Greetings,
I hope each of you had a blessed Easter, happy Holi and lovely Passover in the past few weeks.
I am grateful for the work my team and I have been able to get done during these last months. Despite the chaos that has characterized much of the exchanges in Congress, we have been hard at work for the people of the Virgin Islands and I hope that you will take the time to read through the updates that we share with you below.
Thank you for your support!
In Service, Stacey
P.S. Click below to view my latest appearance on MSNBC's The Weekend w/Michael Steele, Symone Sanders-Townsend and Alicia Menendez. |
"I am very pleased that 12 of my office’s Community Project Funding Requests were included in the first of the appropriations government funding packages. |
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The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4366, The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, 6 out of the 12 spending bills extending funding thru September 30, 2024. I am very pleased that 12 of my office’s Community Project Funding Requests were included in the first of the appropriations government funding packages. Our project funding requests specifically focus on providing social solutions through rural and economic development, education, and climate mitigation in our territory. The requests reflect the great priority my office places on the need for education, health care, community development and to provide more economic opportunities in our most vulnerable populations. Funding for the following 12 community projects were passed by the House in early March.
Also sharing in the excitement is Jenny Hawkes, Executive Director of My Brother’s Workshop on St. Thomas, which received $1 million to construct a main campus building which will provide additional education and workforce development that will lead to employment and better financial stability.
Kareem Edwards, Member of the St. Croix Farmers in Action Board shared: “The St. Croix Farmers in Action board is excited for this wonderful opportunity to be able to rehabilitate a 1-million-gallon cistern and 2 smaller cisterns, which will be a huge asset to the farmers of St. Croix. This project is part of the board’s vision for sustainable economic development on the island of St. Croix and will provide a critical water source to the farmers in times of drought. We are extremely thankful for the Office of Stacey E. Plaskett for its diligence and believing in our vision for agricultural development.
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“This will allow the Virgin Islands more federal financial assistance to push through the most critical projects so that the territory is given the best opportunity to see our hurricane recovery through to completion in a timely fashion.” |
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“I am tremendously pleased to announce that President Biden has agreed to raise the federal cost share of all FEMA assistance grants for hurricane recovery in the Virgin Islands from 90 to 95 percent in all cases, including retroactively. In addition, President Biden has also agreed to raise the federal cost share to 98 percent in the case of larger critical infrastructure rebuilding projects approved before September 30, 2024, and completed before 2026.
As we know, the Virgin Islands government has been allocated billions of federal dollars for hurricane recovery projects—for our schools, hospitals, water, power, communications, and other critical infrastructure. Until now, those projects would have required the Virgin Islands government to provide 10 percent of the grant in local matching funds (90 percent to be paid with federal funding). President Biden’s declaration has cut that cost share requirement to just 2 percent for critical rebuilding projects approved before September 30, 2024, and completed over the next 2 years, and 5 percent otherwise. This will allow the Virgin Islands more federal financial assistance to push through the most critical projects so that the territory is given the best opportunity to see our hurricane recovery through to completion in a timely fashion."
[Read more...]
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“We have in this moment both an opportunity and a responsibility to ensure that the greatest good emerges from this calamity to our Virgin Islands. This is an opportunity to not just rebuild, but to create an exponentially better Virgin Islands; advancing technologies, mitigating energy issues and creating resilience in our critical infrastructure.”
[Read more about "A RE-IMAGINED VIRGIN ISLANDS" here...] |
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The Congresswoman was honored with the 2024 Courage Award from The Preventive Measures Foundation in March at their inaugural awards gala. The courage award is given to an individual (often elected or government officials) who, by acting in accord with their conscience, pursued a larger vision of the national, state or local interest in support of mental health legislation or funding of services while facing pressure from constituents or other local interests.
The PM Foundation seeks to improve the mental health of individuals so they can live life to their full potential. TPMF looks to meet these needs at an individual, community, and global level.
Their awards gala shines a spotlight on the Equitable Minds movement, an initiative designed to close the cultural competency gap in mental health through the development of more clinicians in communities of color. In addition, the gala specifically highlighted the need for more African American mental health providers, while raising funds for HBCU student scholarships. |
Members of Congress may nominate candidates for appointment to four of the five U.S. service academies: U.S. Military Academy (USMA), West Point, NY; the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA), Annapolis, MD; the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA), Colorado Springs, CO; and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), Kings Point, NY.
The fifth service academy, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (USCGA), New London, CT, does not require a congressional nomination for appointment. Congresswoman Plaskett may nominate up to ten individuals for each vacant academy slot allotted to our district. This year’s nominees include:
·Payton Wade – Current Airforce Academy ·Kobi Sutton – Graduated Airforce Academy
Past members of the nomination board include: ·Carolyn Fawkes – Board Retired Col from the National Guard- First Female Pilot from the Virgin Islands ·MG Kodjo S. Knox-Limbacker- The Adjutant General- Board ·Shawna K. Richards- Parent of a former student from the Airforce Academy ·Colonel Wisteria Joseph – Retired from the Airforce
More information regarding Military Academy Nominations can be found on our website by visiting: Military Academy Nominations | Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett (house.gov) |
Congresswoman Plaskett gave a historical account of the proud women of the Virgin Islands that have served in a political position and broke through the glass ceiling to pave a path and leave a legacy for generations to come. Check out her floor speech giving them their flowers here.
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My team and I, with the support of the Virgin Islands National Park, held a ceremony in recognition of the installation of a plaque at the peak of Ram Head in the U.S. Virgin Islands National Park on St. John to commemorate the 1733 slave rebellion.
Up until now, there was no public acknowledgment of what happened in the 18th century on St. John, and unlike elsewhere on the island, the Ram Head trail contained very little to no signage about the historic significance of the location or the rich history of the people of St. John generally.
At the unveiling of the plaque, we saw that the memorial contains important facts about the slave rebellion, a mention of the notable collective suicide that occurred in the vicinity of Ram Head; and the overall significance of the island-wide rebellion to the history of St. John, the Virgin Islands, the United States and the African diaspora.
The establishment of the Ram Head plaque represents a proper and meaningful acknowledgement of the historic and pioneering rebellion against slavery that occurred on St. John 115 years before the abolition of slavery in what is now the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 132 years before the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery everywhere in the United States. More details about the ceremony can be found from this article from the St. Thomas Source.
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Earlier in March, the Congresswoman welcomed Virgin Islands students from the following schools visiting the Capitol.
-Charlotte Amalie High School -Ivanna Eudora Kean High School -Central High School -St.Croix Educational Complex
Thank you to the Close Up Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, civic organization inspiring young people to find and use their voice, for affording this opportunity to our students. |
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Nellie C. Varlack, DSL, joins the team of Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett as District Director, responsible for the offices in the Virgin Islands. Nellie holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of the Virgin Islands and a Doctor of Strategic Leadership from Liberty University and is known for her creativity, resourcefulness, innovative thinking, vision and effecting operational change. Her public service career of 32 plus years spans the fields of auditing with the Inspector General’s Office, budgeting, finance, human resource management, contract administration and property and project management with the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of the Governor. She grew up in a family where service was highly valued; hence she is grateful to work in a setting with a dedicated mission to improve the lives of residents of her communities. |
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Sincerely,
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Stacey Plaskett
Member of Congress
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