Delegate Donna Christian-Christensen said today that she is pleased that the Legislature voted favorably on the Turnbull Administration's bond proposal. But the delegate cautioned it should not create a false sense of security about the territory's current financial crisis.
Christensen emphasized that the borrowing measure is only a short term solution which could provide a badly needed stimulus to the private sector while also giving some badly needed relief to government workers, but only if it is used for the specific purpose for which it was authorized.
Christensen said that her bill, H.R. 2841 to give the territory the authority to float the bonds for "any public purpose" is currently in the U.S. Senate and is expected to pass that body sometime this week.
"Because of our persistence in continuing the dialogue with members of the Senate, as of today, all Legislative "holds" have been lifted which means that the bill can pass at any moment.
The Delegate said that despite last week's bellyaching in the legislature's
Finance Committee, which had the effect of slowing down the process of
getting HR 2841 through the Senate, she was pleased to see that the Legislature finally stepped forward to avoid the financial collapse that would otherwise have been imminent and unavoidable.
"I hope that the Legislature will now continue to direct its attention to the difficult task ahead of putting in place measures that will begin to reduce spending and the deficit, and begin to get us on the road to economic health. I will continue to fulfill my role and provide leadership on the Federal level, and hopefully we can move together cooperatively for the benefit of the territory," the Delegate concluded.
