Speech #1050086664

Whatever economic benefits some may have realized. that does not justify worker abuse. indentured servants. or the conditions that I saw those Bangladesh workers living in. There are certain issues that I believe need a full hearing and careful review. The minimum wage study that the Commonwealth commissioned noted at one point that the Marianas has used its control over immigration and minimum wage to import foreign workers who would be paid more than they would receive in their home countries. but less than the Federal minimum wage. These workers would produce garments that would be subject to quotas if produced in their home country. but which could be imported duty free into the mainland United States since the Marianas is outside the customs territory of the U.S. but subject to preferential treatment under General Note 3(a) of the Tariff Schedules. That is an issue that the Congress should review. When we considered the Covenant for the Marianas. we were sensitive to the fact that the Marianas had been under the minimum wage provisions of the Trust Territory and that immediate introduction of the Federal minimum wage might have an adverse effect on a developing economy that was still heavily dependent on annual Federal grants for basic Government services. We also recognized the concern expressed by the negotiators for the Northern Marianas that their small population could be overrun easily by migration. In response. we permitted the Marianas to control the timing of minimum wage and to exercise control over immigration. We also provided restraints on land alienation to protect the population. We did not consider that entrepreneurs would discover a loophole that would allow a lower minimum wage and immigration to create a nonindigenous industry that is Marianas in name only. Congress should examine whether this is a situation that should be permitted under the tariff schedules. There are also legitimate questions concerning minimum wage and immigration. We should now have sufficient experience to assess whether the Maranas is capable of providing the preclearance for any persons who attempt to enter the Marianas. The United States routinely does this in foreign countries as part of our visa process. The situation that I saw with the Bangladesh workers should never have happened. Reports of other workers who arrive only to find no jobs should also never happen. There should be no unemployment among the guest workers. These are legitimate immigration related issues. They do not necessarily lead to a Federal takeover. but they are legitimate issues and it serves no purpose to distort history and pretend that the current situation was the goal of the Covenant negotiators. Minimum wage is also a fairly straightforward issue.