Gregorio Sablan: “Many of us in this Chamber share a concern that the Federal Government has so much power and so many resources that it…”

“Many of us in this Chamber share a concern that the Federal Government has so much power and so many resources that it can overwhelm and even intimidate smaller State and local governments. The amendment I am offering responds to that concern. It requires, before any funds are expended in the Northern Mariana Islands for expanded activities by the military, that the Secretary of Defense reach agreement with the government of the Northern Mariana Islands on the nature and scope of those activities. My amendment levels the playing field between the very powerful Federal Government and a very small territorial government. A little history: in 1975, the people of the Northern Marianas elected to become a part of the United States, and 78 percent of the people voted for the negotiated agreement that defined our political union. Part of that agreement includes the lease of two-thirds of our island of Tinian to the U.S. military for 100 years and the lease of the entire island of Farallon de Medinilla. The cost to the United States--$175,000 a year. That is a Manhattan Island deal. The people of the Northern Marianas committed those lands for the purpose of national defense willingly because we understood that with citizenship comes responsibility, and the United States recognized in the agreement negotiated with us that we have very little land and that any future acquisition, therefore, would be ``only the minimum area necessary.'' Today, however, the U.S.…”