REPRESENTATIVE Edwin K. Propst, who chairs the House Gaming Committee, said the first thing Gov. Ralph DLG Torres should do to immediately generate revenue is to collect the $8 million overtime that, according to the lawmaker, was “illegally paid” to the cabinet members and other government officials about two years ago.
That amount of money, Propst, said will certainly boost funding for the retirees.
“My question is, is the administration going to collect that? He has been saying revenue-generating bills. Here’s one: Collect that $8 million,” Propst said, referring to the governor.
He noted that the most recent revenue-generating measure that the governor approved increases fees imposed on businesses.
The governor and his allies, Propst said, “have been talking about the kind of revenue-generating measures that involve tax hikes which hurt everyone, especially businesses. Is that what we want? The Democrats here don’t want to do that because we know it will penalize businesses, most especially the small ones [that] are struggling to survive.”
Propst said the other revenue-generating means that the administration has put in place right now is the Cannabis Commission, “which has cost taxpayers over half a million dollars but has, so far, brought in $23,000.”
“Where is the revenue generation in that?” Propst asked. “If we were to say that the cannabis commission is generating revenue, well that is just putting us at a loss.”
As for the “wonderful” casino that the governor said was “a solution to all our problems, how is that working for us?” Propst asked. “That has been a total disaster with all these problems that are going on, the FBI raids and all the corruption associated with it — how is that revenue-generating benefiting us?”
Propst said the Torres administration “is not fiscally conservative.” Instead, it “taxes and spends and [does] not prioritize when it comes to spending. Why are they not assisting those who need help immediately? Right now? Today?”
Propst said the governor and his “political mouthpiece keep saying revenue-generating bill, but my question is, what is their revenue-generating measure?”
“My challenge to the governor is call us in. Let’s have a roundtable discussion about all the failures they made and endorsed, like the revenue generating bills that are actually not…generating revenues but are a burden on taxpayers,” he said.
Regarding the need to reduce government expenses, Propst said, “Has the governor taken a pay cut? He wants to generate revenue? Cut his salary in half and cut all those who are making over $60,000. We are going to reduce expenses that way. That is how we do it.”
Propst said the governor should also “start paying his own power bill. That is just a basic. Everyone else in the Legislature pays for their own power. Why does the governor, who makes $120,000, more than any of the Legislature members, has to have his power paid for by NMI taxpayers? So governor, pay your own power.”
Always complaining
Asked for comment, Press Secretary Kevin Bautista issued the following statement:
“Governor Torres and Lt. Governor Palacios have led recovery efforts that saved lives following the worst typhoon to hit the CNMI and a global pandemic, both of which created deficits. This was made clear by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
“The same medical referral program that Congressman Propst references in his late-night Facebook rant is the same program that has helped many of our neighbors and loved ones get the care they need off island. That has also been a contributing part to the deficit, and the congressman fails to mention that the Legislature under-appropriates the medical referral program, causing it to have to go into a deficit in order to accommodate more patients.
“Congressman Propst complains about the size of government for public services yet he also complains when the administration had to make the difficult decision of furloughing employees because of the economic loss of tourism due to Covid-19. The first thing the governor and lt. governor did when they successfully leveraged federal funding was [to bring] back the employees into their jobs.
“In every issue, every proposal, and every solution, it seems like Congressman Propst chooses to be on the other side of every proposal or solution, even if it’s a solution that benefits our entire community, because he doesn’t like this governor, this administration, and bullies anyone on social media who disagrees with him. His political attacks on the governor about vaccination when the governor was just doing his job to keep people safe are just the latest examples.
“In his late-night Facebook rant, he talks about legislating and that the House has the power of the purse. The governor knows that and has asked the House leadership to do its job of generating revenue through legislation. It was a fair point. States and territories around the country are discussing about revenue generating bills and economic diversification. The administration continues talks on diversifying our economy to better people’s lives here at home, but apparently even new industries are not good enough for Congressman Propst.
“Congressman Propst complained about how our newly created cannabis industry isn’t generating enough revenue. He fails to realize that this doesn’t happen overnight. Oregon and Colorado didn’t grow their cannabis industry overnight. It took proper planning, and we’re proud of the work that Chairwoman Nadine Deleon Guerrero, the commissioners, and Managing Director Monique Sablan have done to [kick-start] this new industry. Last time that I checked, Congressman Propst voted in favor of this bill with the rest of the Legislature. Interesting why he’s going to criticize the work of young professionals doing the best they can to raise revenue for the CNMI.
“As for his attacks on the governor, every governor before Governor Fitial stayed in a designated governor’s house and had those utility expenses paid for as part of the office. The salaries of all elected officials, the attorney general, and the judiciary are constitutionally set. The Congressman once again is being selective of who he attacks because he doesn’t like this specific governor in office.
“This administration will continue to find revenue generation through the reopening of our tourism, collaborating with FEMA on the community disaster loan, and working through its Office of Grants Management to push out the rental assistance to residents. The rental assistance program is a federal program authorized under the U.S. Treasury and requires a strict compliance process in order to prevent fraud. The process is federally mandated so it does take time, but rest assured that the good staff at OGM is doing everything they can to push out this assistance.
“While certain reporters and off-island tabloid sources will continue to give this guy a platform for his late-night rants on Facebook about baseless claims, Governor Torres and Lt. Governor Palacios will continue to have collaborative discussions with individuals who have brought real solutions to the table like our Senate leadership, our House leadership officers, our local business leaders, and people in the villages who have brought their concerns.
“Recovery takes real solutions, not rants on social media.”
Rep. Edwin Propst speaks at the beginning of a meeting with casino commission officials in the House chamber on Tuesday.
Photo by Emmanuel T. Erediano
