SAIPAN — Independent congressional candidate Galvin Sablan Deleon Guerrero on Wednesday dismissed the legislative push coming out of the delegate’s office as too little, too late, saying the people of the Marianas “cannot pay their CUC bill with a press release.”
The release does not name Congresswoman Kimberlyn King-Hinds, whom Deleon Guerrero is challenging in November, but it responds to the package of utility cost, workforce and military buildup measures the incumbent announced this week, including the Affordable Power Act.
Deleon Guerrero said he welcomes any serious effort to lower utility costs, address the workforce crisis and leverage the military buildup, but said there is a big difference between introducing a bill and delivering results.
On utility relief, he said the proposed legislation would draw largely from existing Covenant funds rather than a new federal appropriation. He said the Marianas should be fighting for new federal investments, not simply moving money around.
On the CW program, Deleon Guerrero said the program has failed to meet the needs of the CNMI and that kicking the can down the road will not be enough. He said businesses need certainty, the economy needs workers and long-term workers who have contributed to the community deserve certainty as well, adding that the Marianas should push beyond the CW program and start fresh with a better deal.
On the military buildup, he said it is not enough to fund another study and expand service academy access for only three more students. Citing some of the highest per capita military enlistment rates in the nation, he called for investments in programs that serve hundreds of students, such as Army and Navy Reserve Officers’ Training Corps programs.
Deleon Guerrero said the timing matters as much as the substance. With the 119th Congress approaching its end, he said introducing major legislation just before and during the August recess may generate headlines, but a bill still has to move through committee, build bipartisan support, pass the House and Senate and be signed into law.
“All of this work should have started in the first 100 days of a term, not the last 100 days before an election,” he said.
The release echoes themes Deleon Guerrero raised Wednesday morning on Good Morning Marianas, where he pledged to introduce a CW reset bill within his first 100 days if elected.
The measure of an effective delegate, he said, is not how many bills they introduce but how effectively they turn the people’s priorities into results.
