[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H1203-H1204]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS RESIDENTS RELIEF ACT
Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 560) 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'', as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 560
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 ``Northern Mariana Islands
Residents Relief Act''.
SEC. 2. LONG-TERM LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE
NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS.
Section 6(e)(6)(B) 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 clause (iii), by inserting ``except in the case of
an alien who meets the requirements of subclause (VI) of
clause (v),'' before ``resided continuously and lawfully'';
and
(2) in clause (v)--
(A) in subclause (IV), by striking ``; or'' and inserting
a semicolon;
(B) in subclause (V), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``;''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(VI) was admitted to the Commonwealth as a Commonwealth
Only Transitional Worker during fiscal year 2015, and during
every subsequent fiscal year beginning before the date of the
enactment of the Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act
of 2018 (Public Law 115-218); or
``(VII) resided in the Northern Mariana Islands as an
investor under Commonwealth immigration law, and is presently
a resident classified as a CNMI-only nonimmigrant under
section 101(a)(15)(E)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(E)(ii)).''.
SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall
be determined by reference to the latest statement titled
``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act,
submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the
Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such
statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Colorado (Mr. Neguse) and the gentleman from California (Mr.
McClintock) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Colorado.
General Leave
Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Colorado?
There was no objection.
Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, H.R. 560, which was introduced by my colleague, the
Delegate from the Northern Mariana Islands (Mr. Sablan), will address
an issue involving certain long-term residents in his district that was
not addressed when we extended the U.S. immigration laws to the CNMI in
2009.
The Natural Resources Committee held a markup of the bill on
September 18, 2019, and ordered the bill reported favorably to the
House by voice.
Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from the Northern Mariana Islands (Mr. Sablan) to explain his
legislation.
Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the
time.
I have been working for the last dozen years to make the transition
to Federal immigration policy in the Marianas as least difficult as
possible.
In 2018, with Chairman Rob Bishop's essential help, we protected
the rights of U.S. workers against the unfair competition from foreign
workers in the Marianas' economy with Public Law 115-218.
Last year, President Trump signed Public Law 116-24 and helped us
convert about 1,000 people living under administrative parole into
residents with a permanent legal status in the Marianas only, not
eligible for any public charge at all.
Just last week, the administration issued the necessary guidance to
allow those 1,000 people to begin the application process, and I am
very grateful to the President and to everyone at USCIS and the
Department of Homeland Security for their support.
Today's bill, H.R. 560, continues this work of smoothing over the
rough places in the application of national immigration law to my
isolated district.
H.R. 560 provides the same permanent status--in the Marianas only--
that President Trump approved for parolees in June. This time, we want
to give stability to a small group of investors who were in the
Marianas even before Federal immigration. They have been holding on
with short-term visas ever since, never certain from year to year about
their business investments.
{time} 1300
We want to give the same certainty to a group of long-term workers--
some of whom have been in the Marianas for 40 years--and to the
businesses that employ them.
The Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on H.R. 560 last
February. Our Republican Governor, the Honorable Ralph Torres,
testified in favor of the bill. The Trump administration did not take a
position, but their witness said: ``Without a sustained labor force,
projected investment in the CNMI likely will wither.''
Well, we can do something to avoid that consequence by passing H.R.
560. Again, this bill is Marianas only. It has bipartisan support.
Chairman Grijalva and Ranking Member Bishop are both cosponsors, for
which I am grateful.
Madam Speaker, I ask all Members now to vote in favor.
Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, as was just described, H.R. 560 would extend Northern
Mariana Islands-only resident status for two groups of foreign
nationals: individuals who came to Northern Mariana Islands as
transitional workers in 2015, and individuals who have resided
[[Page H1204]]
in the Northern Mariana Islands with an investor status.
These individuals were excluded from a June 2019 law that allowed
other classes of current Northern Mariana Islands workers to remain in
the territory. If signed into law, H.R. 560 would allow approximately
3,000 additional foreign nationals to remain there long term.
Now, bear in mind that the entire population of the Northern Mariana
Islands is about 55,000, so just this addition of foreign nationals
comprises about 5 percent of the entire population of the islands.
While I appreciate the majority did take this bill through regular
order, I am still disappointed that it has not been willing to work
with the Department of Homeland Security or even wait for it to
consider the impact of the bill before moving it to the floor.
As the Department of Homeland Security is charged with managing
programs that allow foreign nationals to work in the Northern Mariana
Islands and elsewhere, I believe it is critical to have their views on
something they will be charged with executing.
Further, it is my continued hope that this body remains committed to
promoting an American workforce rather than that of a foreign one.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Neguse) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 560, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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