An attempt by Senator Hubert Frederick to increase the Morris de Castro Grant by $10,000 was withdrawn Thursday after Senator Kenneth Gittens reminded him that lawmakers had collectively agreed to hold the measure for committee discussion over concerns about the program’s administration.
Nearing the end of Thursday’s legislative session, Mr. Frederick rose to introduce a non-germane amendment that would amend Title 17 of the Virgin Islands Code to raise the grant’s maximum amount to $55,000. According to Mr. Frederick, the grant is available to “two exceptional employees” within the government to “further their education and their training.”
The Consortium has previously reported on the Morris F. de Castro fellowship, which provides one award for the St. Croix District and one for the St. Thomas–St. John District, with a maximum award of $45,000.
“Some of the members in this same body have benefited from that same program,” Mr. Frederick said after Mr. Gittens objected to the amendment.
Explaining his objection, Mr. Gittens said he was “not understanding why we’re here entertaining this amendment at this time.” He said the “entire body” had recently caucused and “decided to hold this measure because there was a lot of questioning regarding the administration of this whole grant.”
“I'm not sure why the amendment is being offered at this time now, when the decision was already made to not bring it forward today,” he said.
Mr. Frederick countered that “this is very important to me, and I am here to support my constituents who call and ask for help.”
“The amount that's been allocated to this program is too low. It's been low, and all we're doing is making a minor tweak, and it may not even be the full amount,” Mr. Frederick said.
Mr. Gittens urged his colleagues to “do the right thing,” reminding Mr. Frederick that the Legislature had “already caucused and made a decision, and the matter is supposed to go to committee so that we can have a discussion with the board to address all those areas that we had concerns about.”
Mr. Frederick withdrew his motion. It remains uncertain whether the measure will receive a committee hearing before the end of the 36th Legislature.
