Despite complaints that Congress is continually being asked to do for the Virgin Islands what the territory should be doing for itself, a House commmittee Wednesday approved Delegate Donna Christian- Christensen's bill to provide the Virgin Islands government with revised borrowing authority.
Intended to reduce the territory's cost of borrowing $100 million to meet current and near-term obligations, the measure is scheduled to go to the House floor for a vote next week.
Along with unanimous approval of the bill by the House Resources Committee came a stiff warning from the committee chair, Republican Rep. Don Young of Alaska, according to a press release from the delegate's office.
Young told the committee he was "tired" of being asked repeatedly "to make changes that we ourselves should be doing via our own constitution, which we have been empowered to adopt since 1974," Christian-Christensen reported.
She also said Young asked her to take home the message that "with regard to our fiscal responsibilities, Congress is watching us very carefully, and the present situation cannot continue."
The delegate said Young "made it quite clear that we must take responsibility for our actions."
She added, "I also share his concerns, which should be the concerns of all of us."
Acknowledging that even she had reservations about the bill, Christian-Christensen said she pushed for it because of three factors — the V.I. government's urgent need to meet its fiscal obligations, the savings it can realize by borrowing before the end of the current fiscal year, and the controls that are built into the measure.
