Eni Faleomavaega: “I would first like to thank and commend the chairman of our Natural Resources Committee, Doc Hastings, for his…”

“I would first like to thank and commend the chairman of our Natural Resources Committee, Doc Hastings, for his leadership and for his support of this piece of legislation, and especially also my good friend, the gentleman representing the Northern Mariana Islands. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 256, a bill to amend Public Law 93-435 with respect to the Northern Mariana Islands, providing parity with Guam, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. I want to thank Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Murkowski of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources for their work on this bipartisan piece of legislation. I also want to thank the Senate for finally taking action on this issue and passing S. 256 via unanimous consent last month. As I said earlier, I would be remiss if I did not commend my good friend, Congressman Sablan, for his tireless efforts on this issue and all other matters affecting the Northern Mariana Islands since he took office in 2009. Mr. Speaker, this piece of legislation will appropriately convey 3 miles of offshore submerged lands to the Northern Mariana Islands. As you may know, submerged lands qualify as lands permanently or periodically covered by tidal waves up to but not above the line of high tide. The territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the Virgin Islands were granted ownership over our own respective submerged lands when the Congress passed the Territorial Submerged Lands Act in 1974.…”