 
CNMI are the only U.S. citizens without representation in the U.S. 
Congress.
  Without appropriate representation, miscommunications and problems 
arise because there is no one among our membership who stands up to 
speak for the Americans in the CNMI. There is no one amongst us willing 
to make the political investment to advocate on behalf of the CNMI on a 
daily basis. A Delegate for the CNMI will advance their cause and can 
work to resolve situations and concerns before they snowball into 
larger issues.
  There are those amongst us who may argue that representation is 
contingent on tax contribution to the Treasury. I do not recall that a 
deposit into the treasury is a condition for your rights as a citizen.
  There are those who will resist entertaining this issue because there 
are problems in the CNMI that have made its way to the surface and have 
received national and international attention. They will argue that the 
CNMI Delegate Act should not be addressed until the concerns are 
resolved. I disagree.
  I believe that the best way to resolve these problems is to throw 
open the doors of the House and invite a representative of the CNMI to 
the table of public discussion. Even criminals have the right to 
representation in a court of law.
  Whether a state or a territory, we all have our problems with the 
federal government. At times, it's on an individual basis with an 
agency over a Social Security check or a Medicaid payment. Other times 
it is contradiction between state and federal viewpoints. In one way or 
the other, as Representatives in the U.S. Congress we become involved 
or can involve ourselves in the process. It's an advantage for our 
electorate and a right of American citizenship. We should not leave 
other citizens behind or alienate them from this process. Perpetual 
denial of a Delegate for the CNMI is a denial of the basic right to 
represent oneself in the formation of public policy.
  Participation must be extended to all citizens. Our American 
citizenship has as its

[[Page E1617]]

foundation a promise of fair and equal treatment by our government and 
that promise extends into the halls of Congress where fair and equal 
treatment demands that the Northern Marianas be represented by a 
Delegate.
  The bill I introduce today mirrors the legislation which granted Guam 
and the United States Virgin Islands representation in 1972 and the 
legislation which granted American Samoa representation in 1980. The 
Northern Marianas will join the ranks of Delegates representing these 
islands, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, and the Northern 
Marianas will add its voice to those who represent American citizens 
who do not reside in the fifty states, but who reside in a diverse 
group of American communities on American soil.
  As a Delegate, I know the difficulties attached to the kind of office 
I hold. There are real limitations to what I can do here. But I have 
the freedom to speak, to argue, to introduce legislation, to 
participate in debate, to make friends for the people who sent me here. 
The fate of my island rises and fails with my ability to represent my 
constituents. How unfair, how unkind, how un-American it is to keep any 
American from having the same privilege.
  I hope that the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate will 
act on this legislation and I urge my colleagues to co-sponsor the 
Northern Marianas Delegate Act.
  For the record, I am attaching a statement from CNMI Resident 
Representative Juan Babauta.

           The Northern Marianas Delegate Act, August 6, 1998

Statement of the Honorable Juan N. Babauta, Resident Representative to 
   the United States, from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
                                Islands

       The people of the Northern Marianas voted overwhelmingly in 
     1975 to join the United States of America. After three 
     centuries of colonial rule we longed to be citizens of a 
     democratic republic, free to participate in our own 
     governance.
       Twenty-three years later, we still wait, governed from 
     afar, the only people within the United States without a 
     voice in Congress.
       In negotiating our entry into the American political system 
     we were advised that our small population (about 14,000 in 
     the early 1970s) did not warrant representation in Congress. 
     We accepted that explanation knowing that Congress had 
     recently provided representation in the House of 
     Representatives for Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the 
     District of Columbia and confident that once we, too, became 
     United States citizens we would be accorded representation in 
     our national government.
       When, in 1978, Congress provided representation for the US 
     nationals of American Samoa, a population of approximately 
     27,000, we in the Northern Marianas were further encouraged 
     to believe that as a growing population of US citizens, we, 
     too, would soon have a voice in shaping the laws which now 
     governed us.
       Our hopes rose again in 1986 when the Commission on Federal 
     Laws appointed by President Ronald Reagan recommended to 
     Congress that the people of the Northern Marianas be provided 
     a Delegate in the US House of Representatives. The Reagan 
     Commission reasoned that:
       Every other area within the American political system with 
     a permanent population is represented in Congress;
       Northern Marianas representation in Congress is in keeping 
     with American traditions of participatory democracy and would 
     dispel any lingering taint of American colonialism over the 
     islands; and
       A Northern Marianas Delegate would effectively represent 
     the needs and interests of the islands, relieving other 
     Members of this responsibility.
       Although legislation was introduced supporting the Reagan 
     Commission recommendation, the House took no action on it.
       When, in 1989, I first ran for the office of Resident 
     Representative to the United States from the Northern Mariana 
     Islands, I pledged to make representation in Congress a 
     priority. Despite joint resolutions from the Northern 
     Marianas Legislature and the support of Governor Lorenzo I. 
     DeLeon Guerrero, it was not until 1994 that a bill, HR 4927, 
     was finally introduced. It was Robert Underwood, joined by 
     co-sponsors Mr. Murphy, Mr. Flaeomavaega, Ms. Norton, Mr. 
     Romero-Barcelo, and Mr. de Lugo, who made that important 
     first step on our behalf.
       Their effort was followed in 1996 by the introduction of 
     legislation by Mr. Gallegly, co-sponsored by Chairman Young, 
     Mr. Faleomavaega, Mr. Underwood, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. 
     Hamilton, Mr. Romero-Barcelo, Mr. Frazer, Mr. Kim, and Mr. 
     Rahall. The Northern Marianas Delegate bill was reported 
     favorably by the Resources Committee. Opponents, however, 
     were able to discourage floor consideration of the measure in 
     the waning days of the 104th Congress.
       In opposition to the Gallegly/Young bills, both in 
     committee and after the bill was reported favorably, it was 
     argued that, although the people of the Northern Marianas are 
     US citizens, they have no inherent ``right'' to participate 
     in our Nation's governance. This argument is technically 
     correct. The Constitution makes no provision for 
     representation in Congress for US citizens not residents of 
     the several States. However, since the very first days of our 
     Republic, this Congress has acknowledge that US citizens, 
     even outside the States, should in justice have a voice in 
     Congress. And, over the last two hundred years, Congress has 
     so provided, giving representation in the US House to 
     Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Michigan--together some 30 
     territories ranging in population from 5,000 to 250,000.
       At times, though, Congress has delayed in granting this 
     representation--in the case of Alaska because of its 
     remoteness and its population's racial and ethnic 
     composition. But we live in modern times, when concerns about 
     distance and homogeneity have been superseded by technology 
     and a more enlightened sense of justice and civil rights.
       It was further argued that representation in Congress is a 
     ``privilege'' and that the people of the Northern Marianas 
     are unworthy--because of the abuse of foreign laborers which 
     has occurred in the islands--to have the same privileges as 
     other people living in the United States. But the privilege--
     if privilege it be--has been denied the people of the 
     Northern Marianas for twenty-three years, since long before 
     the issue of foreign labor abuse arose.
       In approving the Covenant of political union with the 
     United States, the people of the Northern Marianas elected to 
     live under federal law. We do not fear it. We seek its 
     protection for ourselves and for all persons living in the 
     Northern Marianas. What we want is to have a voice in making 
     those federal laws which govern us.
       The Supreme Court of the United States opined in 1964. 
     ``[n]o right is more precious in a free country than that of 
     having a voice in the election of those who make the laws 
     under which, as good citizens, we must live.'' It is with 
     respect for that fundamental principle that we ask for 
     passage of the Northern Marianas Delegate Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     \1\ Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1, 17.

     

                          ____________________