March 29, 2001 — Senate President Almando "Rocky" Liburd and Sen. Donald "Ducks" Cole, the 24th Legislature's liaison to Congress, are in Washington, D.C., this week meeting with members of Congress in order to pursue a V.I. economic stimulus package, according to a release from the Legislature Public Affairs Office.
The package, said Rudolph Krigger Jr., Liburd's chief researcher, is a catch-all term for several economic initiatives the senators are discussing with various congressmen. It includes: the return of the excise tax on gas; the effect of the earned income credit on the territory; replacement of revenues lost in the elimination of Foreign Sales Corporations; the Medicaid cap; and the Phillipines' move to gain duty free status for their rum and liquor products.
Liburd said he has an excellent working relationship with Dutko Group, the lobbying firm the majority bloc senators recently employed, and indicated he was willing to work with them to develop the package.
The senators met with Rep. John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, on Wednesday. Boehner will visit the territory in April and plans to meet further with Liburd then. They are also meeting Thursday with Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior.
Burns is said to share some of the territory's concerns about national monuments, as Montana is also fighting designated monuments, according to the release.
