Political Quotes

“This legislation was reported unanimously by the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. S. 1052, as reported by the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, will extend the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands one year after the date of enactment of the legislation. To minimize adverse effects on the local economy, a number of transition provisions have been incorporated in the legislation. The transition period will end on December 31, 2009, but the special provisions for employment based visas may be extended for legitimate businesses in the tourism industry for not to exceed two five-year periods and for a single five-year period for other legitimate businesses. This legislation is the result of several years work by the Committee, including a visit that I made to the Northern Marianas in February 1996. This is bipartisan legislation that is long overdue. The administration would prefer a far more draconian approach with a minimum of transition and little economic or training assistance to the Northern Marianas.”