President. today I am introducing a modified version of legislation that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources reported to the Senate last Congress to address various problems that have arisen in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. As reported by the Committee last Congress. the legislation would have created an industry committee to establish minimum wage levels similar to committees that had been created for other territories and that still exist for American Samoa. The legislation would also have established a mechanism for the extension of federal immigration laws if the government of the Northern Marianas proved unable or unwilling to adopt and enforce an effective immigration system. The legislation that I am introducing today does not include any provisions dealing with wages. I continue to believe that an industry committee is preferable to outright extension of federal wage rates. but the Northern Marianas. the Administration. and some of my cosponsors would prefer to have that debate on another vehicle. Immigration. however. is at the heart of the problems facing the Northern Marianas. This legislation reflects the recommendation of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources last Congress. What appears on the surface to be a prosperous diversified economy in the Northern Marianas. is in fact a far more fragile economy that is becoming ever more dependent on a system of imported labor.
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