The Official Website of Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo

CNMI Bill Advances Past Technical Step in Senate – Gains Committee Approval

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—January 30, 2008– Washington, D.C. –

Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo confirmed today that H.R. 3079, the Northern Mariana Islands Immigration, Security and Labor Act, was considered and ordered favorably reported to the full Senate by its Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The mark-up today was scheduled for the purpose of gaining the Committee’s formal stamp of approval of the bill in the form it was received from and passed by the House of Representatives late last year.

The bill now awaits floor action in the Senate where it is slated to be considered as part of a larger package of bills under the jurisdiction of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. All of these bills have been combined into a single omnibus package and as a result of today’s markup session have now all been passed by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. This eliminates the possibility of any objection of a lack of committee approval from being raised to slow or prevent its consideration on the Senate floor.

Title VII of the omnibus package, S. 2483, the National Forests, Parks, Public Land, and Reclamation Projects Authorization Act of 2007, contains the exact text of H.R. 3079 as passed by the House of Representatives on December 12, 2007, and as approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee earlier today.

“The action taken today by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee affirms the bipartisan, bicameral support for H.R. 3079 in the form it passed the House. This means the Senate Committee has approved our amendments to the bill that call for a unified visa waiver program for Guam and the CNMI with an authorized stay period of 45 days and a path to add participating countries in the future. I hope the bill will reach the Senate floor early this year. I continue to support the bill as passed by the House,” said Bordallo.

The Senate adopted a unanimous consent agreement governing debate on S. 2483 before it adjourned in December. That agreement limits the number of amendments that may be offered on the Senate floor to S. 2483 to five amendments and those amendments are expected to address aspects apart from the CNMI title. The Majority Leader of the Senate will determine when S. 2483 can be brought to the floor for consideration. The Senate remains focused this week on an economic stimulus package.

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Contact: Joseph E. Duenas in Washington, D.C. at 202-225-1188 or Cathy Gault at 671-477-4272/4

joseph.duenas@mail.house.gov or cathy.gault@mail.house.gov

www.house.gov/bordallo

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