Throughout the month of March, we celebrate the contributions of outstanding Virgin Islanders. March 31^st also marks the anniversary of the 1917 Transfer of our islands from Denmark to the United States. This year’s centennial anniversary of Transfer Day is important because it marks a significant event in our territory’s history and provides an opportunity to open the dialogue of that history to a wider audience. This week, I will reintroduce a resolution in Congress to commemorate this event and to highlight the tremendous contributions and achievements of Virgin Islanders throughout the last century.

Congresswoman Plaskett addresses Women's group in St. Croix in February

During my recent town halls throughout the territory, many constituents expressed concern with the uncertainty in Washington and the outlined agenda of both the new administration and the Republican-controlled Congress. While this agenda supports the creation of business opportunities through tax breaks for corporations and tax credits for development, the cost would come at the expense of cuts to critical social service programs. In particular, this harsh agenda proposes gutting Medicaid and forcing the cost obligation for critical support services onto the already strained budgets of individual states and localities. I am committed to fighting against this and any other harmful provisions presented in it.

Last week, the White House released its budget for 2018. While what was shared serves as a preliminary outline, it is concerning that the $54 billion in proposed cuts are directly tied to health, education, rural development and housing and transportation programs that provide essential assistance to our most vulnerable populations. Cuts to Medicaid, and to college affordability programs such as Pell Grants and Stafford Loans, as well as cuts to the Department of Transportation’s TIGER grants for infrastructure development projects will place added strain on the territory’s general fund. In addition to those cuts, reduced funding to the Interior Department’s National Parks Service and Office of Insular Affairs and United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) rural development and broadband programs are also areas of concern. Equally troubling, are the proposed cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which will affect our local PBS affiliate, the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities and the Interagency Council on Homelessness. Over the next couple of months, I will work with my colleagues in Congress and fight to maintain appropriate funding levels for programs critical to the territory.  

Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett gives testimony in a committee hearing on environmental regulation

More than most places, the U.S. Virgin Islands understands the importance of striking the balance between environmental regulation and development. In my capacity as Ranking Member, I recently co-chaired a hearing in the Oversight and Government Reform Committees’ subcommittee on Interior, Energy and Environment to examine solutions to achieving an appropriate balance between development and environmental protection.

Former Department of Planning and Natural Resources Commissioner, Alicia Barnes and Attorney Kevin Rames both submitted testimony highlighting some of the impediments to development in the territory. One of the main problems has been inadequate staffing at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is the federal agency that regulates projects having an impact on coral. There simply are not enough staff to do the consultations that would allow permitting. I will continue to highlight this and other issues confronting our territory in this subcommittee, and work with my colleagues and local stakeholders toward finding solutions.

View Congresswoman Plaskett's full testimony

Last week, the College Board – a non-profit organization that administers programs and services in college readiness and success, including the SAT and the Advanced Placement Program –reversed their decision to cancel June SAT testing in the Virgin Islands following my outreach regarding their initial decision. The College Board cited ongoing efforts to increase security and ensure integrity of SAT scores as the initial reason for cancelling June testing in a number of locations including the Virgin Islands. Just the idea that our students and their families would have to incur great expense by flying to another jurisdiction to take the exam was troubling and unacceptable. I am hopeful that the revised decision is indicative of a shared commitment to equitable treatment and equal opportunity for our students living in the territory.

I recently became a primary sponsor of critical legislation (H. Res. 159) which would require infrastructure spending bills to include development programs that recruit and train individuals from communities with high unemployment rates, including groups that are often overlooked, such as veterans and minority groups – particularly between the ages of 25 and 34. Over the next 10 years, approximately 3 million infrastructure workers will need to be replaced due to retirement. By recruiting and training a younger workforce, we can tackle America's current and ongoing infrastructure crisis by closing this looming workforce gap. Infrastructure jobs provide competitive wages with low barriers to entry, many of which prioritize on-the-job training over formal higher education. This bill also calls for meaningful outreach efforts geared toward underrepresented contractors, including minority and women-owned businesses, veteran owned small businesses and service-disabled veteran owned small businesses. In addition to supporting this legislation, I recently testified before the House Appropriations Committee to underscore the importance of adequately funding programs that support infrastructure development in the territory. 

Read Congresswoman Plaskett's testimony 

Cinnamon Bay Campground in St. John

Cinnamon Bay campsite is a beloved national park that has been visited by families, school and community groups for decades. At one of our town hall meetings held during February, several campers were in attendance who voiced their concerns about the environmental and accessibility effects of recent construction to the Cinnamon Bay campsite in Virgin Islands National Park, including significant tree removal that could exacerbate erosion and the possible discovery of historical artifacts. As a result, members of my staff went to investigate whether an environmental review needed to be conducted. During that visit, it was observed that the space for tents had been drastically reduced along with a projected 100% increase over the current rate to stay at the campground. Following the visit, we contacted the National Park Service to relay our concerns, which in turn led to a halt in construction to determine the best way to proceed with the project.