Frank Murkowski

Mr. MURKOWSKI

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I believe the Senator from Arkansas is going to request unanimous consent there be a few minutes in morning business so he can introduce a bill. I will be happy to accommodate him if there is no objection.

Mr. MURKOWSKI

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. MURKOWSKI

Mr. MURKOWSKI. I thank the Chair. I compliment the Chair for her diligence and expedience in resolving this CNMI effort that has languished so long in this body. It is nice to see something concluded.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that there be 1 hour for debate, equally divided, with respect to S. 1052; and, further, no amendments or motions be in order other than the committee substitute and one technical amendment offered by the chairman. I finally ask consent that following the debate time, the bill be read for a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, we yield back all time. I thank Senator Bingaman and his staff, minority staff of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, for their work in this regard and, of course, my good friend, Senator Akaka, and his staff. I thank specifically David Garman, my legislative director; Kira Finkler, who has been working with the minority on this; Chuck Kleeschulte, David Dye, Sam Fowler, and Andrew Lundquist; a former staffer of mine, Deanna Okun, who has taken a position with the Federal International Trade Commission. There are others who have worked long and hard to bring about this much-needed change with regard to immigration in the Marianas, but particularly Senator Akaka's efforts over an extended period of time to clearly right a wrong. I think this legislation has achieved that today. I commend my good friend.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. I yield back any time to my good friend, Senator Akaka.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, how much time is remaining?

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, before we go into morning business, I alert my colleagues that tomorrow, at approximately 11 o'clock, we will be taking up the nuclear waste bill. Senator Bingaman and I have worked hard, as well as our staffs, to try to bring this to some conclusion. I put all of my colleagues on notice that, unfortunately, tomorrow's debate will not be as expeditious as the debate today. Hopefully, we will have resolve that.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, on behalf of Senator Akaka and myself, I send a series of amendments to the committee substitute to the desk and ask that they be considered.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. I ask unanimous consent the amendment be agreed to.

Mr. MURKOWSKI

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to S. 1052 for opening statements only.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, the legislation before the Senate will extend the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands for 1 year after the date of enactment of the legislation. To minimize adverse effects on the local economy, a number of transition provisions have been incorporated in the legislation, including funding for technical assistance to diversify and strengthen the local economy of those islands. The transition period will end December 31, 2009, but the special provisions for employment-- employment-based visas--may be extended for legitimate businesses in the tourism industry for not to exceed two 5-year periods and for a single 5-year period for other legitimate business. I think it is reasonable to question how this situation arose. The Marianas was one district of the old United States Nation's Trust Territory of the Pacific islands, and the United States was the administrating authority. The residents of the Marianas wanted them to become a U.S. territory and obtain local government and U.S. citizenship similar to the neighboring island of Guam. Guam is the southern most of the Mariana Islands and was acquired from Spain back in 1898. The United States and local officials in the Marianas negotiated a covenant to establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in political union with the United States. That included all the islands, with the exception of Guam; specifically, Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. That covenant was approved overwhelmingly in a local United Nations- observed plebiscite and then by this Congress in 1976. The early negotiations assumed the trusteeship would terminate for the Marianas. The agreement was approved and assumed the full extension of Federal immigration laws at the same time the United States sovereignty was extended to the area. When negotiations on other portions of the trust territory stalled and the United States decided not to seek piecemeal termination of the trusteeship, the Marianas justifiably wanted as much of the covenant implemented under the trusteeship as possible. The agreement was to implement these provisions of the covenant that were consistent with the continued status of the area under the trusteeship and defer those provisions that were tied to U.S. sovereignty. One of these provisions was Federal immigration law. That is what we are dealing with today. It was abundantly clear the United States could extend those laws as soon as the trusteeship was terminated. The report accompanying the joint resolution of approval noted only that we hoped we could include an ``adequate protective provision'' to deal with the concern in the Marianas that their islands could be overrun with immigration. Had we acted in 1986 to extend Federal immigration laws, we wouldn't be here today. The Marianas economy would not be so captive to the use of temporary contract workers and many of the abuses of workers would not have occurred. On the other hand, the level of prosperity on the islands might not be the same. What has happened in the Marianas? When the covenant was negotiated, all parties assumed economic development would occur around tourism and anticipated Department of Defense basing in Tinian and Saipan. That followed the pattern in Guam. Tourism did develop; the military activities did not. Others, however, noticed the unique combination of authorities and moved in to try and take advantage. Because the Marianas had control of immigration, it could set its own minimum wage and had the ability to import goods into the U.S. Customs territory without duty and labeled that it had been made in the United States, foreign garment operations--especially those from China--sought to locate in the Marianas. The difficulty of a small island population trying to effectively administer a comprehensive immigration system also led to other abuses in those taking advantage of the situation. Exploiters induced people in Bangladesh to pay enormous amounts of money to go to the Marianas where there were jobs. Other aliens arrived; some of them were not paid. Many alien workers were abused. The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources heard testimony from a young lady who had been brought to Saipan as a minor, forced to perform in a club, and was used for prostitution. The Federal Government has brought a prosecution in that instance on several counts, including trafficking in human beings. This was occurring under the U.S. flag, and supposedly with the protections all U.S. citizens enjoy under our Constitution. I have a series of charts I will discuss in detail but in deference to my good friend, Senator Bingaman from New Mexico, the ranking member of the committee, I defer to him, and then perhaps he can defer back to me. I yield to my good friend and ranking member from New Mexico, Senator Bingaman.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I thank my good friend and colleague, the ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the Senator from New Mexico, for his comments and for his support. This legislation was reported unanimously by the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. S. 1052, as reported by the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, will extend the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands one year after the date of enactment of the legislation. To minimize adverse effects on the local economy, a number of transition provisions have been incorporated in the legislation. The transition period will end on December 31, 2009, but the special provisions for employment based visas may be extended for legitimate businesses in the tourism industry for not to exceed two five-year periods and for a single five- year period for other legitimate businesses. This legislation is the result of several years work by the Committee, including a visit that I made to the Northern Marianas in February 1996. I was accompanied by Senator Akaka, who has cosponsored this legislation and was also a cosponsor of legislation that I introduced in the last Congress. This is bipartisan legislation that is long overdue. The administration would prefer a far more draconian approach with a minimum of transition and little economic or training assistance to the Northern Marianas. The Marianas, on the other hand, would prefer that we did nothing. I don't think that either approach is responsible. There are legitimate concerns by some in the Northern Marianas over what the effect of this legislation may be. We have tried to address those concerns, as I will describe later. For example, one of the ways that the Northern Marianas has tried to deal with the concern over alien workers remaining for indefinite periods without any political rights is to limit the time that any worker can remain in the Marianas. One effect of that approach, however, is to frustrate the ability of employers to recruit, train, and hire personnel. From experience, I can testify that the last thing any employer wants to do is commit resources to training individuals only to have them leave for other employment. It is far worse when the government says that your most valuable employees must not only leave your employ, but must also leave the country. Lynn Knight, the new president of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, noted that she had one employee who had been with her firm for several years and would have to leave. Another skilled professional could remain since he was a U.S. citizen. Similar situations are likely in other businesses, and I would expect especially in the tourism industry. To deal with that problem, the committee has included a special provision (the new section 6(j) to the Covenant Act) that provides a one-time grandfather provision for long-term employees in legitimate businesses. The provision would allow employers to sponsor current employees who had been employed for five years. If the alien is otherwise eligible for admission to the United States, that employee may be granted an immigrant visa or have his status adjusted to a person lawfully admitted for permanent residence without regard to any numerical limitations in the Immigration Act. I mention this one provision to illustrate that the committee has tried its best to deal with any legitimate concerns with the legislation and, as in the case of Ms. Knight, problems with the current local laws. Unfortunately, obtaining specific comments and recommendations has not been the easiest task before the committee. While the Governor has been forthright, the tactics taken by others has been more to obstruct the legislation than to provide useful comments and suggestions. The Governor has lowered the tone of the debate on this issue, although his example has not been followed by others. I would refer my colleagues to the report of the committee on this legislation for a detailed history on how we arrived at this situation where the United States does not control the terms of entry to its shores, what that exemption turned into, and how we have dealt with legitimate concerns about the long overdue extension of federal legislation. In brief, however, in 1976, Congress approved a Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States (PL 94-241). The Covenant formed the basis for the termination of the United Nations Trusteeship with respect to the Northern Mariana Islands. Termination occurred in 1986 for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and for the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia. Prior to termination, those provisions of the Covenant that were consistent with continued status of the area as part of the Trust Territory were made applicable by the U.S. as Administering Authority. Other provisions (such as the extension of U.S. sovereignty) were not made applicable. Among those laws was the Immigration Act. Had the United States sought piece-meal termination of the trusteeship, as some advocated at the time, or if agreement with the other districts had not proved so elusive, the immigration laws of the United States would have been extended to the Northern Marianas as they applied to Guam. We would not be here today. The Covenant permitted a unique system in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands under which the local government controlled immigration and minimum wage levels and also had the benefit of duty and quota free entry of manufactured goods under the provisions of General Note 3(a) of the Harmonized Tariff Schedules. My colleagues should be aware that these provisions are not subject to mutual consent and can be modified or repealed by the Congress. The section-by-section analysis of the committee report on the Covenant provides in part: Section 503.--This section deals with certain laws of the United States which are not now applicable to the Northern Mariana Islands and provides that they will remain inapplicable except in the manner and to the extent that they are made applicable by specific legislation enacted after the termination of the Trusteeship. These laws are: The Immigration and Naturalization Laws (subsection (a)). The reason this provision is included is to cope with the problems which unrestricted immigration may impose upon small island communities. Congress is aware of those problems. . . . It may well be that these problems will have been solved by the time of the termination of the Trusteeship Agreement and that the Immigration and Nationality Act containing adequate protective provisions can then be introduced to the Northern Mariana Islands. . . . Until termination of the trusteeship, the United States possessed and exercised plenary power, including control over entry into the area. The committee anticipated that by the termination of the Trusteeship, the federal government would have found some way of preventing a large influx of persons into the Marianas, recognizing the constitutional limitations on restrictions on travel, and that we would extend federal immigration laws when we extended United States sovereignty over the area. We neglected to do so. Upon termination of the trusteeship, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands became a territory of the United States and its residents became United States citizens. What transpired thereafter, however, was precisely what we sought to prevent. Because we had not enacted legislation extending federal immigration laws, however, persons were free to enter the Northern Marianas under local law. Although the population of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands was only 15,000 people in 1976 when the Covenant was approved, the population (July, 1999) is now estimated at 79,429. The rapid increase in population coincides with the assumption of immigration control by the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. According to the most recent statistical survey by the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, in 1980, 78 percent of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands population were U.S. citizens. That figure had declined to less than 47 percent by 1990 and by 1991, the percentage on Saipan, where most of the population resides, the figure was 42 percent. The majority of the population resides on Saipan, which is the economic and government center of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The most recent statistics (March 1999) from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands estimate the population of Saipan at 71,790. U.S. citizens are estimated at 30,154 of whom 24,710 are Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands born. There are 41,636 aliens of whom about 4,000 are from the freely associated states. By contrast, in 1980, non-U.S. citizen residents for the entire Northern Marianas totaled only 3,753 of whom 1,593 were citizens of the freely associated states and only 2,160 came from outside Micronesia. There is also a significant population of illegal aliens with estimates ranging from 3,000 to as high as 7,000 illegal aliens. Whatever the number, with the exception of those from Micronesia, none of these almost 40,000 persons entered under United States law and none has any of the rights of persons who legally enter the United States to work or reside. Repeated allegations of violations of applicable federal laws relating to worker health and safety, concerns with respect to immigration problems, including the admission of undesirable aliens, and reports of worker abuse, especially in the domestic and garment worker sectors, led to the inclusion of a $7 million set aside in appropriations in 1994 to support federal agency presence in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and increased enforcement of federal laws. During the 104th Congress, the Senate passed S. 638, legislation reported by the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and supported by the administration. Concern over the effectiveness of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands immigration laws and reports of the entry of organized criminal elements from Japan and China led the committee to include a provision to require the Commonwealth ``to cooperate in the identification and, if necessary, exclusion or deportation from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands of persons who represent security or law enforcement risks to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands or the United States.'' (Sec. 4 of S. 638) No action was taken by the House. In February, 1996, I visited the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands with Senator Akaka and met with local and federal officials. In addition, we inspected a garment factory and met with Bangladeshi security guards who had not been paid and who were living in substandard conditions. As a result of the meetings and continued expressions of concern over conditions, the committee held an oversight hearing on June 26, 1996. We were assured that conditions would improve. The U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform conducted a site visit to the Northern Marianas in July 1997 and issued a report which in general supported extension of immigration laws. The report found problems in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands ``ranging from bureaucratic inefficiencies to labor abuses to an unsustainable economic, social and political system that is antithetical to most American values'' but ``a willingness on the part of some Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands officials and business leaders to address the various problems''. The report found that: The Department of Labor and Immigration ``does not have the capacity, nor is it likely to develop one, to prescreen applicants for entry prior to their arrival on Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands territory.'' This leads to the situation of the Bangladeshi workers who arrive and find there is no work as well as to the entry of those with criminal or other disqualifying records. Federal law enforcement officials are mentioned as not providing information to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands due to concerns over security and corruption. The levels of immigration led to dependence on government employment or benefits for U.S. residents (since cheap foreign labor was available even for specialized trades such as accountants, doctors, and managers) and younger residents having to leave to find work. The report also noted that those on welfare could still hire domestics. The economy is unsustainable because there will be no advantage for the garment industry when the multi-fibre agreement comes into force in 2005. My colleagues should note that the perception that the garment industry presence in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is temporary is also shared by others. In September 1997, the Bank of Hawaii concluded that the presence of the garment industry was a result of ``a unique and temporary comparative economic advantage'' and that the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands should begin to plan for a ``transition to an exclusively tourism-driven economy''. The Bank of Hawaii repeated that conclusion in its October, 1999 report. Foreign workers are exploited with retaliation against protestors, failure of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands government to prosecute, unreliable bonding companies, exorbitant recruitment fees, suppression of basic freedoms, and flagrant abuses of household workers, agricultural workers, and bar girls. The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has entered into agreements with the Philippines and China over State objections dealing with trade and immigration. The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has no asylum policy or procedure placing the U.S. in violation of international obligations. The temporary guest worker for permanent jobs creates major policy problems as well as creating a two class system where the majority of workers are denied political and social rights. In the U.S. proper, such workers would be admitted for residence and could become citizens. Worse, the children of these workers are U.S. citizens. The children of foreign mothers now account for 16 percent of U.S. citizens. The presence of a large alien population in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is not simply a matter of local concern. Although temporary workers admitted into the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands may not enter the United States and their presence in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands does not constitute residence for the purpose of obtaining U.S. citizenship, that is not true for their children. Persons born in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands obtain U.S. citizenship by birth and eventually will be able to bring their immediate families into the United States. There is an increasing number of births to non-citizen mothers. In 1985, of 675 births, 260 were to non-citizen mothers. While the number of U.S. citizen mothers remained relatively constant, the number of non-citizen mothers increased to 581 by 1990, 701 in 1991, 859 in 1992, and continued around 900-1000 with the exception of 1,409 in 1996. For that year, total births were 1,890 with the percentage of U.S. citizen mothers at 25 percent. While some of the presumed non- citizen mothers are likely to be married to Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands residents, others are not, and all entered outside of federal immigration laws. The result is that there is an increasing number of persons obtaining U.S. citizenship outside the boundaries of U.S. immigration and naturalization laws. There are also incidental effects on various federal programs, such as education, that the children and their immediate relatives will be eligible for. To the extent that the current Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands immigration system results in structural unemployment among resident U.S. citizens, there are also effects on federal programs providing assistance to the poor. In addition, in recent years, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has doubled its public sector employment to absorb local workers. Public sector wages now represent the largest component of the local budget. Unless the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands takes action to develop or open private sector employment for U.S. residents, it will have a difficult time reducing its workforce. The recent downturn in the Asian economy has hit the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands hard and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is facing a significant deficit without the ability to trim its workforce. If layoffs are inevitable, it is likely that local and federal assistance costs will escalate. Concerns have also arisen over the use of the Northern Marianas for importation and transhipment of drugs. The June 17 Marianas Variety reported the Finance Department's Division of Customs to have confiscated over $2.5 million of crystal methamphetamine in 1998 with an increasing number of drug arrests. A related concern raised by the administration has been the ability of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to exclude individuals, especially members of organized crime from Japan and China. The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands does not have a data base to screen immigrants, and accomplishes most of its screening on arrival. The federal government, however, for those countries that require visas, does its screening in the foreign country. Federal law enforcement agencies have cited security concerns as a major impediment to sharing information with the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands government. Mr. President, this is a situation that should never have been allowed to occur. This is not a matter of local self-government. The control of borders and the conditions for entry, work, residence, and citizenship in the United States are federal matters. No one should ever have expected the Northern Marianas to replicate the resources and capability of the federal government, and in fact we did not. As our committee noted in its report on the Covenant, by the time the Trusteeship ended, we anticipated that federal immigration laws would be extended. We didn't do that and permitted this situation to occur. With the exception of American Samoa, the federal government conducts those activities throughout the United States. We have allowed the creation of a country within a country where the majority of the workforce are denied political and civil rights. Neither do I accept the argument that economic development is inconsistent with the application of federal immigration laws. With the exception of American Samoa, all other areas of the United States are under federal immigration law. I can assure my colleagues that the constraints on economic development in Alaska are not found in federal immigration law. Neither has federal immigration law been an impediment to the development of economies in the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, or Guam. If those areas are not fully to the levels of Stateside economies, they are nonetheless all self-supporting without the need for annual appropriations for government support. The Northern Marianas has a tourism industry and the opportunity for it to expand. There are other opportunities that should be explored, and this legislation contains provisions to assist the Commonwealth government in exploring those options. Comments have been made that this legislation will destroy the garment industry. That is simply not true unless the industry is adverse to having workers who either are or could become United States citizens. In addition, even the Governor in his testimony said that the garment industry in Saipan was temporary and that they needed to begin to transit to a new economy. The Bank of Hawaii has twice cautioned that the peculiar circumstances that provide an economic advantage in the Marianas will disappear shortly. As the Governor stated, we need to begin the transition now. This legislation will have only a minor effect on the garment industry. The legislation does not go into effect for a year. All contract workers on island can remain for two years or the length of their contract, whichever is less. There is a program to provide permits for temporary alien workers that will gradually be reduced and eliminated by December 31, 2009. All of this extends well past the time that every legitimate analysis of the Marianas economy indicates that the garment industry will have relocated or severely contracted. Mr. President, I will list some of the changes that we made in this legislation to address concerns over the effect of the imposition of federal immigration laws. I have already mentioned the special grandfather provision included as a result of Lynn Knight's concern over the status of current employees. These concerns were raised by the Chamber of Commerce or the representatives of the Commonwealth government--the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House, and the Resident Representative. The legislation limited post-transition relief to only the hotel industry. That has been expanded to include not only legitimate businesses throughout the tourism industry, but all other legitimate businesses in the Commonwealth; A new statement of policy to guide implementation has been inserted that makes clear that the transition from a non-resident contract worker program is to be orderly and that potential adverse effects are to be minimized; An explicit recognition of local self-government has been added together with more detailed requirements for consultation with local officials and consideration of their views as well as a straightforward statement that fundamental policy decisions regarding the direction and pace of economic development and growth will be made by local officials and not dictated by the federal government; Although the legislation limits the ability of the Attorney General to provide additional extension of the temporary worker program to two five-year periods for legitimate businesses in the tourism industry and for a single five-year period for other legitimate businesses, it also requires the Attorney General to notify the Congress of the reasons for the extension and whether we should consider providing additional authority for further extensions; A detailed technical assistance program is included to assist in the transition and to broaden and strengthen the local economy. In addition to existing authorities and programs, the Secretary of Commerce is provided $200,000 in matching grants to assist in the development and implementation of a process to diversify and strengthen the local economy. The Secretary is to consult not only with local officials, but also with local businesses and regional banks and other experts. The Secretary of Labor is provided an additional $300,000 in matching grants to provide technical and other support for the training, recruitment, and hiring of persons authorized to work in the United States to fill jobs in the Commonwealth. In addition to local officials and businesses, the Secretary is to work with the College of the Northern Marianas and the Secretary of Commerce. A specific requirement has been included for the federal government to promote the Northern Marianas as a tourist destination. Numerous technical and other changes have been made in response to the comments that we received, mainly to ensure full and complete consultation with local officials as this legislation is implemented. I want the record to reflect that I believe that this Governor has attempted to deal with the allegations of worker abuse that have occurred in the Northern Marianas. I think the garment industry has also acted to improve conditions and practices, at least to minimum federal requirement. After all, that is an industry that shipped over $1 billion worth of garments into the United States customs territory last year. By virtue of the exemption from tariffs, they avoided over $200 million in tariffs. Cleaning up conditions is a minor price to pay for that subsidy. Not all problems, however, are capable of resolution. The system where workers are on temporary contract and subject to deportation creates a climate where abuse can occur. Since the workers have no right to remain in the Marianas, their ability to complain is limited. If they have significant recruitment or other fees to repay, they are effectively indentured. The ability of the Northern Marianas government to respond is also limited. In response to the exploitation of workers from Bangladesh who paid large recruitment fees for non-existent jobs, the Marianas could only ban the importation of workers from that area for those jobs. The exploiters simply moved to Nepal. When the Governor tried to limit workers from China to deal with repatriation problems, however, those industries relying on easy access to those workers quickly brought enough pressure to reverse the decision. Efforts to limit the number of alien workers become more and more difficult as the Marianas government becomes increasingly dependent on those businesses importing those workers for the revenues to provide jobs in the public sector. Asking the Northern Marianas government to assume and adequately implement and enforce an immigration program within the framework of federal policy is simply setting them up. A central element of federal policy is that permanent jobs are to be filled by permanent workers-- persons who may live and reside in the United States, and in the case of aliens, who have the ability to eventually become citizens and full members of the political, social, and economic community. The Marianas does not have that ability. If they allow foreign workers to remain indefinitely, local businesses--such as Lynn Knight's--will prosper. However the workers will not obtain civil and political rights. They may not become United States citizens and they can not enter any other part of the United States. They are trapped. If the Marianas responds, as it did, to limit the length of stay for those workers, then businesses suffer because they can not retain trained workers and the workers themselves suffer. This is a situation that should never have been allowed to occur. We allowed it to happen, partially through a misplaced idea that we were enhancing local self-government. We now need to act to formally bring the Northern Marianas under the federal system as a part of the United States. We need to let them devote their resources to local concerns rather than having then attempt to replicate federal responsibilities. We need to make the transition as smooth as possible and we need to act to strengthen and diversify the local economy. This legislation as reported unanimously from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources will do that. It should be enacted promptly. Mr. President, the effort we are about to proceed with today is a result of a recognition that, indeed, there simply has to be a change in the immigration situation with regard to Saipan and the other islands of the Mariana Islands as a consequence of an effort that began many years ago to encourage development. But clearly the situation ran away with itself over a period of time when the immigration system just got beyond the management capability of the islands. I have had an opportunity to work with Senator Akaka on this legislation. I know how sensitive he is because a good deal of his constituency extends a little further out than the Hawaiian Islands into the CNMI. My constituency in Alaska does not quite extend that far. Nevertheless, as chairman of the committee, I have the responsibility to try to bring about corrective action. Through the efforts of Senator Akaka and his staff and with the help of Senator Bingaman and the professional staff of the committee, I think we have been able to achieve that in this legislation. With the concurrence of Senator Akaka, I will proceed with the charts. Senator Akaka is very prominent in some of the charts we are going to be presenting. In some cases I assume he has not seen these pictures yet. I am not suggesting either one of us is particularly photogenic, but we have living proof we were there on the ground and saw the situation as it really does exist. The first chart I am going to show is a little bit of what has happened over a period of time in the CNMI. It is a chart of population by citizenship. On the chart, the lower area is the growth in the number of U.S. citizens. That is in blue. You will see back in 1980 it was somewhere in the area of 14,000 or thereabouts. In the upper area is the growth in the number of aliens. Those aliens are primarily Chinese women coming in and working in the garment business. They come in under a contract for 2 or 3 years. Their living conditions leave a little bit to be desired, but I will go into that a little later. I do want my colleagues to understand, though, that as we look at the difference in the number of U.S. citizens over a period of time from 1980 to 1999, the growth of that group is relatively modest. But if we look, from 1980 to 1999, at the growth in the number of non-U.S. citizens, we see phenomenal growth. That is a result of these workers coming in and working in sweatshops in a way we would certainly not allow anywhere in the United States. The population of the Mariana Islands, as I indicated, was about 15,000 in 1976 when the covenant was approved. As of July 1999, that figure has now risen to close to 80,000, as the chart shows. In 1978, 78 percent of the population were U.S. citizens. By 1990, that figure went down to 47 percent. By 1999, in Saipan where most of the population resides, that figure was down to 42 percent. With the exception of about 4,000 residents from the freely associated states in Micronesia, there were over 41,000 aliens who entered this portion of the United States outside of our conventional Federal immigration laws because the immigration laws were controlled by the island. In February of 1996, Senator Akaka and I, accompanied by a very outstanding group of our professional staff who are with me today, went to visit the islands. Let me give you a little report on what we found. We were not looking for a situation that suggested the immigration was out of control. But in our visit there, and in followup on reports, we did find worker abuse and other problems associated with immigration and labor. We had an extensive and productive series of meetings during our brief visit. We had an opportunity to meet with the Governor. We were briefed by his various departments on how they were attempting to deal with this situation. We met with law enforcement officials and representatives from the Department of Labor and other agencies. We met with Federal District Court Judge Munson, a very capable Federal judge, and the U.S. attorneys for the area. We met with the leadership of the legislature. We met with various groups, including the Chamber of Commerce and others. We also visited around the island. We visited garment factories. We met with the workers who heard we were on the island and wanted to convey their concern. Without notice, we met with some of the Bangladeshi security guards. Let me show you what we saw. Here we are, actually visiting one of the garment factories. A picture cannot capture the atmosphere, but my colleagues can get some idea of the work. This is a pile of red, what we call gaucho sports shirts. There is quite a pile of them. On the next table, there is another pile. It goes right on down the line. These women, virtually without exception, are young women who have come over from China on a contract working at these sewing machines and putting these garments together. These are the general types of working conditions and the building. Behind this working area is their living quarters. The living quarters are pretty rough. We went into some of them. There are four to six women in one room. The beds look like little more than an enlarged children's crib. On the other hand, one has to wonder what kind of conditions they would ordinarily be living in in China. One has to bear that in mind. This gentleman in red--a different color T-shirt than the pile of shirts--is Senator Akaka. I am wearing a blue T-shirt. We were going through this factory. Notice that many of the women do not look up from their machines or even look at strangers, which surprised us. I assume they were told to work, keep their heads down, and mind their own business. Nevertheless, this gives some idea of what is inside one of the garment factories. There is a barbed wire fence around the barracks where the women live. It is certainly fair to say we would not want to live in those conditions. It was hot. There was air circulating. I have another picture. Obviously, I had a big dinner that day, so I will not reflect at any great length on that. These are the shirts that are going into various markets in the United States. The extraordinary thing I found is that right at the factory where the garments are put together, not only are the price tags put on but the encoded tag one finds on the garment at sale is put on. When we looked at these labels, we saw the May Company, we saw Hecht's, and a number of noted commercial department stores in the United States. We found they had a red dot on the other sale items on the garments made in Saipan. Not only are they tagged with the price and the store to which they are going, but this label says ``Made in America,'' and these are made in America because, clearly, Saipan is a territory of the United States. They go in duty free. Also, these are young women, and this has certain consequences for both the Mariana Islands and the U.S. Federal Government which I am going to mention shortly. What has attracted this industry, of course, is the availability of workers who come from China on a 3-year contract, and they work very hard. It is a piecemeal-type work. As a consequence, when their turn is to leave, why, there are others who are waiting to come in under contract as well. We tried to find out terms and conditions under which they were hired, but that is pretty difficult to do. There are those in China who recruit, if you will, and what they get paid to buy a Chinese woman who wants to come over and work is anybody's guess. There seems to be an unlimited supply as these women go back and, in many cases, of course, they have saved a good deal of the money they have made; others perhaps are not so lucky. In any event, we saw other exceptions that were not quite as pleasant. This is a picture of Senator Akaka and me in front of what really was a hovel. This is behind one of the major hotels, the Hyatt hotel. There were a series of shacks. This is a gentleman from Bangladesh. He was hired to be a security guard. We found an area where there was no water, no sewer, no electricity. They were heating inside on a kerosene stove. The concern he had is he had not been paid. He had been given checks by his employer, and those checks had been returned for nonsufficient funds. He had three checks. He said: What am I to do? I work, I am paid, but the checks are no good. I go to the Federal Government representatives on the island, and they are so burdened down with requests such as this that they can't do anything for me; I don't have enough money to go back to my country. What am I to do? These are people who, obviously, thought they were given an opportunity for a better lifestyle. Clearly, once they arrived there, they found themselves helpless. This is the exception, not the rule. But there are enough of the exceptions to suggest there is little means for these people to seek relief, to go to their employer, and get paid: Run the check through again next week and maybe there will be money to cover. That is a pretty tough set of circumstances under the American flag. I refer to another chart on the makeup of the CNMI population by citizenship. If one looks closely at the chart and the growth of populations in the Mariana Islands, one will note the growth rate for U.S. citizens began to rise in roughly 1990. The blue bar is U.S. citizens, and the red bar is the growth of non-U.S. citizens. There is a ready explanation. If my colleagues will recall, many of the alien contract workers are young women. I have another chart, and this is a chart on infant births. Again, if one looks at the blue from 1985 to 1998, one sees the births by mothers' nationality. The blue represents U.S. citizens and the red is non-U.S. citizens. In 1985, of 675 live births, 260 were to noncitizen mothers. While the number of citizen mothers remains fairly consistent, the number of noncitizen mothers rose to 581 in 1990, 701 in 1991, 859 in 1992, and then continues around 900 to 1,000 thereafter. The exception was 1996 when there were 1,409 recorded live births to noncitizen mothers. Fully 75 percent of all births were to noncitizen mothers. One might ask: Why are you spending so much time on this statistic? For those who thought these alien contract workers were only temporary and only presented a challenge for the Northern Mariana Islands, reconsider for a moment because every one of these children is a U.S. citizen because that child was born in the United States. As a consequence, at some point in time, undoubtedly, they will come to the United States--either stay in the Mariana Islands or go back to China with the mother and then reenter the United States at a later time because that child is a U.S. citizen. That is a significant obligation that the United States picks up when it allows this type of immigration--young women coming into these sweatshops, working for a couple of years, and many of them becoming pregnant and those children becoming U.S. citizens. Some of the women are likely married to U.S. citizens. We do not know the circumstances of all, except for one fact, and that fact is that each of them entered on to U.S. soil outside of our immigration system. They did not come through our immigration system, but they became U.S. citizens anyway. I have another chart, and this is a chart of employment by private and public sectors. I think it is important that we recognize what we are looking at. What has this economic boom that has occurred on the islands and access to alien workers at low wages really meant? One thing it has meant is a steady growth in employment. I think this chart is illuminating. As you can see, in the public sector, virtually all the jobs have gone to U.S. citizens. This is the public sector in blue. What is the public sector? The public sector is government. That is where the U.S. citizens have found their jobs. Many of the aliens are in the medical and health field. But most of the private-sector jobs go to the aliens. The aliens, of course, are shown on the chart in red as non-U.S. citizens. That is where the growth has been in the private sector. You probably would not be surprised to know there is a significant difference in wages. The July 1999 data I have from the Marianas Department of Commerce provides mean-wage data for various sectors of the local economy. For nondurable goods manufacturing, mean wages were about $2.51 per hour in 1980, $2.94 in 1990, and $2.33 in 1995. For the same period, in restaurants, mean wages were $2.17 in 1980, $3.84 in 1990, and $3.80 in 1995. For the public sector, however, mean wages were $4.03 in 1980, $9.20 in 1990, and $11.81 in 1995. You can see the variance, where the higher wages are in the public sector. What has happened is that the public sector has been forced to expand to provide jobs for local residents and increase the level of wages. The Governor, when we were over there, noted, and in his testimony later expressed, he was trying to trim the level of government but that it was difficult. Salaries and related expenses consume over half the budget of the Marianas. They have a carryover deficit of about $70 million, I might add. Even with the growth of the private sector to absorb local residents seeking employment, it is simply not enough. Let's look at Saipan's unemployment rate by citizenship. This chart shows the unemployment rate by citizenship from 1980. Again, the blue represents U.S. citizens. The red represents non-U.S. citizens. As you can see, in 1980, after approval of the covenant but before the trusteeship ended and the Marianas fully took over immigration, the unemployment rate for U.S. citizens was 3 percent. By 1990, as immigration began to accelerate and businesses found you could hire foreign labor on short-term contracts, the rate climbed to 5.5 percent. By 1995, even with the significant expansion of the public sector, the rate soared to 13.3 percent. As you may recall, the use of alien workers was also rising. Now we have 12.6 percent unemployment. I do not know how the Governor plans to trim the public-sector workforce with that level of unemployment for U.S. citizens, but we wish him well. I know he is very serious about trying to deal with unemployment and the size of the government. This is one of the results, however, of the current immigration system. What Senator Akaka and I are proposing is legislation that is bipartisan. It has the support of the administration. As Senator Bingaman noted, it was reported out of the committee unanimously. We attempted to address every legitimate concern that the Governor, the Resident Representative, the Speaker of the House, and the President of the Senate from the Marianas raised. We also met with the business community and other leaders. Throughout, the general approach was to simply oppose the legislation. As a consequence, what we have done is try to make changes to deal with concerns that were raised by those I have mentioned. Let me briefly go through some of the changes that are in the committee amendment. First is the grandfathering for existing long-term workers. One criticism of the current situation in the Marianas is that workers can remain for extended periods--in effect, workers in permanent jobs--and therefore they have no political or civil rights. Unlike the United States, the Marianas cannot provide for workers to eventually become citizens and enter the community. To respond to that complaint, the Marianas have enacted laws to require all aliens to leave the Commonwealth after a certain timeframe. One effect of that approach, however, is to frustrate the ability of the employers to recruit, train, and hire personnel. From my experience, I can personally testify that the last thing any employer wants to do is commit resources to training individuals only to have them leave for other employment. It is far worse when the Government says your most valuable employees not only must leave your employ but must also leave the country as well. The president of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, Lynn Knight, noted that she had one employee who had been with her firm for several years and would have to leave while another skilled professional could remain since he was a U.S. citizen. Similar situations are likely in other businesses, and I would expect especially in the tourism industry. To deal with that problem, the committee has included a special provision--this is the new section 6(j) to the Covenant Act--that provides a one-time grandfather provision for long-term employees in legitimate businesses. The provision would allow employers to sponsor current employees who have been employed for 5 years or more. If the alien is otherwise eligible for admission to the United States, that employee may be granted an immigrant visa or have his status adjusted to a person lawfully admitted for permanent residence without regard to any numerical limitations in the Immigration Act. This provision would ensure that for those businesses that have long- term employees and want to retain them, this legislation would mean nothing more than their employees would obtain green cards and be authorized to work in the United States. I thank the chamber and Ms. Knight for highlighting this situation because I think this provision will go a long way to ease the transition for legitimate businesses. Briefly, I will list some of the other changes Senator Akaka and I made through the hearing process to try to address and accommodate the local concerns of the people there. One is that the legislation limited posttransition relief to only the hotel industry. That has been expanded to include not only legitimate businesses throughout the tourism industry but all other legitimate businesses in the Commonwealth as well. Further, a new statement of policy to guide implementation has been inserted that makes clear that the transition from a nonresident contract worker program is to be orderly and that potential adverse effects are to be minimized. An explicit recognition of local self-government has been added together with more detailed requirements for consultation with local officials and consideration of their views. We have included a straightforward statement, at the request of the Governor, that fundamental policy decisions regarding the direction and pace of economic development and growth will be made by local officials and not dictated by the Federal Government. Although the legislation limits the ability of the Attorney General to provide additional extension of the temporary worker program to two 5-year periods for legitimate businesses in the tourism industry and for a single 5-year period for other legitimate businesses, it also requires the Attorney General to notify the Congress of the reasons for the extension and whether we should consider providing additional authority for further extensions. A detailed technical assistance program is included to assist in the transaction and to broaden and strengthen the local economy. In addition to existing authorities and programs, the Secretary of Commerce is provided $200,000 in matching grants to assist in the development and implementation of a process to diversify and strengthen the local economy. The Secretary is to consult not only with local officials but also with local businesses, regional banks, and other experts. Now the Secretary of Labor is involved. He is to provide an additional $300,000 in matching grants to provide technical and other support for the training, recruitment, and hiring of persons authorized to work in the United States to fill jobs in the Commonwealth. In addition to local officials and businesses, the Secretary is to work with the College of the Northern Marianas and the Secretary of Commerce. A specific requirement has been included for the Federal Government to promote the Northern Marianas as a tourist destination. The resident representative, Juan Babauta, was very forceful in advocating the need for assistance to diversify and strengthen the local economy and provide training for the workers even absent the legislation. Although he and other officials oppose the legislation, I thank him and the others for their concerns. I think they are well founded, and we have sought to try and deal with them. I am not going to go into all the reasons why this legislation is needed. I think they were fully laid out in the committee hearings and in our committee report. I do not ever want to see a situation where I have to convene a closed hearing and hear from a young lady who is forced to endure what this particular young lady, coming over from China, was forced to endure. The price of local control over Federal functions should not be measured in lost childhood and innocence. I am not fully happy with how determined Federal law enforcement personnel are, but I am encouraged by the inclusion of funding in their budgets for the first time because they have been working under extraordinary circumstances of inadequate funds. The General Counsel for the INS testified in strong support of this legislation. I appreciate the technical assistance of their personnel and the provisions and material they have provided us. It is probably appropriate to conclude with a few comments on the position of some in the opposition, including control over borders and the conditions to enter the United States, work and reside, and become a citizen. Some suggest these are matters of Federal, not local, law. Well, this is not a matter of local self-government. In fact, by requiring the Marianas to develop and implement an immigration system, we diverted important resources they could have dedicated to important matters of local concern, and seriously harmed local self-government. Neither do I nor others believe the Marianas cannot have a healthy and diversified economy under Federal immigration laws. They certainly can. The islands of the Marianas have the physical and human resources for tourism, as well as the geographic location for other activities and businesses. We have provided in this bill the training and other assistance we think the Marianas will need. Yes, there will be some changes, but in the long run, they will be for the better for all the residents of the Marianas, and we will not have under the U.S. flag the sweatshop conditions that exist there today. The only losers will be those who made their fortunes by exploiting the situation and exploiting the workers from China who live in conditions that are absolutely unsuitable and unacceptable under the American flag. It is not a healthy economy when employment is 13 percent for local residents, and the only job opportunities seem to be in the area of local government. The current system is denying opportunities to the youth of the Marianas and will force them to leave home for Guam or other areas to obtain work. In conclusion, I particularly and personally thank Senator Akaka, who has been such a strong advocate of reform and has patiently worked with us to make this a better bill. I urge my colleagues to adopt the committee amendment and the legislation. Again, I recognize my good friend Senator Akaka, who is prepared to make an opening statement at this time. I yield the floor to Senator Akaka.

Mr. MURKOWSKI

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that there be a period for the transaction of routine morning business with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. MURKOWSKI

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. MURKOWSKI

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I would like to announce for the public that a hearing has been scheduled before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The hearing will take place on Thursday, February 10, 2000 at 10:00 a.m., in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony on S. 1797, a bill to amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, to provide for a land conveyance to the City of Craig, Alaska, and for other purposes; S. 1192, a bill to designate national forest land managed by the Forest Service in the Lake Tahoe Basin as the Lake Tahoe National Scenic Forest and Recreation Area, and to promote environmental restoration around the Lake Tahoe Basin; S. 1664, a bill to clarify the legal effect on the United States of the acquisition of a parcel of land in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve in the State of Utah; and S. 1665, a bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to release reversionary interests held by the United State in certain parcels of land in Washington County, Utah, to facilitate an anticipated land exchange; H.R. 2863, a bill to clarify the legal effect on the United States of the acquisition of a parcel of land in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve in the State of Utah; H.R. 2862, a bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to release revisionary interests held by the United States in certain parcels of land in Washington County, Utah, to facilitate an anticipated land exchange; S. 1936, a bill to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to sell or exchange all or part of certain administrative sites and other National Forest System land in the State of Oregon and use the proceeds derived from the sale or exchange for National Forest System purposes. Those who wish to submit written statements should write to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510. For further information, please call Mark Rey (202) 224- 2878. committee on energy and natural resources

Mr. MURKOWSKI

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to a very dear friend of mine who was in the Alaska Airlines plane that had the tragic accident yesterday afternoon off the coast of California near Los Angeles. Morrie Thompson and I go back a long way, all the way to Fairbanks, AK, when I first became involved in banking activities in that community. He was a young Native leader. The paths that we took after that time in the early 1970s resulted in numerous meetings and conversations. His temperament and sensitivity to the advancement of the Native people of Alaska are almost as though he came on the scene to be a man of his time. I speak about that in reference to the significant portion of our aboriginal community, our Alaskan Natives, people who were in a transition from a subsistence, nomadic lifestyle into contemporary competition for education, competition for jobs, competition for development. Morrie and his companion, Thelma, not only were good friends, but the contribution they made to the community of Alaska as a whole, Native and non-Native alike, was a powerful one. What they leave is a legacy that we can all share with pride and a sense of a job well done by Morrie and Thelma, because what they have left in the formation of the Alaska Native community is a structure where our Native people have an ownership, not only in the village corporations, but the regional corporations from which their traditional geographic association springs and their well being can be secured. As a consequence of that, if you look at the Native American on the reservation systems throughout the United States and see the comparison with the advancement of the settlement in Alaska, the results speak for themselves--due, in no small measure, to the guidance of Morrie Thompson. He and I served together when I was running a financial institution in Alaska. We had a large number of branches in smaller communities: Barrow, Tok, Nenana, Koyukuk, Nome. As president of that organization, I found the advice and counsel of Morrie Thompson most valuable as we addressed our responsibility in meeting the needs of Alaska's developing Native community. A few months ago, Morrie Thompson announced he intended to step down as chairman and chief executive officer of the Doyon Corporation, the regional Native corporation. There was a retirement party for Morrie. There was a great tribute paid to him by the men and women who knew him, loved him, and worked with him. A very substantial fund was established in his name for the benefit of young Native Alaskans. I think that area, young Native Alaskans, is where the real tribute to Morrie Thompson belongs because he encouraged involvement and education to maintain the attributes of our Native people allowing them to be competitive in job markets and educational opportunities. As a consequence of the terrible tragedy that took his life and that of his wife and daughter--he leaves two other daughters and he leaves grandchildren--he leaves a legacy for all of us to reflect on: a legacy of leadership, a legacy of inspiration, a legacy of genuine trust. He was probably one of the nicest and most decent men I have ever met. As we note the passing of Morrie Thompson, I say to his family and friends, he will be deeply missed, but his legacy and contribution will live in Alaska.

Mr. MURKOWSKI

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, for the information of all Senators, the Senate will resume consideration of the bankruptcy reform bill at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow. There are several amendments remaining, and these amendments will be debated throughout the morning. All votes, including final passage of the bankruptcy legislation, will be stacked and are expected to occur at approximately 12 noon. After disposition of the bankruptcy bill, the Senate is expected to begin consideration of the nomination of Alan Greenspan to continue as chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Mr. MURKOWSKI

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in adjournment under the previous order.

Mr. MURKOWSKI

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there be a period for the transaction of routine morning business, with each Senator permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. MURKOWSKI

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that immediately following the completion of the bankruptcy bill and notwithstanding rule XXII, the Senate proceed to executive session and the consideration of the nomination of Alan Greenspan. I further ask unanimous consent that there then be the following debate time, to be divided as follows: Senator Leahy, 20 minutes; Senator Dorgan, 30 minutes; Senator Harkin, 60 minutes; Senator Wellstone, 60 minutes; Senator Reid, 30 minutes; the chairman and ranking member, 90 minutes equally divided. I further ask unanimous consent that following the use or yielding back of time, the Senate proceed to a vote on the confirmation of the nomination at a time to be determined by the two leaders. I finally ask unanimous consent that following the vote, the President be notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate then resume legislative session.

Mr. MURKOWSKI

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that the injunction of secrecy be removed from the following treaty transmitted to the Senate on February 1, 2000, by the President of the United States: Treaty with the Hellenic Republic on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Treaty Document No. 106-18). I further ask that the treaty be considered as having been read the first time; that it be referred, with accompanying papers, to the Committee on Foreign Relations and ordered to be printed; and that the President's message be printed in the Record.

Mr. MURKOWSKI

Mr. MURKOWSKI. In response to my good friend from New York, I anticipate it would take at least 30-plus days to see any significant movement from the SPR, which is crude oil transported to a refinery in enough time to relieve the crisis of the high price in the Northeast. The problem is, the reserves of heating oil are down. I have discussed the rationale of why the reserves are low, but the fact is they are low. So as a consequence, we are left with a situation where price follows supply and demand, and we are certainly feeling the price. I think we should converse with our Secretary of Energy, who is attempting to interject with the Saudis, Venezuelans, Norwegians, and other oil-producing countries to try to encourage them to, if you will, increase their OPEC volume, which they have been remarkably solid in their ability to hold together and not do that. They operate under two theories. One is they would like to have the highest possible price and produce the least amount of oil. But if that cartel cracks, then they still have to have the same volume of dollars to benefit their government, so they will produce more oil to get it. What we have seen as a consequence is the cartel coming together and holding tough. Subject to the ability of the Secretary of Energy to convince them to do otherwise, I would not look for immediate relief from that area. I think there is relief coming, but your constituents are going to be exposed to some high prices. As sympathetic as I am, I don't know the answer. I just don't think SPR is going to be able to meet the demand in a timely enough manner by the time you get past another 30 days and some of this production in to your constituents. I don't think that is going to do what the market is doing now, which is bringing more heating oil that is already refined in Europe into the United States. I would much rather work ultimately for a long-term solution to our exposures because you have to look at the reality. We are going to be more and more exposed to the whims of OPEC. We have allowed Saddam Hussein and Iraq to come in with another 2 million barrels a day. That helps us and hurts us when you think about it. Who benefits from that? It is a complex problem. I have a hard time accepting that part of the role of SPR is to meet the domestic price manipulations as opposed to the philosophy that went into SPR, which was its design to be a strategic petroleum reserve in the sense of a time when our supplies may be cut off. There has been a great deal of criticism in my committee of the ability of SPR to be able to produce if a demand is there. There are a lot of shortcomings within SPR's makeup.

Mr. MURKOWSKI. I will respond to that. I recognize the sensitivity of my good friend, and the Senator from Maine, also. There are a couple of factors I think are very important to understand, and that is the ability of the strategic petroleum reserve to be moved out in a relatively short period of time the crude it has accumulated, or any portion of it, and transport it to refineries that aren't already up to the maximum capacity of their refining capability, and then move it to market because this winter isn't going to last forever. But right now, it is significant and very meaningful, as evidenced by the price associated with heating oil. As I indicated in my floor statement, we have evidence by the Department of Energy that there are a number of ships in transit from Europe bringing heating oil. So there will be price relief soon. As you and I know, the price goes up a lot faster than it comes down. The idea of swaps certainly has merit and has been done before. But, traditionally, the manner in which the Federal Government in manipulating the sales of SPR has resulted in a situation where we have purchased high and sold low, and there is a mentality that suggests that we will make up the difference, with the taxpayers taking it in the shorts, so to speak--I am not suggesting we would not go back and replace SPR. Indeed, there are some logistic problems with the idea. One, you don't move it out of SPR very fast because it is in the salt caverns and there is only so much pumping capability and you have to move it to the refinery and then you have to refine it. The realization is that the refineries, as I understand it, in proximity to the SPR are pretty much up to their designed capacity. So what we need is an SPR of heating oil for you. That would be my best assessment of the current situation. But I am sensitive to the Senator's concern.