releases: https://sablan.house.gov/week-congress-happy-thanksgiving-day
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://sablan.house.gov/week-congress-happy-thanksgiving-day | THIS WEEK IN CONGRESS - Happy Thanksgiving Day | 2017-11-27 | 2017 | 2017-11 | Democrat | House | MP | Gregorio Sablan | S001177 | sablan.house.gov | legacy | In this issue: November 22, 2017 __________________________________________________________________________ CW cap announced Wednesday morning, when the CW foreign worker caps were announced (FY18: 9,998; FY19: 4,999; FY20: 2,499), I was at Hopwood celebrating Education Day. When people ask me, what is my long-term solution to our need for a skilled workforce, I point to those school kids. And I have focused on helping them get educated throughout my nine years in Congress. In my first term, I worked on the law that raised Pell grants and made more students eligible. So, today, most students at NMC go for free with a Pell grant. I changed the funding formula for the federal Title I grant to PSS. This year, PSS is getting $4.5 million more as a result and that money continues year-after-year. And my Northern Marianas Economic Expansion Act, signed by President Trump in August, raised the education fee that employers of CW workers pay. Governor Torres is putting that money into the scholarship fund to send our kids to college. We graduate about 900 students every year. It will take a decade or more to replace most foreign workers with U.S. workers, but it is not an impossible goal. Meanwhile, we still need foreign workers. And we have a President who, as a candidate, promised to get tough on immigration and protect American workers and who, as President, followed through with Executive Order 13788, which is cited in the CW cut announced this week. Whether you supported the Trump candidacy or not, no one should be surprised by his action. But it makes the job of continuing the CW program beyond 2019 very difficult. Fortunately, last month the President signed into law my legislation that bars the use of CW permits for new construction workers, USPL 115-53. Taking construction workers off the table means that 9,998 CW permits should be enough for our local businesses. They needed 9,715 CW workers in 2015. The new cap covers that. They needed 9,856 non-construction CW workers in 2016. The new cap covers that. I want to thank Governor Torres and the business community for supporting my legislation. There have been complaints, I know. The law does not work for everyone. Taken as whole, however, it protects our local businesses and the Marianas economy. Looking ahead, we know that the Trump administration plans to cut the number of CW permits again, significantly. But this week’s announcement in the Federal Register also said that the Department could change the cap for FY19. I hope Governor Torres will use his relationship with the President to make the case for keeping the cap as high as possible. In Congress, I will continue working with the bipartisan, bicameral working group that helped me get USPL 115-53 enacted. Our goal is legislation that will make sure there are enough workers to keep the Marianas economy going past 2019 – and that local workers get jobs first. It will not be easy. But, having the experience getting this kind of legislation through Congress twice before, I know what it takes to do it again. $537,201 to hire police Congratulations to the Commonwealth Department of Public Safety on successfully applying for $537,201 from the Community Oriented Policing Services Hiring Program. Congress established the program to help law enforcement agencies across the country increase their capacity to fight crime and advance public safety by hiring more police officers. DPS was one of 179 police departments awarded the funding from the more than 1,100 applications submitted. Opportunities Grants: Jobs: Legislative Highlights THIS WEEK The House is on recess for the District Work Period. NEXT WEEK On the Floor H.R. 3017 — Brownfields Enhancement, Economic Redevelopment, and Reauthorization Act of 2017 H.R. 3905 — Minnesota's Economic Rights in the Superior National Forest Act H.R. 4182 — Ensuring a Qualified Civil Service Act of 2017 H.R. 1699 — Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act of 2017 Committee Hearings Wednesday, November 29 Committee on Natural Resources Oversight Hearing, "Modernizing NEPA for the 21st Century" Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Oversight Hearing on “Examining VA’s Failure to Address Provider Quality and Safety Concerns” Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Hearing on “Financial Challenges Facing the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation: Implications for Pension Plans, Workers, and Retirees" Thursday, November 30 Committee on Veterans' Affairs Legislative Markup Committee on Natural Resources Legislative Markup Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans Legislative Hearing on Bill Streamlining Water Projects | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |