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Northern Mariana Islands Wage and Economic Stability Act

Floor Speech

Date: April 20, 2021
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Employment and Affirmative Action Budget, Spending and Taxes

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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.

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