At the behest of the Turnbull administration, Delegate to Congress Donna Christian Christensen has introduced legislation that will help the government operate for the remainder of the year.
According to Christensen, the legislation would make it possible for the territory to save millions in costs associated with the administration’s effort to borrow funds to meet due obligations, such a payroll. The move would also provide cash reserves to operate the for the rest of the year while deficit reduction and budget initiatives take effect.
"In order to avoid unnecessary costs associated with the local government’s efforts to borrow additional operating funds by the end of this month, Gov. Charles Turnbull and his financial advisors asked me and the Congress to provide the Virgin Islands with the same authority to borrow funds that is commonly enjoyed by other mainland jurisdictions and other territorial governments," Christensen said.
The contains a proviso that would cause the proposed borrowing authority to expire on Dec. 31, 1999 if the government and the secretary of the Department of Interior do not reach an agreement on various financial accountability standards for reducing the territory’s deficit, said the delegate.
"Because of the urgency of getting this legislation passed before the V.I. government closes on its loan on Sept. 30, the House Resources Committee has agreed to forgo holding a hearing on the bill and to schedule it for a vote next Wednesday, Sept. 22," Christensen said.