Republican leaders from the U.S. Virgin Islands are in Washington this week telling the White House and Congress not to write a blank check to the Government of the Virgin Islands, a release the local GOP issued Tuesday has made known. Above, Republican senator Lisa Murkowski, chair of the powerful Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which plays a pivotal role in determining how much money the VI government will receive from Washington to help rebuild the ravaged islands.
According to the release, in a series of meetings, GOP leadership from the hurricane-devastated islands of St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John are pushing for greater federal scrutiny of the territorial government, which the GOP says was in shambles before hurricanes Irma and Maria struck.
“We are here telling our fellow Republicans in the administration and Congress that strict scrutiny is needed to recover and rebuild our island communities,” said Jevon Williams, the territory’s committeeman on the Republican National Committee. “For too long, Washington, under Democrats and Republicans, wrote checks without asking the tough questions.”
Governor Kenneth Mapp on Tuesday testified before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, relaying effectively the damage the storms wrought on the territory, while receiving favorable feedback from the lawmakers. “I think this is an extraordinary opportunity for our country,” Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia said during the hearing.
