Press Releases

For Immediate Release                                          Contact: Tionee Scotland
June 28, 2025                                                           202-808-6129

PRESS RELEASE

CONGRESSWOMAN PLASKETT APPLAUDS RUM COVER OVER PERMANENCY EFFECTIVE DECEMBER 2025 IN LATEST SENATE RECONCILIATION BILL

Washington, DC – Early this morning, the Senate released the latest version of the Senate companion to H.R. 1, the Reconciliation package known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which cuts Medicaid massively and provides massive tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. The bill now provides a provision which permanently provides the increased rum cover over rate of $13.25 for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. 

On May 22, 2025, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and since that time, the Senate has drafted several versions of the reconciliation bill. The Senate is expected to begin voting as early as this afternoon, and if passed, it will return to the House of Representatives, where it will receive a vote on the House floor. If the bill is passed by the House of Representatives, it will be sent to the President’s desk for signature. Republicans’ reconciliation bill will make everyday life more expensive for Americans, and it also removes programs which gave opportunities and support for working Americans and those trying to get ahead. 

Congresswoman Plaskett shared, “While I cannot support the bill in its entirety, I applaud the Senate’s provision to permanently provide the increased rum cover over rate of $13.25, effective December 31, 2025. This provision is not retroactive to the last expiration of the increased rate on January 1, 2022, which means the increased rate of $13.25 will not be recovered for that period of January 2022 to December 2025.

“I am pleased that the Senate has recognized the importance of the rum cover over to the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico and that at this stage, the provision is included. However, this is a fluid situation that is constantly evolving. This is not the first version of this bill, and we cannot guarantee that this provision will be included in the final version. I am hopeful that the increased rum cover over rate remains in the bill.” 

Rum cover over is the rebate of federal excise taxes on distilled spirits produced in or imported into the rest of the United States from the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Under current law, excise tax collections on imported rum are transferred to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands at the rate of $13.25 per proof gallon; $10.50 per proof gallon is in permanent law, and the remaining $2.75 per proof gallon requires periodic reauthorization by Congress. These funds, which represent nearly 25% of the Virgin Islands Government’s annual budget, are critical for stabilizing the government employees' pension program, supporting infrastructure projects, and attracting investments to diversify the economy beyond tourism. 

In the 119th Congress, Congresswoman Plaskett and Congressman Ron Estes (KS-4) introduced rum cover legislation (H.R. 1378), which is supported by 24 of her colleagues – 16 Republicans and 8 Democrats. During the 18-hour markup in the Ways and Means Committee for the tax provisions of the House-version of the reconciliation bill, Congresswoman Plaskett offered an amendment to increase the rate of the rum cover offer, to publicly demonstrate the bipartisan support for this provision. Both Democrats and Republicans, including the Ways and Means Chairman, Jason Smith, acknowledged the importance of the increased rum cover over rate. The House version placed in provisions to fix tax issues in the Virgin Islands and also stop effective tariffs on rum coming into the United States 

Congresswoman Plaskett shared, “I would like to thank our partners for their collective advocacy for the increased rum cover over rate, including Congressman Ron Estes, Congressman Pablo Hernandez, Governor Albert Bryan, Governor Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon, Senator Cassidy, and the rum industry.”

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