Governor Albert Bryan Jr. is out of the territory this week, as he embarks on a series of high-level discussions with members of Congress and members of both the outgoing and incoming administrations. 

Mr. Bryan spoke about the necessity of the trip during last week's Government House press briefing. “These conversations are critical, because they ensure that the federal government remains a strong partner for us,” he said at the time. 

The focus of the meetings will be to push for a long-awaited permanent extension of the rum cover over tax rate. “This policy is really the lifeline of our economy and, of course, our retirement system,” Mr. Bryan said, expressing optimism that a new Congress will act on the issue, especially as both the House of Representatives and the Senate will be controlled by the Republican Party. “We're hoping that it'll move rather quickly, and we can get this attached [to a tax bill], as there is no strong opposition,” he said last week. 

Governor Bryan also thinks that Republican majorities on Capitol Hill and a Republican administration in the White House means that “the chances of restarting the refinery grow better,” because “we'll have an EPA that we can be reasonable with; that we will make sure that our people are safe, but at the same time we can get our economy going.”

The governor says he will also discuss the possibility of lifting the current cap on Medicaid, which will expand access to care for Virgin Islanders.