The Senate Rules Committee unanimously passed a bill Wednesday expressing the opposition of the Legislature and the people of the Virgin Islands to the federal designation of submerged lands near St. John and St. Croix as national monuments. The committee also reported to the full Senate Gov. Charles W. Turnbull's nomination of Pamela Richards as commissioner of the Department of Tourism.
The language of the bill opposing the national monuments was taken almost in its entirety from a position statement dated Jan. 17 by the governing board of the V.I. Port Authority. The bill states that the Senate "in its own behalf, and in the behalf of the people of the Virgin Islands, hereby expresses its disappointment and indignation with and opposition to the failure of the former Secretary of Interior to observe federal consistency and NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act of 1969) procedural requirements, and the President's actions in designating an excessive amount of submerged lands as well as Virgin Islands Government-owned lands as part of the monuments…"
Several senators and others contend that the land designated as national monuments – constituting a little less than 5 percent of fishable V.I. waters – actually belongs to the Virgin Islands. The federal government disagrees.
Sen. Donald "Ducks" Cole, one of the main opponents of the monument designation, said on Wednesday, "We had property that was taken by an act of imperialism. It's the big fish trying to eat up the little fish."
Cole declared that "we will hand-deliver this to the powers-that-be in Congress; we in the territory are totally opposed to this designation."
Certainly, the committee was totally opposed: The bill was unanimously reported out to the full Senate.
In the afternoon, Richards testified before the committee and answered questions from senators, promising "common sense, commitment to seeing projects through to completion, creativity, and pride in our work."
Richards said the V.I.'s market penetration was well below that of other Caribbean nations. She emphasized attracting more overnight visitors to the territory – fliers rather than cruise ship passengers.
"Simply put," she said, "our ability to attract and increase our airlift capacity is fundamental to the survival of this industry in the territory." She said as acting commissioner she has already been discussing with air carriers such issues as lowering airfares to the territory in general and St. Croix in particular and increasing the number of flights.
Richards also stressed the importance of Internet-based commerce and information in luring visitors to the territory and presenting them with a healthy natural environment once they get here. "Our success is directly related to our ability to preserve, protect and sustain the natural environment," she said.
Richards was lauded by committee members, who passed her nomination on to the Senate unanimously.
The Rules Committee also unanimously passed a bill directing the governor to petition Congress and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to revise income requirements for the Head Start program in the V.I., taking into account the higher cost of living here.
Turnbull's nomination of Austin L. Andrews to be director of the V.I. Lottery was also passed and sent to the full Senate for a vote.
