Press Releases

For Immediate Release                             Contact: Tionee Scotland
January 9, 2026                                                    202-808-6129

PRESS RELEASE

CONGRESSWOMAN PLASKETT SECURES CRITICAL FUNDING FOR VIRGIN ISLANDS IN BIPARTISAN APPROPRIATIONS PACKAGE

Washington, D.C.— Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett (D-VI) announced that the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bipartisan Commerce, Justice Science; Energy and Water Development; and Interior and Environment Appropriations Act, 2026. This legislation provides critical funding for the U.S. Virgin Islands, rejects the Trump Administration's proposed $163 billion in cuts from domestic programs, and protects funding for clean energy, environmental protection, scientific research and public safety grants. The legislation will now be taken up and considered by the U.S. Senate before moving to the President’s desk for signature.

"This funding package delivers meaningful results for the Virgin Islands while standing firm against reckless cuts that would have devastated our communities," said Congresswoman Plaskett. "I am pleased to announce the bill includes $1,172,000 in Community Project Funding specifically for critical Virgin Islands programs: $1,031,000 for the Family Resource Center Emergency Shelter and Victim Services Expansion Project and $141,000 for Project Cultiv8te, which provides after-school programming as a gun violence intervention strategy for at-risk youth.

“These funds are in addition to eight Community Project Funding requests secured in November of 2025, which included two significant mental health projects, $857,000 to the St. Clair Institute to renovate the St. Clair House of mental health and substance abuse recovery services and $788,000 to the Bush Tea and Therapy Foundation to expand the Frederiksted Center for Community Wellness.  Just as importantly, Democrats eliminated every single extreme policy provision Republicans attempted to attach to this bill."

"This is what effective representation looks like," Congresswoman Plaskett stated. "We delivered direct resources for our community while protecting the programs Virgin Islanders depend on. We rejected Trump's slash-and-burn approach and eliminated every poison pill Republicans tried to attach." 

This funding package provides $117,217,000 to the Office of Insular Affairs, which administers federal assistance to the U.S. territories and freely associated states, for general technical assistance, maintenance, disaster assistance, coral reef initiatives, and natural resources activities.

This bill provides $10.4 billion in water infrastructure through the Army Corps of Engineers ($3.8 billion above the request), $3.1 billion for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy programs ($2.2 billion above the request), and $8.8 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency (nearly double the requested funding). It preserves programs President Trump tried to eliminate, including funding the Weatherization Assistance Program at $329 million,  the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities at $207 million respectively, and increasing Violence Against Women Act grant funding to $720 million.

Beyond funding allocations, the bill includes strong guardrails against executive overreach and strengthens congressional oversight. It mandates minimum staffing levels for key agencies including the EPA, Forest Service, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management—preventing the Trump administration from undermining their core missions. The Administration would be required to notify Congress before moving funds and the bill secures appropriations levels through detailed funding tables, preventing unilateral shifts of hundreds of millions of dollars. The package secures resources for the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum and National Museum of the American Latino.

"The Virgin Islands and communities across America are better off because Democrats held the line on our values and priorities," said Congresswoman Plaskett. "We reasserted Congress's power of the purse, addressed rising energy costs, invested in community safety and water infrastructure, and protected the environment---all while eliminating every extreme policy provision that would have harmed our communities."

Background: This appropriations package builds on P.L. 119-37, the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026, which provided continuing appropriations through January 30, 2026, and full-year appropriations for Agriculture, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction-Veterans Affairs. The current package does not provide funding for other departments or agencies, including Defense, Financial Services, Homeland Security, Labor-HHS-Education, State-Foreign Operations, and Transportation-HUD, which have temporary funding expiring at the end of this month. Congresswoman Plaskett will continue to advocate for full-year appropriations for these remaining departments to ensure stable funding for critical services affecting the Virgin Islands.

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