Gregorio Sablan: “I also rise in support of H.R. 573. The bill conveys to the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas the 3 miles of…”

“I also rise in support of H.R. 573. The bill conveys to the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas the 3 miles of submerged lands surrounding each of our 14 islands. I want to thank leaders from both sides of the aisle, Chairman Doc Hastings and Ranking Member Ed Markey of the Natural Resources Committee, and my good friend, Dr. John Fleming, chairman of the Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs Subcommittee, and my good friend, Mr. Bishop from Utah, for managing today's bill, all for their support of H.R. 573. The Northern Marianas is the only coastal jurisdiction that does not have ownership of the submerged lands off its coasts. H.R. 573 corrects that irregularity. It provides the same ownership rights over the submerged lands as are provided by Federal law to Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. Today will be the third time that the House will vote to convey these lands. In both the 111th and the 112th Congress, we approved this transfer unanimously. I hope that the House will make the same decision again today. And I hope that the other body will this time, finally, also agree that the Northern Mariana Islands should have the rights of ownership of our offshore submerged lands and natural resources as other coastal areas of America enjoy. For thousands of years, the people of the Northern Marianas certainly believed these resources were ours.…”