Gregorio Sablan

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the Guam-Northern Marianas Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) for 25 years of valued service supporting our islands' service men and women seeking civilian employment. Since 1997, the Guam-Northern Marianas ESGR has been instrumental in connecting our islands' National Guard and Reserve members with employers that understand and cooperate with one's commitment to military service. Supportive employers are critical to maintaining the strength and readiness of our Nation's Guard and Reserve units, should they be called upon for duty or disaster emergencies. The Army National Guard, the Air National Guard, the Army Reserve, the Air Force Reserve, the Navy Reserve, the Marine Corps Reserve, and the Coast Guard Reserve are on the frontlines of securing our Nation from threats around the world. In fact, the National Guard and Reserve forces comprise nearly half of our U.S. military strength. Recently, Reserve Component forces have been activated across America to assist efforts to respond to, mitigate, and control the COVID-19 pandemic. And, with more than 2,700 service members on Guam, Saipan, Rota, and Tinian, Guam and the Marianas enjoy the highest Reserve membership per capita anywhere in the United States. That is why the work of Guam-Northern Marianas ESGR is so important to supporting the well-being of our islands and our Nation. Our service men and women make tremendous sacrifices answering the call to serve, as do their employers whose deployed Guard and Reserve members can no longer offer their skills and services for months at a time. Yet because of ESGR, these service members are comforted by the knowledge of job security upon returning home and their employers are rewarded with a uniquely dedicated workforce. I urge my colleagues to join me in thanking and celebrating Guam- Northern Marianas ESGR for their exceptional service and commitment to our islands' service men and women.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Chair, H.R. 7780, the Mental Health Matters Act, will provide federal funding to help students and school staff in my district, the Northern Mariana Islands, access mental health care and hire more school based mental health service providers. The COVID-19 pandemic seriously impacted students' social and emotional development. In 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported over 44 percent of students felt sadness or hopelessness, almost 20 percent had suicidal thoughts, and 9 percent attempted suicide. However, the student mental health crisis preceded the pandemic. In 2016, CDC found roughly 1in 6 children in America aged 2-8 years were diagnosed with mental, behavioral, or developmental disorders. The House Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee I chair has heard from schools nationwide on the worsening state of our children's mental health. The House now has an opportunity to pass the Mental Health Matters Act that I cosponsored to provide the resources necessary to help schools provide lifesaving care to our students in need. H.R. 7780 will set aside $25 million to school districts in the Marianas and other insular areas for the recruitment and retention of school-based mental health service providers. The Marianas Public School System serves a high percentage of students that come from families with incomes below the poverty line. Students, regardless of income, should have access to the health care they need. H.R. 7780 expands students' access to mental health care and ensures our schools have the resources to provide the care they need. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 7780.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, S. 3969, the Protection and Advocacy for Voting Access Program Inclusion Act, will provide federal funding to help my district, the Northern Mariana Islands, lower the accessibility barriers that prevent individuals with disabilities from exercising their right to vote. The right to vote is the bedrock of our democracy. Yet simply having the right to vote does not ensure that every citizen is able to access the polls to cast their ballot. While the Help America Vote Act of 2002 has been instrumental in improving the accessibility of polling places for voters with disabilities, the Act currently cannot distribute program grants to the Marianas and the American Indian Consortium. S. 3969 corrects that. The bill adds the Marianas and the American Indian Consortium to entities eligible for grants under the Protection and Advocacy for Voting Access program. PAVA supports training for poll workers, distributing resources on how to conduct an accessible campaign, maintaining voting hotlines, and examining polling places for accessibility. S. 3969 is the Senate companion to H.R. 7326, which Rep. Ruben Gallego and I introduced in this Congress. I want to thank Senators Ben Ray Lujan, Roy Blunt, Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith, and Martin Heinrich for introducing S. 3969 and their work to pass the bill unanimously in the Senate. I also want to thank Representatives Tom O'Halleran, John Curtis, and Teresa Leger Fernandez for their cosponsorship of H.R. 7326. I urged my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, on September 16, the United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands will be officially moved into its new courtroom and offices in Gualo Rai on the island of Saipan. The U.S. Pretrial and Probation Office, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Attorney's Office, and the Federal Protective Service are also now housed in this new building, leased by the General Services Administration from Marianas Management Corporation for the next twenty years. To commemorate this move I want to add to the Congressional Record a history of the federal court in the Marianas, which is part of the ongoing story of how the people I represent have become members of the American political family and have been included in the institutions of the United States government. I am indebted to the research of Ms. Lallane Guiao-Seng, MPA, who formerly interned with the Marianas congressional office and is now Generalist Clerk for the U.S. District Court. Ms. Guiao-Seng prepared a photo exhibition with extensive captioning recounting the court's history for the ceremonial opening of the new courthouse this month. I am also indebted to Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona, who agreed to allow Ms. Guiao-Seng to share her research with the congressional office. That work is extensively excerpted here. Section 401 of the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America, which the people of the Mariana approved in a plebiscite in 1975 and Congress agreed in Public Law 94-241 in 1976, provides that the United States will establish a District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands. The United States fulfilled this commitment in 1977 with enactment of Public Law 95-157 establishing the District Court under Article IV of the U.S. Constitution. According to the Senate Judiciary Committee report that accompanied this legislation, establishment of the court was a legislative priority during the 95th Congress (1977-78). The Committee noted, in part, that After the Constitution [of the Northern Mariana Islands] becomes effective, it will take the legislature an undetermined amount of time to create the local court authorized by the Constitution and to establish it as a functioning branch of the local government. Transitional provisions of the constitution will enable the current, local courts to hear and determine cases that will be within the limited jurisdiction of the Commonwealth trial court. However, unless the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands is established by S. 2149 in this session of Congress, there will be no court in the Northern Mariana Islands to hear serious criminal and important civil cases, arising under local law. Moreover, there would be no court to hear cases involving Federal questions or Federal crimes, and there would be no appellate tribunal. Consequently, the committee recognized ``the urgent need for enactment of S. 2149 in this session of the Congress and, therefore, the committee reports the bill favorably with a recommendation that it do pass.'' The legislation did pass the Senate on October 13, 1977, and the House on October 25. President Carter signed the bill on November 8 of that year. In addition to establishing a judgeship for the court and assigning it to the same judicial circuit as Guam (which, at present, is the Ninth Circuit), the legislation also authorized the President to appoint a U.S. attorney and a marshal for the Northern Mariana Islands. The legislation also granted the court the same jurisdiction as a U.S. district court (i.e., district courts authorized under Article III of the Constitution). The Chief Judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit was empowered to assign certain persons ``to serve temporarily as a judge in the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands whenever such an assignment is necessary for the proper dispatch of the business of the court.'' Quickly, the Chief Judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit did assign three senior federal judges and the new Northern Mariana Islands District Court received its first case filings on January 9, 1978. Quickly, too, President Jimmy Carter nominated Alfred Laureta, who hailed from Hawaii, to be the district judge. He was confirmed by the Senate on May 17, 1978. The new courthouse and federal office building we are celebrating today is a far cry from quarters that Judge Laureta confronted, when he arrived on the island of Saipan in the Marianas in August of 1978. ``The Court convened in a poolside suite at the Saipan Beach Intercontinental Inn in the village of Garapan. The district judge's law clerk's office was ten yards from the Intercontinental swimming pool and thirty yards from the beach. The courtroom itself was set up at the end of the banquet room, which could be closed off from the rest of the room and then opened for jury trials,'' according to the research of Ms. Guiao-Seng. Mr. Howard K.K. Luke, Judge Laureta's law clerk, recalled this scene when he and the judge first arrived: Saipan had just had the heaviest rainfall in recent recorded history. The first thing we saw upon arriving at the Saipan Intercontinental Inn was a car that was mostly underwater. The District Court was in a small room that had been hastily repaired, as it was heavily damaged from a fire from the kitchen area next to it not long before our arrival. We found a metal desk that served as the federal bench for the next several months. Despite these less than imposing circumstances, the court got to work. And for the next eight years, the District Court heard both federal cases and the most serious local cases, including criminal cases with penalties of five years imprisonment or more and civil cases dealing with amounts in controversy of over $5,000. All jury trials also fell under the jurisdiction of the District Court. As Ms. Guaio-Seng recounts, the Federal District Court also served as the appellate court for the Commonwealth Trial Court. ``Cases appealed from [the Trial Court] were heard by a panel of three judges on the `Appellate Division' of the District Court. The panel included the U.S. district judge for the NMI, a judge of the Commonwealth Trial Court, and another federal district judge assigned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The opinions rendered by this appellate arm of the District Court for the [Northern Mariana Islands] were appealable to the Ninth Circuit.'' The federal government also had begun negotiations for a more appropriate setting in which the District Court could convene. In 1981, after three makeshift years at the hotel, space was rented at the newly opened Nauru Building, a seven-story commercial venture of the Republic of Nauru, to accommodate the needs of the federal court, including a small courtroom, library, judge's chambers, and staff offices. Judge Laureta's 10-year term ended in 1988 at which time President Ronald Reagan nominated Alex R. Munson to be District Court judge for the Northern Mariana Islands. Judge Munson was familiar with the region having served as the Chief Judge for the High Court of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, which encompassed the Marianas as well as Palau, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae, and the Marshall Islands. Munson also initiated a relocation of the court to more spacious accommodations in the Horiguchi Building. The courtroom was located on the ground floor, the Clerk's Office and Judge's Chambers on the second floor, and a grand jury room on the third floor. Within ten years, however, this space, too, proved inadequate. ``In the wake of the 1998 Oklahoma City federal courthouse bombing, a Federal Assessment Board determined that the courtroom in the Horiguchi Building was the least safe courthouse in the nation,'' Ms. Guaio-Seng reports. As a result, the General Services Administration decided to build a new federal building in Saipan, but Congress balked at the cost. Not until 2010, when a drunk driver veered off the road and crashed a 16-passenger van into the Horiguchi Building courtroom, did the federal government agree that a more secure facility was required. Yet seven more years passed before the General Services Administration finally contracted with the Marianas Management Corporation on a construct/ lease arrangement for a new federal court building. Construction dragged out in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yutu in 2018 and during the COVID-19 pandemic; but in early 2020 the District Court began its move to the new courthouse. The first judicial proceeding there took place on July 14, 2020. And this week we celebrate the official grand opening. Throughout the last four decades, the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. judicial system have played a pivotal role in the life of our community. The case of Commonwealth v. Atalig established the right to a jury trial for defendants facing a substantial period of incarceration. Wabol v. Villacrusis let stand the land alienation restrictions in the Commonwealth Constitution. And the court presided over the conviction of a Lt. Governor on charges of corruption. The court is also the venue for the swearing in of new U.S. citizens, a regular and inspirational event I have many times attended. The federal court is a focal point of local pride, too. Though the first two judges were off-islanders, in 2011 President Barack Obama nominated Ramona V. Manglona, a person of Northern Marianas descent, to the bench; and the U.S. Senate confirmed her that year. It is my sincere hope that President Biden will acknowledge the exceptional work of Chief Judge Manglona and nominate her for a second, 10-year term. In the meantime, I join Judge Manglona, her staff, and the members of the U.S. Pretrial and Probation Office, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Attorney's Office, and the Federal Protective Service in celebrating their new workspace. As so many Americans individually did and our governmental and civil institutions, as well, the U.S. District Court made substantial adjustments in practice to continue functioning during the pandemic. In-person proceedings were discontinued, trials and grand jury sessions were held remotely. Eventually, however, and with the cautions we have become accustomed to--N95 masks and other personal protective equipment--the court was able to hold an in-person jury trial last year, In part, the 35,696 square-feet of space provided by the new Gualo Rai courthouse made the necessary social distancing feasible. The design is also forward-looking in its incorporation of innovative lighting and landscaping; and energy efficient fixtures and wastewater technologies are projected to realize future cost savings and conserve resources. So, the grand opening celebration this week is more than just a ribbon cutting. It has the feel of a return to normalcy. It is a new normal, however, enhanced by a fine new facility ready to serve the cause of justice in the Northern Mariana Islands.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, my amendment No. 606, which is included in En Bloc 5, creates a VA advisory committee for veterans living in the U.S. insular areas and in the Freely Associated States. Veterans in my district, especially, and in the other insular areas, too, face barriers to VA services no vet should be forced to endure. My amendment creates a Department of Veterans Affairs advisory committee representing veterans living in the U.S. insular areas of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands as well as the Freely Associated States of Palau, Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia. In my district, the Northern Mariana Islands, there are no VA clinics and no Vet Centers. Veterans there sometimes fly 3,700 miles to Hawai'i or over 6,000 miles to California to access VA services. Even reaching VA services in nearby Guam is a challenge. That is why my amendment, establishing a committee to educate the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on the obstacles insular area veterans face, is so important. Each U.S. insular area and each of the three Freely Associated States would have a seat on the advisory committee. They would be able to describe the barriers their veterans face in receiving VA services. Establishing an advisory committee will not solve every logistical problem for veterans who live in geographically remote areas of America. But, at least, those veterans on the margins will have a way to communicate directly with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on how to improve VA programs and services in their communities. This amendment is, with minor technical changes, the same legislation as H.R. 3730, which passed in the House last fall with strong bipartisan support. The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Disabled American Veterans, and Minority Veterans of America have endorsed the legislation. I ask my colleagues to support En Bloc 5.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, Aleia Hofschneider Santos, a senior at Mt. Carmel School, Mikhaela Paige Reyes Mendoza, an eighth grader also at Mt. Carmel School, are the winners of this year's Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Essay Contest. I began this contest for middle school and high school students two years ago to give students in the Northern Mariana Islands, my district, the opportunity to showcase their writing skills and reflect on their unique experiences as American Asian and Pacific Islanders. The contest also is a way to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. This year's essay prompt encouraged students to write about the issues facing the Asian and Pacific Islander community that are particularly important to them and to think about how they can inspire their community to action. I commend the 22 students from schools throughout the Northern Marianas who participated in this year's essay contest. A volunteer panel of judges reviewed the essays and chose Ms. Mendoza and Ms. Santos as this year's winners. In recognition of their achievement, I include in the Record the essays they wrote, where they will remain available to read in perpetuity. Mikhaela Paige Reyes Mendoza, Middle School Winner, Mount Carmel School, 8th Grade: The Problem with ``Linguistic Racism'' A problem that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) face is linguistic racism. It is a big problem because English might not be their first language. Therefore, they would not get treated the same way as English native speakers. English is one of the main global languages spoken in many places. The English Language is a dominant language in a lot of places such as in business, work, science, research, school, government, and politics. The language is constantly evolving and adapting to new ways of saying different words and phrases. It's transforming in different ways because there are people who speak the language that use English in diverse ways. However, there are still people that struggle with English. AAPIs struggle with English because it may not be their first language. They are considered non-native English speakers. Nonnative English speakers have this mindset that English is a higher language than their mother language. Which means that those who speak English, speak differently from what is considered ``the standard way of speaking.'' These speakers can find themselves being judged and even penalized for the way their English sounds. In many countries, there are forms of English that can bring fewer benefits to a person. One example is African American English in the United States, the language is often misunderstood and discriminated against. On an international level, certain types of speakers face judgments based on any perceptions of their nationality, rather than their communication skills with people from that area. When English is spoken by Asians, Africans, or Middle Easterners, they are viewed as challenging and unpleasant to listen to as opposed to some Europeans such as French, Germans, and Italians when they speak English. Linguistic racism can lead to the deprivation of education, employment, and health. AAPI with certain accents get openly harassed or excluded from specific opportunities in the workforce. For example, a Puerto Rican customer service worker was told by a customer that ``his stupid accent makes me sick.'' An Arabic bus driver in London had a manager who kept him out of many conference calls. Of course, not every person is intentionally a linguistic racist. People who think that they are being inclusive are not aware of their judgements because of their ingrained biases. Yet, whatever the cause of these incidents, people are still affected. With these kinds of ongoing and unrecognized situations, workers will be side-lined and excluded. In what way can we stop linguistic racism and have a more functional way of using the language to benefit native and nonnative speakers? The best way to combat linguistic racism is to continue to stay in school, learn about different cultures, and to be a role model to others. We all speak different languages and it is important to embrace the diversity that we have in our islands. We can also be digitally responsible and respectful in speaking to others online. Aleia Hofschneider Santos, High School Winner, Mount Carmel School, 12th Grade: Color Peach is the name of the crayon shade that my classmates always used in their portraits when I was in kindergarten at Chinook Elementary in Washington from 2008-2009. I was told that Tinian tanned skin was too dark to be using Peach, and that I should try using the dark brown crayon, called Chocolate. Peach was the color of the skin on the man I remember seeing through the windows of our first car in the states, as he screamed to my parents to ``Go back to wherever the f*** you came from''. Peach was the skin tone of all the cops who came, as they patted myself and my family down, searching for the weapon that the first Peach man had lied about us having over the phone. The choice that my parents made in raising our family in the states is better described as a sacrifice, especially considering how we continued to be discriminated against beyond my Kindergarten days. Years later, at one of my older brother's football games, a group of Peach toned boys told me to ``Hop back over the border fence''. After I told my Mom about it, she held my hand tightly as we wiped our tears on the way back to the crowd filled bleachers. When my older sister came to pick me up for an appointment during a school day in fourth grade, the Peach colored front desk secretary told her ``People like you don't attend a school like this''. I remember how it reminded me of how an after-school ice cream treat from my Dad turned into Peach colored Dairy Queen workers calling us ``stupid Mexicans'' through the drive through window. There are still many memories I cherish despite the challenges we faced during our stay in the U.S., but I will never forget the events of that fateful fall day, nor will my Mom or Dad. I will never forget the look on my parents' faces as they were told to exit the vehicle, nor will I forget how scared I was when I saw them pointing guns at all of our faces. All of the fear and confusion from that day that we still feel years later is owed to one thing and one thing only: hatred. It was pure, unadulterated hatred that the Peach colored man felt toward not my family, but the color of our skin that caused it to happen. Yet, the worst part about all of this is things like this continue to happen around the world--hate crimes and other acts of discrimination are committed against countless other Asian American and Pacific Islander families in countless other ways every single day. Yet, every time I reflect on the question of how we can combat the hate many AAPis face overseas, another question persists in my head: How can we stop the spread of hate out there if we struggle to combat it here, in our very own home islands? After moving back to the CNMI in seventh grade, I quickly gained an understanding of the stereotypes that plague our own community. With each race came a heinous generalization: all Chamorros were lazy, all Carolinians were uneducated, all Filipinos were judgmental, all Koreans were terrible drivers, and the list, unfortunately, goes on. After hearing my classmate casually describe a person's eyes as ``chinky'', I realized that while prejudice may be a catalyst for hate--the root of prejudice itself is ignorance. The ordeal led me to wonder how we, as AAPis, are expected to remain silent in the face of deafening hatred. While I may never be able to answer my own question, I can answer the question posed by this year's prompt: I hope to inspire our community to take action against racial discrimination and acts of hate by taking three simple steps. First, I encourage all victims and witnesses of AAPI discrimination to not only speak out about what they've experienced, but against prejudice of any kind. In this pursuit, I implore others to speak loudly about the deeply damaging and disheartening effects of racial discrimination when they feel that they are ready to. Most importantly, I ask that we all try to speak proudly of one another and what we have accomplished despite all the obstacles. Imagining the power that our community could hold in taking those steps fills me with a deep sense of faith in a better future for all of our families--no matter the color of our skin.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, H.R. 7309, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2022, makes significant improvements to WIOA, the law that is the backbone of our nation's workforce development system. Since 2014, WIOA has provided training and career services to help working people across the country get the skills they need and help employers secure a qualified workforce. H.R. 7309 also includes legislation I authored that extends three crucial workforce development programs to the Marianas: the Wagner- Peyser grant, the Integrated English Literacy and Civic Education grant, and the Job Corps program. Under my Employment Services and Jobs Parity Act, the annual $300,000 Wagner-Peyser grant would provide skill assessment, career guidance, and referrals to training to job seekers in the Marianas. The legislation additionally allows the Commonwealth government to apply for Employment Service formula grants, at the same percentage share as Guam, to set up One-Stop Career Centers that can help workers find jobs and employers find workers. Under my Integrated English Literacy and Civic Education Nationwide Act, English language learners would acquire the proficiency needed to obtain employment. And under my Job Corps Nationwide Act, Job Corps centers can be established in all insular areas. This means our young people would not have to leave the Marianas to get necessary training and local business would benefit from a skilled workforce connected to our community and committed to remaining. All my bills support the overall goal of H.R. 7309: to help job seekers nationwide access quality employment, education training, and support services. By reauthorizing and strengthening WIOA's programs, H.R. 7309 will help Americans get back to work. In addition to my provisions, the legislation expands summer and year-round jobs programs for youth, codifies partnerships between employers and community colleges, and provides funding for innovative approaches to workforce development. At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has diminished the resources necessary to train new workers, the improvements to WIOA under H.R. 7309 will continue to develop the workforce pipeline and expand access to services for the people who need them the most. I urge my colleagues to support the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2022.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, H.R. 5129, the Community Services Block Grant Modernization Act, improves and expands access to the only federal program with the overarching goal of reducing poverty, regardless of cause or condition. Since Congress established the predecessor of the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's ``War on Poverty,'' the program has helped people achieve economic stability, secure meaningful employment and education, gain and improve job-related skills, and obtain housing. Such support is particularly crucial for communities in the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa-- where poverty rates are significantly higher than in the rest of America. In the Marianas, 52.3 percent of the population is considered low-income, according to census data. The Community Services Block Grant Modernization Act helps alleviate such poverty by increasing overall funding for the program, updating eligibility guidelines, and eliminating the arbitrary grant allocations to the insular areas. H.R. 5129 provides an increased annual funding level of $1 billion for the first five years. The bill also permanently raises income eligibility to 200 percent of the poverty line, as temporarily provided in the CARES Act, so more people can get the help they need. To better align funding allocations to the insular areas to meet its anti-poverty mission, the Community Services Block Grant Modernization Act mandates a data-based formula and transparency in how that formula is calculated. Under current law, the Secretary of Health and Human Services possesses total discretion to allocate CSBG funding based on what he or she ``believes'' the need is in each insular area. This changes under H.R. 5129. Language I included in the bill during the Education and Labor Committee's markup requires the Secretary to base its grant allocations on the most recent census poverty data available. That allocation formula must be published publicly and updated no less frequently than any time new applicable census data are available. Using a regularly updated, poverty-based formula will help ensure communities receive the support necessary to serve individuals and families in need. At a time when communities nationwide continue to be impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, the improvements to the CSBG program under H.R. 5129 will increase help for the most vulnerable in our communities.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, Elias Jacobo Parong Sablan was a visionary, linguist, and pioneering leader of the people of Saipan, guiding them out from under the 400-year rule of foreign powers to the beginnings of our self-government under the trusteeship of the United States after World War II. Born on November 8, 1899, to Felix Delos Reyes Sablan and Luisa Malug Parong, Elias was the fourth child in a family of six. He learned our native languages at home: Chamorro from his father Felix and Carolinian from his mother Luisa. Felix also taught his son to speak, read, and write the English language. In his own youth, Felix served as a cabin boy aboard the Charles W. Morgan, an American whaling ship out of New Bedford, Massachusetts. From his crewmates he learned English and about life in the United States of America. He also collected English textbooks on navigation, United States history, and other subjects, books he shared with his son Elias as the boy grew. The year before Elias' birth, Germany purchased the Northern Mariana Islands from Spain, which had ruled the islands for some 377 years. Elias attended the German school on Saipan, and then was sent to the island of Yap, also under German control, to be educated in communications. By the time he was 15, Elias had learned the international Morse code and added Yapese and German to his linguistic skills. Japan seized control of the Northern Mariana Islands from Germany at the outset of World War I and after the war was granted a mandate to govern by the League of Nations. This occupation provided Elias the opportunity to learn one more language, Japanese, while working at the Japanese sugar mill. He also married during this Japanese period, wedding Carmen Romolor Mangarero on January 23, 1921. Together they would have 13 children. Elias' heritage, his upbringing, his education, and experience all prepared him well for the life-threatening events of World War II and what came after. In fact, Elias' knowledge of English would save his life and the lives of his family. World War II came to the Mariana Islands on June 10, 1944, when the United States attacked the Japanese military forces on Saipan. After a brutal and destructive battle, killing tens of thousands of Japanese and American soldiers, as well as non-combatant civilians, the United States took control of the island on July 9, 1944. Throughout the battle, Elias and his family hid in a cave in the hills, listening as bombs dropped on the island and watching as Japanese and American airplanes fought in the skies overhead. One day, spotting movement near the cave's entrance, U.S. battleships just outside the island's reef aimed their fire at the family's hiding place. When the shelling subsided, those sheltered in the cave could hear voices outside speaking a foreign language. It was U.S. Marines talking in English and combing the area for Japanese. Suddenly, a baby started crying within the cave and the entrance was discovered. The Marines yelled into the cave, and Elias immediately came out with his hands up and said in English, I surrender. If he had not responded as he did, the Marines were ready to toss grenades into the cave rather than risk Japanese soldiers were hiding there. Because he spoke English, the Marines asked if he was Elias Sablan. They had been on the look-out for him because they were told Elias was one of only two Chamorros who knew English and could help translate for the U.S. military forces. Everyone in the cave was escorted down the hill to the camp where other survivors had been gathered and were being fed, clothed, and treated for injuries. When the battles in the Marianas had ended, the American Military Government wanted to put the islanders on the road to independence and self-government. In December 1944, they held the first election for a Head Chief, the forerunner of today's Mayor. Barely five months into office, however, that first elected official passed away. The military then appointed Elias to be interim Head Chief, until a new election could be held. Elias was working as the leader of the police force and continued in that position until being elected in his own right at head chief/mayor on July 4, 1945. Women voted in that July election, although they had not been able to vote the previous December. Elias was an excellent representative of his constituents. He embodied Saipan's history and culture, because by blood he was both Chamorro and Carolinian, the two local communities of the island. He spoke those two languages, as well as the languages of all the foreign powers that had ruled and were now ruling Saipan: Spanish, German, Japanese, and English. Bringing this background and linguistic ability to his work as Mayor, Elias could understand and be understood by everyone on Saipan. In coordination with the U.S. military the new Mayor went about the business of bringing life on the island back to normalcy. He appointed a building supervisor, a sanitation commissioner, an Educational Officer, and a replacement Police Chief. The infrastructure for the new island government was now started. Every person living in the camps set up after the battle of Saipan was identified and accounted for. Repairs were made to the classrooms of the Chalan Kanoa school, so children could have a place to study. And working with the U.S. military, Elias helped interested families return to work farming. In 1947, the United Nations created the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. The United States was charged with governing the TTPI and with helping its people transition from being colonies to being sovereign nations. As Mayor, Elias worked with the TTPI administration. He even traveled to New York City in 1955, along with delegates from the other Micronesian islands in the Trust Territory to report on the status of that transition. Elias wanted to model self-government in the islands after American democracy, which he had read about in the textbooks his father gave him. There had been no political parties, when he was first elected, and no specific candidates. Each voter simply wrote in the name of his or her choice on a printed ballot. So, to foster competitive elections after the American practice, Elias, together with other community leaders, started the islands' first political party: the Territorial Party. Elias served for three consecutive terms (twelve years) as the Mayor of Saipan, from 1945 through 1956. Even after stepping down as Mayor, though, he continued serving the people in various other government and civic positions until his death on October 29, 1968. Sadly, his passing came too soon for him to witness the realization of his vision of a happy and prosperous life for his people as members of the American political family. Saipan and the other Northern Mariana Islands became a Commonwealth of the United States in 1978.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, as climate change accelerates, it is more important than ever that we put our infrastructure in good working order, hardened against the powerful typhoons and other natural disasters that are associated with a warming planet. Today, I am introducing legislation that will ensure we have an adequate workforce in the Northern Mariana Islands to finish repairs from the typhoons that struck our islands in recent years and to build new infrastructure able to withstand future storms. Congress made the decision that additional foreign workers would be needed for this purpose, when we passed the FY20 omnibus appropriation, U.S. Public Law 116-94. Title IX provided up to 3,000 permits for Commonwealth-only Transitional Workers (CW-1s) specifically for disaster-related construction projects during fiscal 2020, 2021, and 2022. In the succeeding years, however, more funding has become available-- for the Marianas public water in the American Rescue Plan Act, for better roads in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, for solid waste systems on the islands of Rota and Tinian in the 2019 Disaster Relief Act--and those projects will all require skilled labor. Those projects will also occur in a timeframe beyond 2022. Not only do large-scale infrastructure projects take time to design, bid, and build, but the money is scheduled over a five-year period in many cases. Add to that the impact of the pandemic on business capacity and the supply chain and the need for workers stretches for years ahead. How many workers will be necessary and when projects will be ready to proceed is not easily predicted. So, the legislation I have introduced today simply authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Governor of the Marianas to make the determination when construction workers are needed. The Governor will request the foreign workers to augment the Marianas labor force. The Secretary will then decide whether the request is justified, whether qualified U.S. workers are truly not available, and whether adding foreign workers would in any way reduce the wage-setting power of local, U.S. workers in our islands. Congress has made an historic investment in the Mariana Islands in the form of disaster recovery assistance and in funding infrastructure that can withstand future disasters. But that funding will need labor. The legislation I am introducing today will help ensure that labor needs are met, that projects are built, and that the Marianas is in a stronger position to withstand the corning climate change. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, the America COMPETES Act makes landmark investments to ensure our people, research, innovation, and manufacturing remain competitive globally. The legislation includes several of my bills supporting these goals: by providing Marianas students pathways to well-paying jobs through access to STEM courses and apprenticeships, by ensuring math and science teachers in the Marianas are recognized at the national level along with their peers in education, and by protecting the ocean life that has always been so important to the people and culture of the Marianas. To be specific the America COMPETES Act includes my bill, the Outlying Areas Apprenticeship Expansion Act, which provides $2.8 million to establish an apprenticeship program. Our school systems already equip students with the skills employers seek. Now we need to build a connection between that classroom learning and the real-world workplace. Apprenticeships provide that link. And with our economy still struggling to recover due to the pandemic, that link is needed now more than ever. We also need to recognize the teachers who are giving those students the skills they need. My bill, the STEM Educator Awards Equity Act, has also been incorporated in the COMPETES Act and expands the annual Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching so a teacher in each of America's insular areas can be recognized. Selected teachers receive $10,000 from the National Science Foundation and participate in expert-led training and collaboration opportunities in Washington. Currently, teachers from the Marianas, Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands must compete against each other for two awards. This defeats the purpose of the program, which is to inspire excellence and provide a role model in every area of our nation. Lastly, the America COMPETES Act protects our environment, which is the foundation of economic activity. The bill addresses the sharp decline in shark populations by banning the commercial trade in shark fins. This matches the ban in my legislation, H.R. 2811, which has 240 cosponsors in the House of Representatives, and which follows the lead already established by law in the Marianas and U.S. state governments. The COMPETES Act will also protect the Marianas' coral reefs through increased funding for conservation activities. These provisions support our tourism economy by maintaining the natural beauty of our islands to showcase to visitors from around the world. With historic investments in job training, STEM education and the environment, the America COMPETES Act supports communities in the Marianas and around America in this time of economic challenge. I ask my colleagues to support the America COMPETES Act.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, H.R. 5376, the Build Back Better Act, provides critical investments to lower the everyday costs that face working families in the Marianas and across America--from health care to education to job training to child care and more. The Act appropriates $1 billion for critical infrastructure in the Marianas and other insular areas which could create new jobs and improve the quality of life for all in our islands. The bill helps more Marianas families access the health care they need by increasing base funding for Medicaid to $70 million and making permanent the current 83 percent federal/17 percent local shares for Medicaid, a ratio better than any State in the Nation. Dental, vision, and hearing services are also added as mandatory Medicaid benefits. The over 2,000 seniors and others in the Marianas who are insured through Medicare would be eligible for hearing aids, a new program benefit. And for those who also participate in the Medicare Part D drug program out of pocket costs are capped at $2,000. As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education, I strongly support the transformative investments the Act makes in education from birth, universal pre-kindergarten and all the way to placement in a rewarding career. Our youngest learners in the Marianas will have access to high- quality, child care up to age 5 and universal free pre-kindergarten. And 10,800 Marianas students, who receive free lunches in school, will qualify for a supplemental summer feeding program of $65 per month. The Build Back Better Act includes my College Access Act which provides bachelor's degree students from the Marianas up to $15,000 per year to make up the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition at public colleges. Moreover, the Act increases the maximum annual Pell grant for low- income students to $7,045. The White House estimates there are 1,032 students in the Marianas who rely on Pell to cover tuition, books, housing, and other expenses. The legislation helps job seekers in the Marianas get placed with career and training opportunities with the inclusion of provisions from my Employment Services and Jobs Parity Act and Job Corps Nationwide Act making funding from these federal programs available for the first time. The Build Back Better Act extends the Child Tax Credit that has already provided $28.7 million this year to Marianas families. Parents would also benefit from funding that ensures they pay no more 7 percent of their income for high quality child care and a new paid family leave policy, providing four weeks of paid leave in the case of birth or illness. And money in the bill will help the Marianas reduce its reliance on fossil fuels by opening offshore wind lease sales and cover the full cost of new tax credits for electric vehicles and residential solar and wind systems. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5376 to help all communities in our country build back better.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, my bipartisan legislation, H.R. 3730, creates a VA advisory committee for marginalized veterans living in the Marianas, the other United States insular areas, and in the freely associated States. Veterans in my district, especially, and in the other insular areas, too, face barriers to VA services no vet should be forced to endure. In Northern Marianas, there are no VA clinics and no Vet Centers. Veterans in my district sometimes fly 3,700 miles to Hawaii or over 6,000 miles to California to access VA services. And that is why my bill, establishing a committee to educate the Secretary on the obstacles insular area veterans face, is so important. Each U.S. insular area and each of the freely associated States would have a seat on the advisory committee. Each would be able to describe the barriers their veterans face in receiving VA services. Establishing an advisory committee will not solve every logistical problem for veterans who live in geographically remote areas of America, but at least those veterans on the margins will have a way to communicate directly with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. And when the Secretary hears about the barriers to service these insular veterans face, maybe, just maybe, change will occur. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Minority Veterans of America, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America for their support of this bipartisan bill, H.R. 3730. I also thank Chairman Takano, Ranking Member Bost, Congresswoman Radewagen, and my fellow members of the Committee on Veterans Affairs for their unanimous support to report my bill favorably to the House of Representatives. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 3730 to give marginalized veterans in the insular areas a voice in the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, my amendment No. 363, which is included in En Bloc 3, ensures the 1,700 small businesses in my district can access financing through the Small Business Administration's micro loan program. The program is targeted specially to help women, low-income, veteran, and minority entrepreneurs. The Marianas is the only place in the U.S. not included in the program, which provides loans, typically not offered by banks, of up to $50,000. My bipartisan amendment would correct that by ensuring access to microloans on the same basis as their counterparts across the nation. I thank Representatives Garbarino, Kahele, and Radewagen for their cosponsorship of the amendment. I ask my colleagues to support En Bloc 3.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, today, I introduced two bills that give this House an opportunity to provide more funding for career education. My Job Corps Nationwide Act does this by allowing the establishment of Job Corps centers in all U.S. insular areas. Job Corps centers offer disadvantaged youth training in more than 70 career paths and participants can also work toward earning secondary school diplomas or recognized postsecondary credentials. However, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act only authorized these training sites in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Allowing Job Corps centers in all U.S. insular areas would mean our young people would not have to leave to get the training they need, and local businesses would benefit from a skilled workforce connected to our community and committed to remaining. My second bill, the Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education (IELCE) Nationwide Act, will help put people to work by providing support to increase their English proficiency. It is not unusual for my constituents to grow up in homes that speak one of the indigenous languages of the Marianas: Chamorro or Refaluwasch. By including all U.S. insular areas in the IELCE program, my bill will make grant funding available for programs that help English language learners acquire the proficiency needed to obtain employment. By fixing these inequities in career education funding for the U.S. insular areas, we can help all in our nation receive the training and education they need to enter and succeed in the workforce. The gentlelady from American Samoa, Mrs. Radewagen, and the gentleman from Guam, Mr. San Nicolas, are original cosponsors of the bills. I urge my colleagues to support both bipartisan pieces of legislation.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce legislation that gives this House an opportunity to provide more funding for policing. My bill does this by allowing the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa to be treated as two separate entities for the purposes of the Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program. Currently, the Marianas and American Samoa are lumped together for funding, unlike the other U.S. insular areas--Puerto Rico, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands--which are treated as individual jurisdictions, as are all fifty States. By fixing this inequity in funding for police in the Northern Marianas and American Samoa, we can help our men and women in blue receive the necessary training and equipment they need to keep our communities safe. Making this change will also provide more funding to support prosecutors and the courts, as well as justice-related initiatives aimed at crime prevention. Local law enforcement is increasingly the first line of defense against the evolving security threats our country faces. We must do all we can to recognize the vital role of our police in maintaining public safety. The gentlelady from American Samoa, Mrs. Radewagen, and the gentleman from Hawaii, Mr. Kahele, are original cosponsors of the bill. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2225, the National Science Foundation for the Future Act, includes my bill, H.R. 3795, to ensure educators from the Northern Mariana Islands, Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa are represented in the annual Presidential Awards for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching. Established by Congress in 1983, the Presidential Award is the highest recognition that an elementary or secondary school mathematics or science teacher may receive in the United States. Over 4,800 teachers have been recognized for their contributions in the classroom and to their profession. Unlike the fifty States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Department of Defense schools, each of which may recognize a STEM educator, no more than two awards in total can go to teachers from the four insular areas: the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa. This limitation has resulted in many years in which no teacher from one of those four areas is selected. No teacher from the Marianas, for instance, was selected last year. And this lack of recognition defeats the purpose of the program, which is to inspire excellence within each area and provide a role model for other local STEM educators to emulate. These statutory limits, also, unfairly deny deserving educators in the insular areas the national recognition and professional development opportunities we provide to STEM educators elsewhere in our nation. My bill provides a more equitable process by requiring awards to at least one teacher from each of the four areas. By ensuring teachers from all parts of America are represented, more students and schools will benefit from the expert-led training programs and collaboration opportunities available to awardees during their visit to our nation's capital. I thank Chairwoman Johnson and Ranking Member Lucas for all their support to include into H.R. 2225 this important measure. I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 2225.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, this year, I hosted the first-ever Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Essay Contest for Northern Mariana Islands middle school and high school students. This contest gives students in my district the opportunity to showcase their writing skills and reflect on their unique experiences living in the Northern Mariana Islands. This year's essay prompt encouraged students to share how the Asian and Pacific Islander community has impacted them, and what the Marianas community can do to best celebrate and respect the diversity in our islands. I would like to congratulate the 44 students who participated. A volunteer panel of judges reviewed the essays and chose Jia Ross Nicdao and Camille Torres Hocog as this year's winners of the middle school and high school division, respectively. Jia, an 8th grade student at Admiral Herbert G. Hopwood Middle School, wrote about her experience as a young Asian American in the Northern Mariana Islands. Camille, a sophomore at Marianas High School, wrote about diversity and unity. I am proud to include in the Record the essays submitted by Jia and Camille: Middle School Winner, Jia Ross Nicdao, Admiral Herbert G. Hopwood Middle School, 8th Grade Even though it is a small area, the Northern Marianas Islands are undeniably full of different cultures and traditions. Many ethnic groups, specifically Asian citizens and Pacific Islanders, proudly call the CNMI their home; they comprise more than 80 percent of Saipan's population. Whether you were born or migrated from a different country, we still thrive as a community to empower one another. My parents immigrated to the CNMI for work and started a family here. My identity as Asian American has been a little confusing. In the beginning, I felt as if I did not deserve to be a member of the Filipino community. I felt like my opinions and thoughts were invalid when discussing Filipino topics because I was raised away from the area of action and lived abroad. My different living situation made me feel as if I do not deserve the recognition Filipinos got. I struggled to find a label that I connected to, so I decided to research Filipino culture. At that moment was when I found out about the ethnic group that I was unknowingly part of, known as Asian Americans, who are Americans with Asian ancestry and/or children of immigrated parents. This community was something I finally related to. On the island, I never felt indifferent because of my ethnicity, which was opposite to my other feelings. I was surrounded by other Asians, so whenever I was around them, I felt like I belonged with them. I liked that I could relate with other Asian Americans through shared experiences; it gave me comfort. Most of the representation here in the CNMI has been positive. When I see members from this community succeed, it not only impacts the view and generalization for our community, but it also empowers me personally to strive for that success. It pushes me to fulfill the achievements that others succeeded in. It motivates me to become involved in that success and also positively represent the community. I am one of those community members, and I am proud to represent the Asian American Community. I believe one of the best ways to respect and celebrate diversity in this community is by educating ourselves on each other's cultures. We can set an example for other communities to participate in Asian American and Pacific Islander appreciation month by first doing it within the community. Sharing about our experiences; getting to know each others' viewpoints is an expressive way to understand each others' lifestyles. Also, researching appropriate behaviors and mannerism is critical to be aware of when talking to other people from different countries; we should never offend anyone and be disrespectful. If we remove the negative energy between nationalities in the community, we can work together as one and spread love with other communities. Overall, being part of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community comes with many responsibilities, so being one with each other will help us all accomplish many goals. High School Winner, Camille Torres Hocog, Marianas High School, Sophomore The Northern Mariana Islands; an archipelago of islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Despite our small and rather remote location, an abundance of cultures within the Asian and Pacific Islander community reside here. Descendants from all around the Asian-Pacific region call our islands home. As a young Chamorro woman who is indigenous to these islands, this place means a significant amount to me. I take great pride in my roots and where I come from, for it is a source of my values, confidence, goals, and morals. But there's one thing about my Chamorro identity that has always stuck out to me; I am a result of the perseverance of my people. Among the Pacific Islands, the Marianas has the longest history of colonialism. To this day, we are still experiencing its lasting effects. As I grow and learn even more about my heritage, the more I have an understanding of who I am in this world. Each moment of understanding reminds me that because of my ancestor's resilience, I want to live my life in fulfilling ways that would make them and my islands proud today. Being from the islands also means connecting and building friendships with people of different cultures, majority of them being from within the API community. Reflecting on these friendships made me realize how truly broad the term ``API'' is, almost like it's a bigger picture. Despite all of us being boxed into this term, looking a bit closer and seeing the great amount of cultural diversity within this group makes you realize how beautifully inclusive it is. Without a doubt, there is a wealth of culture within the Asian-Pacific region, and it's absolutely evident here in the Marianas. Being able to share our cultural stories, arts, and experiences with each other is, in my opinion, the best way to celebrate our similarities and differences this month. One unforgettable experience in regards to the sharing of my culture would be in 2016, where I went on a student exchange trip to Japan. I was in 6th grade at the time. For a couple of days, I stayed with a host family of four; one mom, one dad, one daughter, and one younger son. The mom was the only one who spoke English. I remember they'd take me to different places around their hometown, such as restaurants, the park, and different Japanese sites. With them, I was able to experience firsthand what it was like to live in a Japanese household. One morning before the daughter had to go to school, she asked me to teach her some Chamorro words so that she could show them to her friends. I taught her a few simple phrases such as ``Hafa Adai'' and ``Buenas Dias''. Her mom translated for us, and she was able to write down these words on a notepad and take it with her to school. Having that experience at such a young age shaped the way I see culture today. It showed me that simply sharing our parts of the world and understanding each other's background is, again, the best way to celebrate our cultural diversities. As we all know, May is a special month for us Asian and Pacific Islanders. It's a month for us to celebrate our achievements, contributions, and our heritage. It's an occasion where many within the community open up about their experiences being Asian and/or Pacific Islander. Whether it be about the struggles or moments of contentment, it would be the time to listen to and grasp onto our words. Despite this month being named API Heritage Month, we shall continue to listen to and uplift each other's voices even after May ends. All throughout time, we will celebrate diversity and unity. Thank you for reading.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the STEM Educator Awards Equity Act to ensure educators from the Northern Mariana Islands, Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa are represented in the annual Presidential Awards for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching. Established by Congress in 1983, the Presidential Award is the highest recognition that an elementary or secondary school mathematics or science teacher may receive in the United States. Over 4,800 teachers have been recognized for their contributions in the classroom and to their profession. Unlike the fifty States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Department of Defense schools, each of which may recognize a STEM educator, no more than two awards in total can go to teachers from the four insular areas: the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa. This limitation has resulted in many years in which no teacher from one of those four areas is selected. No teacher from the Marianas, for instance, was selected this year. And this lack of recognition defeats the purpose of the program, which is to inspire excellence within each area and provide a role model for other local STEM educators to emulate. These statutory limits, also, unfairly deny deserving educators in the insular areas the national recognition and professional development opportunities we provide to STEM educators elsewhere in our Nation. My bill provides a more equitable process by requiring awards to at least one teacher from each of the four areas. By ensuring teachers from all parts of America are represented, more students and schools will benefit from the expert-led training programs and collaboration opportunities available to awardees during their visit to our Nation's Capital. The gentlewoman from American Samoa, Mrs. Radewagen and the gentleman from Guam, Mr. San Nicolas, are original cosponsors of the bill. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, military veterans living in the U.S. Outlying Areas and Freely Associated States do not have the same access to services as veterans elsewhere in our Nation. They face numerous obstacles accessing the benefits to which they are due. They cannot reach all the services that should be available to them. We must fix this inequality. As a first step, today I am introducing legislation to create the Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee on the U.S. Outlying Areas and Freely Associated States. The new advisory committee would be composed of veterans from the U.S. Outlying Areas--the Northern Mariana Islands, which I represent, American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico--and from the Freely Associated States of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. The committee, a part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, will be responsible for assessing benefit availability and service accessibility in these U.S. Outlying areas and Freely associated States and for advising the Secretary on how any deficits can be addressed. As an example of these inequities, the Northern Marianas, my district, is the only U.S. jurisdiction without a VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC). The nearest full-service VA medical facility is in Hawaii, which can be over a 15-hour journey by plane. The Northern Marianas is also the only U.S. area without a Vet Center. Guam Vet Center staff travel to the island of Saipan in the Marianas to provide services, but visits are infrequent and limited to a few hours. Veterans on the islands of Tinian and Rota must travel to Saipan or Guam to receive in-person services. The Marianas is also the only U.S. jurisdiction without a Veteran Benefits office. Guam VA Benefits Office staff travel to Saipan to meet with Marianas veterans and their families, but again those visits are infrequent and limited to a few hours. The advisory committee my legislation sets up will detail issues, like these that Marianas veterans face, and concerns raised by veterans resident in the other U.S. outlying areas and freely associated states. And the committee will recommend to the Secretary how these issues should be addressed. It is also my intention that the committee's existence within the Department will encourage VA leadership and staff to consider island area veterans from the outset, when developing new programs or initiatives, to put an end to this pattern of inequity. Providing equitable support to veterans in the outlying areas and freely associated states is an obligation long overdue. These veterans have fought in the same conflicts and suffered the same physical, mental, and spiritual wounds of service as veterans residing everywhere else in America. The legislation I am introducing today will give these veterans a voice within the Department to advocate for equal treatment. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa College Access Act, which would authorize tuition assistance grants to cover the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition costs for Northern Marianas and American Samoa community college graduates seeking to attend a four-year public university. The importance of having an educated citizenry is a bedrock principle of our nation and has been since our founding. And in today's competitive job market, a postsecondary education is increasingly becoming a critical necessity for obtaining a decent job with a decent wage. The Northern Mariana Islands has only been part of America for forty years. We understand well that education is key to our continued growth, but the reality is that household incomes in the Northern Marianas are less than half the national median. The U.S. territory of American Samoa is in similar economic straits. Poverty and unemployment rates there are among the highest in the country. I believe the best way to improve economic conditions in these territories is to improve the educational opportunities of our residents. Unfortunately, however, neither the Northern Marianas nor American Samoa has a four-year institution of higher education. In fact, they are the only two congressional districts in the country without a public four-year college or university. Each has an accredited community college, but academic offerings are substantially limited. Students from these U.S. territories wanting the advantages of a four-year university in another state or territory face significant financial difficulty. Nonresident students spend an average of $16,380 in out-of state tuition and fees more per year than their resident peers at public four-year colleges, according to College Board. And many students in the Marianas and American Samoa wanting to attend a four-year university not only face the cost-of-nonresident-tuition, but also the significant expense of travel. The Marianas are over 3,700 miles from the nearest state, Hawaii--a $1,100 one-way trip by plane. American Samoa to Hawaii is over 2,500 miles, over $800 one-way. The bill follows the model of P.L. 106-98, the D.C. College Access Act, which allows students residing in the District of Columbia to apply for grants to help pay the cost of attending colleges outside D.C., but much smaller in scope and cost. It creates a program through which public four-year schools in the 50 states, D.C., and other U.S. territories may be reimbursed for offering in-state tuition to undergraduate students from the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa. The gentlewoman from American Samoa, Mrs. Radewagen, is an original cosponsor of the bill. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation and help give students from the Northern Marianas and American Samoa the means needed to make their educational dreams a reality.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, we cannot countenance the culture of hate in our nation that leads to Asian and Pacific Islander Americans being harassed, assaulted, and scapegoated for the COVID-19 pandemic. Hateful rhetoric has deadly consequences. Xiaojie ``Emily'' Tan, Daoyou Feng, Delaina Ashley Yaun Gonzalez, Paul Andre Michels, Yong Ae Yue, Soon Chung ``Julie'' Park, Hyun Jung Grant, and Suncha Kim were forever taken from their families on March 16 in a shooting fueled by this racist hate. These eight victims deserve swift justice for the heinous and inexcusable act of gun violence that ended their lives. But all Asian and Pacific Islander Americans deserve for this Congress to stand up, condemn the violence, and commit to ending hatred and bigotry. That is why I am a cosponsor of H. Res. 275. On behalf of the majority Asian/Pacific Islander community I represent, I join my colleagues in expressing our condolences to the families of the victims of the Atlanta shooting. And I join all those voting for H. Res. 275 in affirming that crimes of hate against Asians, Pacific Islanders, or any racial or ethnic group have no place in America.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, on Earth Day 2021, together with Rep. McCaul and 103 other original cosponsors, I am reintroducing the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act. The Act bans the buying and selling of shark fins in the United States and passed in the 116th Congress with bipartisan support and, ultimately, 287 cosponsors. It was the largest number of cosponsors for any ocean conservation bill in the previous Congress. The Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act has such strong bipartisan support, because it is an effective way to remove the United States from the devastating global trade in shark fins, at no cost. And because it does so without stopping those who want to fish for sharks and use them whole. Madam Speaker, sharks are absolutely critical to life in the ocean. As apex predators, they help maintain balance by keeping prey populations in check. They are also critical to the tourism economy of our coastal communities. In Florida alone, tourists, who go diving to see sharks, generate more than 200 times the value of the trade in shark fins for our entire country. Despite their importance ecologically and economically, sharks are in serious trouble. Each year, fins from up to 73 million sharks are sliced off and sold in the global marketplace. And, largely due to this demand for fins, some shark species have now declined by more than 90 percent. Our nation has wisely banned the inhumane practice of finning sharks and throwing them back into the ocean to die. Yet, we still allow fins to be bought and sold here. And many of the fins we are buying and selling come from countries that simply do not have the same level of protection the U.S. gives sharks. Now is time for us to take that next step. Only by banning the shark fin trade once and for all within our borders can we ensure we are no longer supporting an unsustainable use of ocean resources. Recognizing this unsustainability, the Northern Mariana Islands, my home, was the very first U.S. insular area to ban the trade of shark fins in 2011. As an island culture 3,000 years old, the people of the Marianas understand and respect the important role that sharks play in maintaining the life of our oceans. We are not alone. Thirteen U.S. states and three territories have also passed their own shark fin bans. But this patchwork of state laws can be challenging to enforce. That is why we need a federal ban on the shark fin trade in the United States. A ban on the shark fin trade is supported by 45 domestic and international airlines, by 22 shipping companies, 15 major corporations, and nearly 700 U.S. businesses and organizations. A 2020 national poll found 4 of 5 American voters support a national ban on the buying and selling of shark fins. Hundreds of scientists, chefs, fishers, and dive and surf businesses have written to Congress requesting passage of a national shark fin ban. I want, especially, to thank Oceana, the Humane Society Legislative Fund, and the Animal Welfare Institute for those environmental organizations' work to build legislative support for the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act. I look forward to quick action in the House on the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act of 2021.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the Northern Mariana Islands Wage and Economic Stability Act. This legislation delays for 18 months, in the Marianas only, any national increase in the federal minimum wage that Congress may enact. My bill, also, requires a Government Accountability Office report on the economic impact in the Marianas of such a national wage increase. Unlike the rest of our nation, where minimum wage has been static, the minimum wage in the Marianas has more than doubled over recent years to reach the federal level of $7.25. These substantial increases have made life better for thousands of Marianas families and encouraged more U.S. workers to enter the workforce. But I had to carefully time those increases year-by-year with legislation and based on the help of Government Accountability Office reports to ensure--successfully--that wages went up without jeopardizing jobs. Economic conditions in the Marianas remain separate from the national situation. Whereas Gross Domestic Product rose nationally in 2019, in the Marianas GDP plunged 11.2 percent that year. That decline came after a 19.3 percent decrease in 2018. And it is reasonable to expect the picture in the Marianas for 2020 will be no better. Our tourism- based economy will remain dormant until the pandemic has passed. Meanwhile, nationally, we expect growth on the order of 6 percent this year. My point is simply this: If we are going to raise the wage in the Marianas--and, believe me, I do--then we must do it as we did before: with a close eye on the economic conditions in the islands. They are vastly different than conditions in the nation as a whole. Again, I fully support raising the minimum wage in our country--I want workers to earn more. I believe the best way to accomplish that goal in the insular area I represent, however, is through my legislation, the Northern Mariana Islands Wage and Economic Stability Act. My bill will give Congress the analytical tools and the time to consider how best to schedule wage increases in the Marianas to improve the lives of workers and their families, while ensuring the businesses employing those workers can thrive.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the Northern Mariana Islands Wage and Economic Stability Act. This legislation delays for 18 months, in the Marianas only, any national increase in the federal minimum wage that Congress may enact. My bill, also, requires a Government Accountability Office report on the economic impact in the Marianas of such a national wage increase. Unlike the rest of our nation, where minimum wage has been static, the minimum wage in the Marianas has more than doubled over recent years to reach the federal level of $7.25. These substantial increases have made life better for thousands of Marianas families and encouraged more U.S. workers to enter the workforce. But I had to carefully time those increases year-by-year with legislation and based on the help of Government Accountability Office reports to ensure--successfully--that wages went up without jeopardizing jobs. Economic conditions in the Marianas remain separate from the national situation. Whereas Gross Domestic Product rose nationally in 2019, in the Marianas GDP plunged 11.2 percent that year. That decline came after a 19.3 percent decrease in 2018. And it is reasonable to expect the picture in the Marianas for 2020 will be no better. Our tourism- based economy will remain dormant until the pandemic has passed. Meanwhile, nationally, we expect growth on the order of 6 percent this year. My point is simply this: If we are going to raise the wage in the Marianas--and, believe me, I do--then we must do it as we did before: with a close eye on the economic conditions in the islands. They are vastly different than conditions in the nation as a whole. Again, I fully support raising the minimum wage in our country. It has been static too long. I am a cosponsor of the Raise the Wage Act--I want workers to earn more. I believe the best way to accomplish that goal in the insular area I represent, however, is through my legislation, the Northern Mariana Islands Wage and Economic Stability Act. My bill will give Congress the analytical tools and the time to consider how best to schedule wage increases in the Marianas to improve the lives of workers and their families, while ensuring the businesses employing those workers can thrive.