Gregorio Sablan

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Escobar), the CHC freshman Representative.

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague very much for her comments. Madam Speaker, I just realized that today, this Special Order, we had four speakers, three of whom are immigrants: the gentleman from New York, the gentleman from Illinois, and this gentleman from the Northern Marianas. We are immigrants. The sky hasn't fallen. There is nothing to be afraid of. We are a country of immigrants. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague, Mr. Espaillat, for organizing this evening's Special Order on the need for immigration reform. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Chair, I rise today to offer an amendment that increases funding for the Marianas Medicaid block grant. Our islands were struck by two catastrophic weather events late last year. Typhoon Mangkhut made landfall September 10, and on September 29 the President declared a major disaster for the islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. While recovery from Mangkhut was still ongoing, super Typhoon Yutu, the second most powerful storm ever in United States history, struck. Yutu caused widespread destruction of homes, businesses, public facilities, and infrastructure. On October 26, the President declared a second major disaster for our islands. Yutu also brought death. Never in anyone's memory has a typhoon caused death in our islands, but one person died during Yutu and another in a storm-related accident. Over 130 people were injured. Our only hospital, which has just 75 beds, packed people into the emergency room to stitch up wounds; remove glass and flying debris from legs, arms, and faces; and attend to those who needed dialysis or other treatment, while waiting days for power to be restored. Medicaid provides one-quarter of the revenue for the hospital and health insurance for 30 percent of our population, but there is a cap on how much Medicaid funding is available to the Marianas. When a storm strikes, the program has to steal from tomorrow to pay for today. The disaster appropriation the House passed on December 21, generous though it was, provided no money for Medicaid for the Marianas. Chairwoman Lowey, recognizing the lapse, added $20 million in H.R. 268 for the Marianas Medicaid program to be available for the rest of the year. After her bill was drafted, however, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CMS, informed appropriations staff that the Marianas can actually use $36 million in the wake of the typhoons. Following that advice from CMS, I am offering an amendment that adds $16 million to the original bill, bringing total assistance for the rest of the year to the recommended $36 million. Madam Chair, I ask my colleagues for their support of my amendment and of the underlying bill, H.R. 268. The $36 million I am requesting, by adding $16 million to the $20 million already in the bill, is what CMS told Chairwoman Lowey's staff that the Marianas can spend this year in the aftermath of Typhoon Mangkhut and super Typhoon Yutu. Madam Chair, I include in the Record a recent news report, ``From Something to Nothing,'' published in the Honolulu Civil Beat. `From Something To Nothing': Life In Saipan After Super Typhoon Yutu (By Anita Hofschneider) Chalan Kanoa, Saipan.--Elkanah Igisaiar watches her daughter climb onto an old car and lift herself up onto the branches of a tree. It's late afternoon on the Wednesday before Christmas and Igisaiar is sitting in a plastic chair outside at her family's compound in this tiny village in southern Saipan. The cluster of homes down the street from the island's cathedral is where her family has lived for generations. But since Super Typhoon Yutu blew through her neighborhood in October, her mother's house is uninhabitable--and their street is now a cluster of tents. ``Most of us are not really ready to talk about the storm,'' says Igisaiar, 27. ``We are just kind of in disbelief that we went from something to nothing.'' Two months after the worst storm to hit the U.S. since 1935, thousands of people like Igisaiar are still sleeping in tents or outdoors. They're waiting for electricity to go back on. And they are wondering how they'll afford to rebuild their homes even if they are lucky enough to get some federal aid. Despite the severity of the storm, there's been little news media coverage of what life is like in its aftermath. The islands are thousands of miles away from the mainland U.S. and the storm had only one reported casualty. But the low death toll belies how drastically Yutu continues to affect thousands of people. Before Yutu, there were fewer than 100 homeless people sleeping outdoors on the island of Saipan, the capital of the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Despite widespread poverty--more than half of the community was below the U.S. poverty line and the median income was $19,201 in 2016--it was rare to see people living in tents. But overnight, the storm displaced an estimated 15,000 to 17,000 people, more than a quarter of the commonwealth's population of about 55,000 people. Severe storms are common in the Mariana Islands, an archipelago in the western Pacific that includes Guam. Three years ago, another storm downed half of Saipan's power poles, leaving some families without electricity for three months. The expectation that every year will bring extreme weather events means government buildings and schools are built from concrete to withstand strong winds. More than 80 percent of houses had concrete walls as of 2016, and more than half had concrete roofs. Locals are well- versed in the annual rituals of buying nonperishable food, filling buckets of water and boarding up windows to protect them from flying debris. But Yutu exceeded expectations. Its 180-mph sustained winds with gusts over 200 mph broke the National Weather Service's wind instruments, flipped over containers and ripped off thousands of roofs. Families hid beneath cabinets, under beds and inside bathrooms to stay safe. Even elderly people who had survived countless typhoons on the islands say they feared for their lives. One woman was killed by a collapsing building. Igisaiar was in her second-floor apartment during the storm, watching roofs flying off her neighbors' homes. She saw one family trying to escape their house, temporarily blocked by a huge piece of tin that flew onto their doorway. As they crawled underneath to get out, Igisaiar's boyfriend went downstairs to urge them to hide in their apartment. By the time the sun rose, Igisaiar says several neighbors were sheltering with her, her boyfriend and four children. The storm damaged so many public schools that students didn't have classes for more than a month and still only have half-days. The tourism-based economy came to a standstill, with fewer than 6,000 visitors in November, down from 48,000 the previous year. Two months later, debris has been cleared from many villages and the economy is rebounding. It's once again common to see tourists on the sidewalks and their bubble-gum- colored convertible rental cars on the roads. But on the southern side of Saipan and throughout the neighboring island of Tinian, families are still sifting through the wreckage of their lives, sleeping outdoors and waiting for the electricity to be turned back on. The storm destroyed or severely damaged more than 5,000 houses, some of which were home to multiple families. And unlike disasters on the U.S. mainland, victims can't just drive to the next county to find another place to live. There aren't enough undamaged units on the islands of Saipan and Tinian to house everyone who has been displaced. Instead of handing out rental subsidies like they did after Hurricane Michael and Hurricane Florence, federal disaster responders have passed out more than 1,700 tents along with military rations. ``When you've been hit like this, things get real primal real fast and we understand that so our objective is to provide a safe and sanitary living arrangement,'' says Victor Inge, a FEMA spokesman based on Saipan. The housing shortage is so severe that FEMA is calling families and offering to buy them plane tickets out of the islands. So far, 29 households have taken advantage of the program and have booked tickets to Hawaii and other states. But even though more than 3,600 people are eligible to leave, the vast majority are choosing to stay. Igisaiar's family is Carolinian, an indigenous Micronesian community that sailed in canoes to the Marianas in the 19th century after a typhoon devastated the Caroline Islands. Although Yutu was the worst storm she's seen in her life, Igisaiar says she wouldn't leave the Marianas even if FEMA gave her money to do so. She doesn't want her kids to miss more school. She's worried about their house. ``If we leave, there's nothing that can be done with our house,'' Igisaiar says. ``If we go, how are we going to get the assistance?'' The Hazards of Cleaning Up Igisaiar felt lucky at first. She didn't lose her roof. But the next day she says her landlord asked her to move out anyway because of the hazards posed by the damaged apartment building. They took just their clothes and one bed, leaving their children's beds and their refrigerator. They drove to what was left of the house of her mother, Rufina Angui, in Chalan Kanoa. The U.S. military built the house out of wood and tin 30 years ago after Typhoon Kim destroyed the previous house, Rufina Angui says. Angui was 27 then. Now 57, it's the first time in her life that she's been homeless. The heat and the mosquitoes aren't the only challenge--the lack of power means she can't use the breathing machine she relies on to help with her sleep apnea. Angui only recently moved back to the house and started sleeping in the tent. During and immediately after the typhoon, she stayed at her brother's house, which is concrete, while Igisaiar and her boyfriend tried to fix up the Chalan Kanoa house. It was too dangerous to sleep inside the broken house at first, so Igisaiar and her boyfriend lay pallets outside and secured a tarp over them to block the rain. Igisaiar's boyfriend, a construction worker, missed work for three weeks to help clean up. They stacked plywood, tin and debris in separate piles along the roadside. Even though there were shelters available, they slept outside and cleaned. They worried about missing their FEMA inspection if they weren't around. Plus, who would fix up what was left of the house if they weren't there? But increasingly Igisaiar realized fixing the house was an impossible task. The mold made her sick--it started with a cough but progressed to a sinus infection until she couldn't hear or smell well. When Angui saw her three weeks after the storm, her daughter was so weak that she was having a hard time breathing. Igisaiar didn't want to leave her kids, but Angui convinced her to go to the hospital. Exacerbating Poverty The first 24 hours after the storm, no one went to the emergency room of the hospital on Saipan. And then suddenly the ER was flooded with twice as many patients as on a normal day--so many that there weren't enough beds in the ER. The flow of injuries has slowed over the past two months but hospital officials say that the disaster has illuminated the major gaps in health care coverage. Temporary clinics set up in devastated villages revealed that nearly half of patients were uninsurable because they were guest workers, undocumented immigrants or citizens of Pacific island nations who are ineligible for Medicaid. Esther Muna, the CEO of the local public hospital, says she's currently most worried about mental illnesses. She's seen patients with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression and says there's been a spate of recent suicides. Food safety is another concern. Commonwealth officials say they had just reached their goal of providing 24-hour water to all villages on Saipan in September, and storm damage has set them back again. Many locals say that the U.S. government's response to Yutu is much better than it was for Soudelor, another powerful storm that hit Saipan three years ago. But a speedy recovery is hindered by the islands' distance from the rest of the U.S. The Mariana Islands are at least an eight-hour flight from Hawaii, not including a stop in Guam. Disaster responders have to ship in everything from concrete poles to tents, lumber, tin, wire, transformers, even screws. It's even harder to reach the island of Tinian, which is between Guam and Saipan and home to about 3,500 people, similar to the island of Lanai in Hawaii. The entire island was engulfed by the eye of the storm. At the commuter airport on Saipan that facilitates flights to Tinian, airplanes were destroyed, preventing travel for days. Passengers now buy tickets from a makeshift airport building made out of containers and tents. Staff of the Tinian Health Center, an outpost of the public hospital, hid in the radiology room to survive the storm. Ninety percent of the 35-member staff lost their homes, Muna says. things could be worse Things have been a lot easier ever since Igisaiar got back from the ER. She wishes she remembered the name of the doctor who helped her and got her family a tent to sleep in. Sleeping inside the tent is a huge improvement over sleeping under the tarp, even though it's hot during the day. Life now consists of waiting. Waiting until FEMA tells her mother and aunt how much money they qualify for, waiting until they can figure out what to do with the house and how much it will cost to rebuild it. She's thought about selling her families' goats--they have seven, with names like Olaf and Elsa. But she wants to keep them because her kids love them. Plus, in Carolinian culture you're supposed to value gifts more than things you buy. She thought about applying to FEMA for funds to make up for losing their cell phones and appliances when their apartment flooded during the typhoon. But she decided against it. ``For me, those are nothing,'' she says. ``There are other people that just totally lost everything so why not give it to the people that need it the most?'' She did apply for money from the Red Cross and used the $750 to buy school supplies and clothes for her kids. Every morning, she goes to buy ice so that her kids can have cold water. She spends the day watching her children and helping her mom. They have even started volunteering at Empty Vessel, a Christian social service organization that hands out clothes to those in need. Angui says she's tired of eating canned goods, but the family knows it's lucky to have food stamps. ``We're not hungry,'' Angui says.

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro).

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Chair, I have no further statements to make. I ask for support of my amendment and the underlying bill, H.R. 268, and I yield back the balance of my time

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. SABLAN. Madam Chair, my second amendment to this Supplemental Appropriations Act increases emergency food assistance for the Marianas. As I explained earlier, our islands were struck by not one, but two typhoons last year, one right after another--Typhoon Mangkhut and Super Typhoon Yutu, the second most powerful storm ever in U.S. history. Within the first 30 days after Yutu, our local food stamp program had incurred costs of $10.2 million. That money helped families replace the food they lost in the storms when their homes lost roofs and water poured in and electricity and refrigeration were cut off. Over 40,000 people, out of our total population of 54,000, received help in that first month, according to the Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service. H.R. 268 replaces that first month's expenditure with an appropriation of $10.2 million. I thank Chair Lowey for recognizing the need, but beyond that first month of emergency, more is needed. The Marianas is not part of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP. Instead, we receive a block grant from the Federal Government. With the block grant, there is no reserve, as with SNAP. When disaster strikes, not only is money used up faster than planned on the front end, future costs also rise until families get back on their feet. Madam Chair, I have no official projection of the ongoing costs, because Agriculture employees are furloughed. But just before the lights went out, my staff learned that about 20 percent of the people who received food assistance right after the storm were expected to remain eligible. If these projections hold true, total caseload will double from 3,000 households to 6,000 households. The $15 million in my amendment will provide a little over 6 months of funding for those newly eligible households until their incomes can recover. If $15 million proves too generous, which I very much doubt, the Secretary has authority to grant only as much as needed to respond to the disaster caused by Typhoon Mangkhut and Super Typhoon Yutu. I ask my colleagues for their support of my amendment and of H.R. 268. Madam Chair, again, because the Marianas is not part of SNAP, there is no contingency funding to absorb the costs of this disaster. With more families eligible for assistance, unless we make more funds available, benefits will have to be cut across the board. That is not a right way to respond when people are trying to put their lives back together so they can support themselves and their families again. Madam Chair, I ask my colleagues to support my amendment making another $15 million available so these families have enough food. I urge your support for the underlying bill as well, and I yield back the balance of my time

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the conferees on H.R. 6157 for rejecting a proposal by the Trump administration to use this appropriation measure to impose a new $700 fee for businesses in the Northern Mariana Islands that employ foreign workers under the Commonwealth Only Transitional Worker (CW) program. Working with Chairman Bishop, Ranking Member Grijalva, and other colleagues here in the House of Representatives, I was recently able to enact the Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act, Public Law 115- 218, including a new requirement for employment of those workers: the U.S. Department of Labor must first certify that no U.S. worker is able, willing, and available for the job that would be filled. This is the same kind of certification required prior to issuance of an H-2B visa for temporary foreign workers, but which is free for that purpose. In my view the certification should be free to employers in the Marianas, as well. I can understand that the Department may face new costs in standing up and operating this service for the Marianas CW program. The Department, however, had the opportunity during the drafting of the U.S. Workforce Act to ask for the authority to levy a fee. They did not nor is it likely I would have agreed. Nevertheless, it is in the interest of our businesses and the Marianas economy that the new certification requirement be initiated without delay. The conferees have ensured that will be the case by providing in Section 118 of H.R. 6157 for the rescission of $8.25 million in unobligated funds from the H-1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner Account to be used in fiscal year 2019 for processing applications for foreign labor certifications, including activities related to wage determinations and associated tasks, submitted by Marianas employers. Again, I thank the conferees for adopting this win-win solution. I wish also to record my support for extension of the Violence Against Women Act in the Continuing Resolution through December 7, although, of course, a reauthorization for a multi-year period is still wanting. I was an original cosponsor of the reauthorization in 2013 and included a provision in Section 201 that doubled funding allocated to the Northern Mariana Islands for the Sexual Assault Service Program. And Section 809 allowed women who petition for status as victims of human trafficking or violence to count the time lived in the Northern Marianas as time present in the United States, so they can more quickly adjust to a permanent immigrant status. I am also an original cosponsor of reauthorization of VAWA in this Congress, H.R. 6545. Lastly, I strongly support the 2.6 percent pay increase for our uniformed services, mandated in H.R. 6157. Our country asks so much of these brave men and women and we owe them, at the very least, a wage that keeps pace with costs.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the 28 young men and women from the Northern Mariana Islands who competed laudably at this year's National Speech and Debate Association National Tournament in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in June. Members of the Marianas team in both the junior and senior divisions performed excellently, some even placing in the top 10 in the country. The Junior Team earned handsomely with Elaine Fernandez of Francisco Sablan Middle School and Jonathan Wolf of Dandan Middle School both making it to the finals and placing number five in the nation in their categories, Story Telling and Humorous Interpretation, respectively. Vladimir Palma of Hopwood Middle School placed in the semi-finals, finishing top eight in the nation. Placing in the quarter finals for the Junior Team were Jonathan and Lars Wolf, who finished top 24 in the nation, with Jonathan also placing top 24 in Poetry Reading. Vladimir Palma placed top 30 in the nation in Prose Reading. The rest of Junior Team members performed excellently and included Patreisha Concillado and Elaine Fernandez from Fransisco Sablan Middle School; Dane Hodges and Cevina Huang from Saipan International School; Juliet Innocencio, Oceana and Issa Teigita from Dandan Middle School; Vivien Liu and Edgardo Palma from Hopwood Middle School; Jill Mallari from Mount Carmel School and Christian Pamintuan from Green Meadow School. On the Senior Team, Kate Ishida of Marianas High School placed in the semi-finals, earning number 12 in the nation in Poetry Reading. She also placed in the quarter finals in Prose Reading, finishing in the top seven percent in the nation. Elizabeth Rose Jones of Kagman High School placed in the quarter finals and earned number 15 in the nation in Expository Speech. Senior Team members who placed highly include Shea Hartig of Saipan International School who places in the top 17 percent in the nation for Impromptu Speech and top 38% percent in Poetry Reading. Su Min (Melody) Woo of Grace Christian Academy finished in the top 36 percent for Prose Reading. Nina Validismo of Kagman High School, Jeremiah Fernandez of Saipan Southern High School and Elijah Joshua Pajarillaga from Grace Christian Academy all placed in the top 40% in the nation in their respective categories: Story Telling for the two former and Impromptu Speech for the later. The rest of the Senior Team members performed superbly and included Neamiah Fernandez from Saipan Southern High School; Jeff Melchor from Mount Carmel School; Esther Park, Kelvin Wolf, Joseph Zhang and Emma Timmons from Marianas High School; and Lanz Jabez Victoria from Grace Christian Academy. These young orators were able to compete at such a high level with the guidance of all their coaches. The Junior Team was coached by Criselda Aldan from Mount Carmel School, Cary Bertoncini from Saipan International School, Lorelisa Espiritu from Great Meadow School, Maria Mettao from Francisco Sablan Middle School, Victoria Nishida from Hopwood Middle School, and Kristine Wolf from Dandan Middle School. Junior team coordinator and CNMI Representative to NSDA was Harold Easton. The coaches for the Senior Team were Frank Borja from Saipan Southern High School, Grace Duran from Grace Christian Academy, Joy Jones from Kagman High School and Dencio Manglona from Marianas High School. In addition to their performances in competition, the team was also able meet fellow orators from the continental United States, at last connecting with a network of fellow students passionate about speech and debate. The team also made contact with colleges and universities that especially recruit speech and debate students. Overall, it was a thoroughly enriching experience. Please join me in congratulating the Marianas Team for their exceptional performances at the 2018 National Speech and Debate Association National Tournament.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, the recently announced decision to lay off ``temporarily'' hundreds of U.S. workers at the Imperial Pacific International casino construction site in the Northern Mariana Islands raises serious concerns about the use of foreign labor at this project. Pacific Rim, the contractor, announced the lay-off in July pending ``contract renegotiations.'' Meanwhile, work will go on, using foreign workers with H-2B visas to replace the U.S. workers. Even half-finished, the Imperial Pacific International casino has lifted the economy of the Marianas. So, local news has focused on reassuring the public that work to complete the casino and its associated resort would continue. But these reassurances mean little to the U.S. workers who have lost their jobs, or to their families. It also raises the question of why the U.S. Department of Labor, as it has reported to me, issued 1,668 foreign labor certifications to Imperial Pacific International to hire the H-2B visa holders, who are now taking the jobs of U.S. workers in apparent contravention of U.S. labor law. Labor issued these foreign labor certifications to Imperial Pacific International (IPI) despite the history of occupational safety and health and wage and hour violations that the Department previously uncovered at this job site. In May 2017, after a worker fell to his death and multiple other, serious workplace injuries were treated at the local hospital, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed $193,750 in penalties for three of IPI's construction subcontractors. In March 2018, the Department finalized settlements with IPI subcontractors of $13.9 million for unpaid wages and liquidated damages owed to over 2,400 employees. In addition to these violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act, a raid of the site by the Federal Bureau of Investigation also revealed that the subcontractors had been unlawfully employing persons who were admitted to the United States from China as tourists. This record in itself should have raised red flags at the U.S. Department of Labor. But the underlying purpose and process for foreign labor certification seems also in this case to have been subverted. In order to obtain foreign labor certifications, which are a prerequisite to applying for an H-2B visa, an employer must attest that the job in question will be offered to any qualified and available U.S. worker who applies or is referred for the job opportunity. And in order to obtain an H-2B visa, an employer must attest that they have not laid off and will not lay off any similarly employed U.S. worker, unless the layoff is for lawful, job-related reasons and unless all H-2B workers are laid off first. The present lay-offs of U.S. workers, while work continues using H-2B workers, cannot be consistent with these employer attestations. Let us look at the history of the Imperial Pacific International worksite: In fiscal year 2016 the Marianas experienced a labor crisis, when the annual, numerical cap was reached for the Commonwealth Only Transitional Worker (CW) program. For the first time the Department of Homeland Security stopped accepting applications for this foreign labor program, unique to the Marianas. As the Government Accountability Office explained in a 2017 report commissioned by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Lisa Murkowski, Ranking Member Maria Cantwell, and I: Demand for foreign workers in the CNMI exceeded the available number of CW-1 permits in 2016--many approved for workers from China and workers in construction occupations. The construction of a new casino in Saipan is a key factor in this demand. In fact, GAO reported, the demand for foreign workers jumped from 9,188 in 2014 to a number exceeding the 2016 cap of 13,299, almost entirely because of the demand for construction workers. The result was to crowd out established, local businesses, who employed CW workers and to force long-time foreign workers, who had demonstrated value to our economy and established roots in our community, to return home. Not only was this crush of construction workers at the casino site economically and socially disruptive, it also did not jibe with the rules for the CW program. CW permits are only available to employers of foreign workers who are ineligible for any other U.S. work visa. Although some of the casino construction workers held CW permits (and some were employed illegally, having entered as tourists), we now know that these workers could well have received H-2B visas. Because, as the U.S. Department of Labor has reported, it issued 1,668 H-2B foreign labor certifications to IPI. To end further abuse of the CW program and to protect the interests of local businesses in my district and their long-term workers and their families, I introduced legislation that, among other provisions, prohibited any further use of CW permits for new construction workers in the Marianas. Chairman Murkowski observed at her committee's hearing on my bill, H.R. 339, that this bar on the use of CW permits for new construction workers was in her view the most important provision. Not only did it curb the abuse of the CW permit, but it was also meant to force the federal government to make the determination, through the foreign labor certification process, of whether U.S. workers were available for any construction jobs on offer. President Trump signed my bill into law in August 2017. It became U.S. Public Law 115-53. IPI quickly responded to these new constraints by hiring Pacific Rim, a U.S.-based firm, to continue construction of the casino. And Pacific Rim president and owner Keith Stewart announced to the Guam Daily Post that he was looking to hire hundreds of skilled U.S. tradesmen for the work. I include in the Record comments from Edward Deleon Guerrero, Executive Director of the Commonwealth Casino Commission, who reacted positively to this news in an interview with KSPN-TV in January 2018: Reporter: IPI is currently in contractual conversations with a new construction company, Pacific Rim, to finish the resort. Guerrero: We are more confident when we are dealing with a U.S. construction company. Reporter: IPI's previous, Chinese-based construction companies brought in illegal construction workers and ultimately caused progress on the building to come to a standstill, once the FBI realized what was going on. Guerrero hopes to avoid, quote, `another fiasco like that from happening again.' Guerrero: Definitely do not want to see a repeat of that. Reporter: This time around, however, the work will be done with mostly U.S. based workers. Guerrero: It is my understanding that all, I mean, most, if not all of the workers are U.S. construction workers. In March, Pacific Rim held a job fair on Guam, which drew enthusiastic response from U.S. workers, who expressed a willingness to move to Saipan for new work opportunities and the chance to earn overtime and per diem, in addition to their regular pay. At the fair Pacific Rim General Superintendent Tony Costa confirmed to the Post that his company wanted to have around 500 U.S. workers on the IPI site. Marianas Governor Ralph Torres even testified with pride before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on February 6 of this year about the turnaround: I'm proud to announce that because of learning of an issue that was experienced last year, we have signed U.S. contractors to finish the hotel of the casino that was signed, I believe, less than a month ago that will be hiring more U.S. workers to finish the construction of the hotel site. The Governor also said IPI intended to complete construction by August 2018 and assured the Committee that his administration was closely monitoring labor conditions at the site. It should be noted, too, that the original casino license agreement included the stated objective to have permanent U.S. residents be at least 65 percent of all employees--an objective that has not been met. The Governor's testimony came at the hearing held to consider the Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act, legislation that Chairman Murkowski and I had jointly introduced to incentivize the hiring of U.S. workers in the Marianas. President Trump signed the Act into law on July 24. Among other new protections for U.S. workers, Public Law 115-218 extends to the CW program the requirement for prior U.S. Department of Labor labor certifications, a stipulation the Governor, the Marianas Legislature, and our business community all rightly agreed to. Despite all these efforts and assurances to U.S. workers, however, at the same time IPI had begun the process of applying for foreign labor certifications from the U.S. Department of Labor with the intent to secure H-2B visas and hire foreign construction workers. Nominally, these foreign workers were to buttress, not replace Pacific Rim's U.S. workforce. Instead, U.S. workers have now lost their jobs, replaced by foreign workers. Attestations to the U.S. Department of Labor that U.S. workers would not be laid off and replaced with foreign workers have not proven true. Assurances by the Governor to keep watch on the Imperial Pacific job site seem hollow in light of recent events. This must stop. The people of the Northern Mariana Islands, whom I represent, are tired of having outside, foreign interests time-after-time give our islands a black eye by skirting the law, cutting corners on safety, playing fast and loose with the rules and thinking they can get away with it, beholden only to their bottom line and a handful of high- ranking local officials. The U.S. Department of Labor, after enabling IPI by granting 1,668 foreign labor certifications, must take immediate action to step up enforcement and ensure IPI maintains absolute compliance with U.S. law.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the 31 young men and women from the Northern Mariana Islands who performed so admirably at the International Thespian Society Festival in Lincoln, Nebraska last week. Marianas team members earned Superior Medals and even perfect scores at the event. Winners of Superior Medals were Jonathan and Lars Wolf of Dan Dan Middle School, Louise Li and Julia Malate of Marianas High School, Elizabeth Rose Jones of Kagman High School and the members of Marianas High School's glee club, ``Rythym N' Harmony'': Miguel Aninon, Roland Balajadia, Angela Barbo, Eden Conner, Jefferson Cunanan, Donna Galvez, Lesly Ibarra, Leonard Manuel, James Reyes, Charley Sablan, Clarisse Torio, and Rinisa Torres. The Wolf brothers performed a duet acting piece, Jones performed a solo musical theatre piece, Rhythm N' Harmony won two medals for group musical performance while Li and Malate won their medals in non-performance categories, Li for theatre marketing and Malate for costume design. Li and Malate also received perfect scores for their performances, with Rhythm N' Harmony scoring perfectly twice. The rest of the team performed superbly as well, most receiving ratings of ``excellent'' for their work. From Dan Dan Middle School is Juliet Inocencio, from Hopwood Junior High School is Edgardo and Vladimir Palma, from Francisco M. Sablan Middle School is Christine Munar, from Grace Christian Academy is Su Min (Melody) Woo and from Marianas High School is Rouxiang (John) Lu, Kaye Ann Obando, Michaela Gatdula, Anjenette Cubangbang, Casey Huliganga, Lance Elayda, Chloe Salvosa, Deirdre Rosete, Kasandra ``Myka'' Villegas and Kelvin Wolf. Most of these students had to compete throughout the school year to earn a spot on the team roster. But our senior thespians were chosen to participate in an invitation-only Chapter Select Showcase. Their stage production of ``The Internet is Distract--OH LOOK, A KITTEN'' by Ian McWethy was an effort that included collaboration from several different schools. Kagman High School Coach Joy Jones directed. The Marianas High School Art Club painted backdrops. And public relations and technical support were the work of the Senior Art Club under the direction of Marianas High School Coach Jonel Alepuyo with the participation of all senior performers. The team took home a recognition trophy. In addition to the ratings and medals, the festival was an opportunity for some of our rising seniors to showcase their talents for colleges in hopes for recruitment. Rouxiang (John) Lu and Su Min (Melody) Woo both got at least 20 call backs and Kelvin Wolf and Clarisse Torrio got at least 10 call backs each. Of course, these young, aspiring entertainers could not have been so successful without the team of faculty coaches who helped them hone their skills. Coaching the junior thespians were Kristine Wolf of Dan Dan Middle School and Harold Easton of Marianas High School. Coaching the junior thespians were Karen Alla and Jonel Jones of Marianas High School and Joy Jones of Kagman High School. I thank them all. In addition to their own performances the Marianas team participated in daily workshops, saw performances by fellow thespians from around the country, and got the chance to meet and mingle with fellow members of the International Thespian Society, the honor society for middle and high school theatre students that hosts this festival each year. It is truly an enriching and educational experience. Please join me in congratulating the Marianas Team for their outstanding performances at the 2018 International Thespian Festival.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, this year the Northern Mariana Islands Museum of History and Culture celebrates its 20th anniversary. Our islands' only, locally-run museum is as much a tribute to the story of the people of the Marianas as it is to the resilience and determination of those who have led the Museum's operation. They have kept the Museum alive despite many years of inadequate funding, understaffing, and a destructive typhoon that could well have shut it down permanently. The Museum is located in a 92-year-old hospital built during the time the Northern Marianas were under the administration of Japan. The structure itself is an artifact of our history, and before its renovation looked the part. Its concrete, paint-less exterior told the story of war and every typhoon that has passed through our islands in the last century. Today, within the Museum a visitor can view artifacts from the time of the ancient Chamorro people, and of the Spanish, German, and Japanese occupations that descended upon us. These artifacts, and the paintings and photographs that are part of the displays, tell the story of how our people survived, adapted, and thrived throughout our history. They--and other objects stored away in the Museum--are lovingly preserved by their local conservators, who exhibit a profound dedication to keeping the memories of our people alive. The NMI Museum of History and Culture is an independent program of our Governor's Office. Sadly, the facility fell on hard times in the mid-2000s, when massive budget cuts forced the lay-off of most staff. At this low point, the Museum had only one employee, whose availability determined when the museum would open and close. As a result, many a visitor was turned away who could have experienced the history of the Chamorro people. In 2015, the Marianas were hit by Typhoon Soudelor, the most devastating typhoon in decades. That terrible storm could well have meant the end for our Museum. The typhoon left many artifacts damaged, the roof leaking, mold along the walls, floors flooded, and much of the plumbing a wreck. And the museum was forced to close its doors to visitors--indefinitely. Into this scene of destruction a new energy arrived in the person of Mr. Danny Aquino. Appointed Executive Director last year, Mr. Aquino was tasked with the grueling repair of the museum. And more help was on the way. An outpouring of financial and material support from IT&E, Saipan Stevedore, Saipan Shipping, CMS Trucking, Soudelor Corporation, Tropical Gardens, Tan Holdings, Tan Siu Lin Foundation, McDonald's of Saipan, Tasi Tours and other local businesses, a $55,000 appropriation from the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation, and $50,000 from the Marianas Visitors Authority gave Aquino and his team the funds to start repairs. Help from the staff of the Mayor of Saipan also moved the work along at a faster pace. The Mayor's team assisted museum staff with grounds maintenance, landscaping, and other outdoor work. Somehow, restoration took less than six months to complete; and the Museum reopened last November to its first visitors in a very long time. I visited the museum in February to see this progress. I had been there shortly after Typhoon Soudelor; and I can report the difference between then and now is night and day. Mr. Aquino's can-do attitude, and the tireless work of his staff--James Cabrera, James Macaranas, Allan Lifoifoi, and Wenny Haruo--drove the repair efforts and the result is a museum that the Marianas can truly be proud of. Today, visitors to our islands can orient themselves to the three- and-a-half millennia of Marianas history at our Museum. Residents can take pride in who they are and where they come from by strolling through this beautiful facility. And students--many of whom are required to take a course on the history of our islands--can enlarge their vision of the future by learning about our past at the Northern Mariana Islands Museum of History and Culture. Please join me in congratulating the Northern Mariana Islands Museum of History and Culture on 20 years of serving our islands and our people.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, one of the reasons I have worked to increase the number of young people from the Mariana Islands who can attend the U.S. military academies is because I believe the Marianas offer a wealth of talent that can add to the strength of our military. A case in point is West Point graduate James G. Pangelinan, who just hit 22 years of active duty service on June 1 and who graduated from the Army War College on June 8 with a master of arts in strategic studies and distinguished graduate honors. At the same time Pangelinan was promoted to the rank of colonel. He is the first person from the Marianas to graduate from West Point and, I understand, the first from our islands to graduate from the Army War College. I would like to review COL Pangelinan's distinguished career to date. Upon graduation from West Point with a bachelor of science degree in English literature and philosophy, he received his commission and began service. According to information from the U.S. Army, Pangelinan first was assigned as a rifle platoon leader and company executive officer in the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment at Fort Lewis, Washington from 1997-99. He next served as an assistant operations officer with the Ranger Training Brigade at Fort Benning, Georgia from 2000-02. While assigned to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii from 2002-06, he served as a brigade and battalion assistant operations officer, commanded a rifle company in the 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, and deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. From 2006-08, Pangelinan was an Opposition Forces commander with the Battle Command Training Program at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He deployed to Afghanistan, serving as a strategist in the NATO Training Mission Afghanistan in Kabul. From 2011-13, he served as the battalion executive officer of the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colorado and deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. From 2013-14, Pangelinan served as the Brigade Rear Detachment commander of the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. He commanded the 2nd Battalion, 58th Infantry Regiment at Fort Benning from 2014-16. Following battalion command, COL Pangelinan served on the Army Staff in the G-3/5/7 where he was responsible for the publication and execution of the Army Campaign Plan 2017. Throughout this time Pangelinan continued his academic pursuits, earning a master of military art and science from the School of Advanced Military Studies and a Master of Arts in Security Studies from Kansas State University both in 2010. Pangelinan's awards and decorations include the Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Ranger Tab, Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, Pathfinder Badge, Combat Infantryman Badge, and Expert Infantryman Badge. He is the son of Dulce Pangelinan and Edward D.L.G. Pangelinan, who was the lead negotiator of the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America and who was the first person elected to represent the Marianas here in Washington. COL Pangelinan begins a two-year stint in the Republic of Korea on the staff of U.S. Forces Korea in July to continue a career his family and the Mariana Islands can all be proud of. I salute COL James G. Pangelinan for his many achievements and thank him for his service.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, 27 years ago Dolores Pangelinan Kiyoshi decided to devote her life to serving her country. She left her home on Tinian, one of the Mariana Islands, and enlisted in the United States Army. Recently, that journey has led her to promotion to the rank of Command Sergeant Major. She is the first woman from the Marianas to achieve that rank. CSM Kiyoshi was introduced to military life and values--as so many are--through the Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps. In JROTC during high school on Guam, Ms. Kiyoshi achieved the rank of Battalion Commander; and she earned a four-year ROTC scholarship at the University of Guam. She was eager to serve her country, however, and to honor her parents' wishes that she become a soldier. So, she left officer training and in November 1990, joined the Army. Upon completion of basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey the new recruit identified medicine as the area in which she would specialize throughout her Army career. She took advanced individual training as a combat medic at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Subsequently, according to information provided by the U.S. Army, she has served in most Medical Command Leadership positions, including Patient Hold Non-Commissioned Officer In-Charge, Infection Control NCOIC, Birthing Center NCOIC, Intensive Care Unit Wardmaster, Chief Wardmaster, Department of Medicine NCOIC, Operations NCOIC, and Clinical Operations SGM. Her stateside assignments include the 21st Combat Support Hospital at Fort Hood, TX, Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C., Darnall Army Community Hospital at Fort Hood, TX, 549th Area Support Medical Company at Fort Hood, TX, 28th CSH at Fort Benning, GA, 115th CSH at Fort Polk, LA, United States Army Sergeant Major Academy at Fort Bliss, TX, and the 44th Medical Brigade at Fort Bragg, NC. Kiyoshi's overseas assignments include 560th Ground Ambulance Medical Company in Korea, 549th Area Support Medical Company in Croatia, Wurzburg MEDDAC in Germany, Benincaso Pavilion in Italy, and Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii. She has deployed to Cuba, Croatia, Iraq, and Afghanistan for combat and peacekeeping missions. Her education includes the Primary Leadership Development Course, Basic and Advanced NCO Course, First Sergeant Course, Sergeants Major Academy, Master Resilience Trainer, Deployable Medical Equipment Course, Equal Opportunity Leader Course, Unit Antiterrorism Advisor Level One Course, Deployable Sexual Assault Response Coordinator, Airborne School, and the Military License Practical Nurse School. She also has an associate degree in General Studies. Her awards and decorations include Bronze Star Medal (2nd award), Meritorious Service Medal (5th award), Army Commendation Medal (12th award), Army Achievement Medal (10th award), Army Superior Unit Award, Meritorious Unit Citation (2nd award), Army Good Conduct Medal (9th award), National Defense Service Medal (Bronze Star), Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, NCOPD Ribbon (Numeral 5), Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon (Numeral 7), NATO Service Medal (2nd award), Parachutist Badge, EFMB Badge and the Drivers Mechanic Badge. She is also a Sergeant Audie Murphy recipient. She is the daughter of Ignacio and Teresa P. Kiyoshi and the eldest of eight siblings. She has two daughters, Teresa and Marilyn Hernandez. Upon retirement, CSM Kiyoshi plans to return to Tinian and serve her Familia, the Northern Marianas community. All of us in the Marianas congratulate CSM Dolores Pangelinan Kiyoshi on her success. We thank her for her service. And we look forward to the day we welcome her home to stay.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, one of the reasons I have worked to increase the number of young people from the Mariana Islands who can attend the U.S. military academies is because I believe the Marianas offers a wealth of talent that can add to the strength of our military. A case in point is West Point graduate James G. Pangelinan, who just hit 22 years of active duty service on June 1 and who graduated from the Army War College on June 8 with a master of arts in strategic studies and distinguished graduate honors. At the same time Pangelinan was promoted to the rank of colonel, the first person from the Marianas to achieve that rank in the U.S. Army. In fact, he is also the first person from the Marianas to graduate from West Point and, I understand, the first from our islands to graduate from the Army War College. I would like to review COL Pangelinan's distinguished career to date. Upon graduation from West Point with a bachelor of science degree in English literature and philosophy, he received his commission and began service. According to information from the U.S. Army, Pangelinan first was assigned as a rifle platoon leader and company executive officer in the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment at Fort Lewis, Washington from 1997 to 99. He next served as an assistant operations officer with the Ranger Training Brigade at Fort Benning, Georgia from 2000 to 02. While assigned to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii from 2002 to 06, he served as a brigade and battalion assistant operations officer, commanded a rifle company in the 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, and deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. From 2006 to 08, Pangelinan was an Opposition Forces commander with the Battle Command Training Program at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He deployed to Afghanistan, serving as a strategist in the NATO Training Mission Afghanistan in Kabul. From 2011 to 13, he served as the battalion executive officer of the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colorado and deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. From 2013 to 14, Pangelinan served as the Brigade Rear Detachment commander of the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. He commanded the 2nd Battalion, 58th Infantry Regiment at Fort Benning from 2014 to 16. Following battalion command, COL Pangelinan served on the Army Staff in the G-3/5/7 where he was responsible for the publication and execution of the Army Campaign Plan 2017. Throughout this tim Pangelinan continued his academic pursuits, earning a master of military art and science from the School of Advanced Military Studies and a Master of Arts in Security Studies from Kansas State University both in 2010. Pangelinan's awards and decorations include the Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Ranger Tab, Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, Pathfinder Badge, Combat Infantryman Badge, and Expert Infantryman Badge. He is the son of Dulce Pangelinan and Edward D.L.G. Pangelinan, who was the lead negotiator of the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America and who was the first person elected to represent the Marianas here in Washington. COL Pangelinan begins a two-year stint in the Republic of Korea on the staff of US Forces Korea in July to continue a career his family and the Mariana Islands can all be proud of. I salute COL James G. Pangelinan for his many achievements and thank him for his service.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield the distinguished gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Welch) such time as he may consume.

Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time remains.

Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Nolan).

Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask for support of this legislation. I just want to say if it is really 4,600 miles, then that is the equivalent of a round trip between San Francisco and Honolulu, a distance which I frequently fly and don't actually enjoy sitting down. Mr. Speaker, at this time I have no further speakers. I ask for support, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, Chairman Bishop has just provided an accurate statement of the economic rationale for the Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act, H.R. 5956. The Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act will allow the Marianas economy to continue growing so there is ample opportunity for new business investments and for jobs. I want to use my time simply to emphasize that this bill is about jobs--jobs for U.S. workers in my district. The bill contains new requirements to ensure that no U.S. worker is ever passed over for a job and that wages and working conditions for U.S. workers are always maintained and protected. It ensures the fees employers pay are put to effective use, providing better training and apprenticeship opportunities for U.S. workers. The bill encourages the continuing conversion of the Marianas economy to one in which, numerically, U.S. workers are predominant. That is why the legislation is titled the Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act. That is a statement of our purpose and our goal. I say ``our purpose'' because this legislation is the product of a bipartisan and bicameral working group. It included Chairman Bishop and Ranking Member Grijalva, their committee leader counterparts in the other body, the Judiciary Committee representatives, and myself. We began in late 2016 working first on the legislation that became Public Law 115-53. It was not easy finding common ground among such a diversity of views. But by listening to each other and because we share a common concern to better the lives of Americans--even Americans in the faraway Marianas--we succeeded in agreeing on this second bill, the Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act, a very good bill with very good policy. As a Delegate, Mr. Speaker, I cannot vote for this bill. I can, however, give my vote of thanks to Chairman Bishop because even a good bill with good policy has to navigate the twists and turns of the legislative process. And without the chairman's leadership, we might not be here on the floor today considering the Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act. I thank the gentleman and leadership on both sides of the aisle, whose attention and cooperation helped me bring this bill to the floor, and thank all of the working group members who helped the people of the Northern Marianas by working with me to draft this legislation. Lastly, I thank my constituents. Over the last 10 years, they have shared their own experiences with me and given me their ideas on what Federal policy would best fit our islands. I listened to them and spoke for them, and we have incorporated their experiences and their ideas into the Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act. I believe my constituents' needs are well represented because this legislation has the full support of the Marianas Governor, the legislature, the business community, and the men and women who meet and talked with me in everyday life. In closing, I ask my colleagues for their support of the Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act. Seeing no other speakers, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I support this bill to establish the Susquehanna National Heritage Area in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Seen as ``a new kind of national park'' that leverages public-private partnerships with a focus on regional economic development, the first national heritage area was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. Since then, Congress has authorized many successful heritage areas throughout the country, and this model makes a lot of sense for certain regions. However, it has been a while since the House passed a standalone bill to establish a new national heritage area, so this is an encouraging sign. We appreciate the renewed interest in national heritage areas, particularly since some of my fellow Democratic colleagues have introduced heritage area proposals. We are eager to bring those proposals forward as well. That said, this is a good bill, and I encourage my colleagues to support its adoption. The communities of Lancaster and York Counties have clearly demonstrated that their region deserves recognition as a national heritage area. I would like to congratulate Representative Smucker for his leadership on this proposal and Chairman Bishop for guiding this bill to the floor. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, again, I encourage support for this bill, and having no further speakers, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SABLAN

Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Lawson).

Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, Representative Lawson's bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine the suitability of establishing the birthplace of James Weldon Johnson, located in Jacksonville, Florida, as a unit of the National Park System. James Weldon Johnson was born in Jacksonville to immigrant parents from the Bahamas. He went on to become a respected lawyer, educator, and writer. President Theodore Roosevelt appointed James Weldon Johnson as U.S. Consult to Venezuela and Nicaragua during the early 1900's. I applaud my colleague Representative Lawson for introducing legislation to honor the first African American executive secretary of the NAACP. I support passage of H.R. 5005. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman has no further speakers, I yield back the balance of my time.