Congressional legislation to authorize the V.I. government to borrow funds for "any public purpose" remains bogged down in the U.S. Senate, according to Delegate to Congress Donna Christian Christensen.
"We are continuing to work to secure passage of the bill in the Senate and anticipate that it will be passed any day now," Christensen said on Monday while explaining that the measure is caught up in a partisan battle over unrelated issues. "The issue is not whether they will or will not pass it, but whether passage should come through bypassing the normal committee process."
The Delegate also commented on the tie vote in the Legislature of the Virgin Islands last Friday on the Turnbull administration's request for increased bonding authority to coincide with the federal legislation.
"I believe that the administration lost the issue because they have not presented their fiscal crisis plan in a comprehensive manner so that it can be understood by the people of the Virgin Islands."
Christensen said that "if there is a plan, it has not been clearly articulated either to the Legislature or the people. This has been the cause of much confusion."
Christensen called on the administration to share with the people the recently signed Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Interior as required by the legislation pending in the U.S. Senate, that ensures that certain fiscal and deficit reduction measures will be put in place.
"The agreement for continued federal financial assistance should be shared with
the public and everyone should be kept informed on the timetable for implementation," she said. "My office gets daily calls and visits from constituents who feel that little or nothing is being done to address the current crisis."
"I believe that the governor can get support and develop a community consensus on many of the difficult issues ahead if keeps an open and ongoing dialogue with the Legislature and the people."
The Delegate once again warned the public to be wary of those pushing the return of the gasoline excise taxes as the answer to the current fiscal crisis.
"Those who insist on playing on the vulnerability of the people of the Virgin Islands and raising hope that we can be bailed out by gasoline tax revenues need to be honest with themselves and their constituents," the Delegate said. "Even if there were any possibility of getting a portion of gasoline taxes, it could never come soon enough to stave off the wolf, which as the governor and Sen. David Jones have pointed out, is already in the house."
