H.R. 5888: To amend section 6 of the Joint Resolution entitled "A Joint Resolution to approve the Covenant To Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America, and for other purposes".

H.R. 5888: To amend section 6 of the Joint Resolution entitled "A Joint Resolution to approve the Covenant To Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America, and for other purposes".

114th Congress · introduced 2016-07-14 · Immigration · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2016-07-14 · official record
Who proposed it: Del. Sablan, Gregorio Kilili Camacho [D-MP-At Large] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

To amend section 6 of the Joint Resolution entitled "A Joint Resolution to approve the Covenant To Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America, and for other purposes".

Plain summary

This bill amends the "Joint Resolution to approve the Covenant To Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America" to extend until December 31, 2029, the transition period during which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall regulate immigration in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) pending full applicability of U.S. immigration laws to the CNMI. The annual supplemental vocational education fee currently charged to the employer of each CNMI transition period nonimmigrant worker shall be charged instead to the employer of each temporary worker. The CNMI shall provide the Department of Labor with an annual plan for the expenditure of such funds for U.S. worker job placement. DHS is authorized to not reduce the annual transitional nonimmigrant worker visa allocation to zero during the transition period if a reduction in the number of available workers would adversely affect the CNMI's economy. The bill caps the number of transitional nonimmigrant worker visas at 18,000. An employer shall pay a CW-1 transitional worker: (1) wages that are at least the actual wage level paid by the employer to all other similarly qualified individuals; (2) wages that are at least the prevailing wage level for the occupational classification; or (3) for job classifications without a certified prevailing wage, wages equal to or greater than the mean wage of the three lowest wages within the CNMI's prevailing wage system. Labor, by April 30, 2027, shall ascertain the CNMI's current and anticipated labor needs and determine whether a five-year extension of the transition program is necessary to ensure the availability of an adequate number of workers. The bill provides for, and set forth the criteria under which, long-term CNMI residents may be admitted as CNMI permanent residents. The bill sets forth specified reporting and data collection requirements.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

To amend section 6 of the Joint Resolution entitled "A Joint Resolution to approve the Covenant To Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America, and for other purposes".

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Del. Sablan, Gregorio Kilili Camacho [D-MP-At Large] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (4)

Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Joint resolution: In Texas, the type of measure the Legislature uses to propose a constitutional amendment (marked HJR or SJR). The governor does not sign or veto it; the voters decide. In Congress a joint resolution can also be used like a bill. In Florida, a joint resolution passed by three-fifths of the members of each chamber puts a constitutional amendment on the ballot.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114hr5888.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/hr>

Record fed-us-cong114-hr5888 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114