U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Bryan Goes to Washington… Again!

On Thursday, U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) Governor Bryan will swap warm Caribbean weather for what could be a frosty reception in front of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (ENR) in Washington.

This is the Governor’s second trip to Washington in just a handful of months. In November, he came to D.C. asking for a handout from the Biden administration and Congress. Fortunately for taxpayers, Bryan returned to the USVI empty-handed.

In a letter to the Republican Members of the ENR Committee, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) urged Ranking Member Barrasso (R-Wyoming) and his colleagues to, “get straight answers from the territory’s governor,” and “pay special attention that taxpayer dollars flowing to the USVI are not being used in a reckless manner.”

Conveniently (days ahead of his testimony), Governor Bryan claims the USVI has just a few days left of cash on hand despite recently receiving billions from the federal government, under both the Trump and Biden administrations.  

TPA’s letter to Republican Members of the Committee highlights the money the USVI should have at their disposal. The Governor has said he anticipates receiving $12 billion in disaster related funding. Yet, “$5.9 billion has been obligated from federal sources and over $2.9 billion has been expended to date, leaving the majority of funds unspent.”

The state of the USVI is particularly disappointing considering it has been the recipient of significant largesse from federal taxpayers. TPA notes this, writing “Since 2020, the federal government has also sent over $847 million in non-disaster recovery related funding, including $75 million in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, $257 million through the Coronavirus Education Stabilization Funding (ESF), and $515 million via the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).”

Holding WAPA Accountable

Further, TPA urges Republican Senators to demand accountability and clear answers from Governor Bryan on several issues, most importantly the USVI Water and Power Authority (WAPA).

The plethora of federal funding provided to the USVI creates obvious questions about where the money has gone and where the necessary oversight has been. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have repeatedly called for more scrutiny, and some agencies have taken notice. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Inspector General’s (IG) office currently has two open audits into the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority’s (VIHFA) oversight of federal funds.

The USVI’s delegate, Stacey Plaskett, shared her own doubts about WAPA’s ability to handle federal funding back in 2019 when she “asked the Governor to declare a state of emergency” for the utility.

Perhaps the most concerning example of USVI’s waste surrounds four $75 million propane generators for WAPA but funded by federal taxpayers via HUD. These units are not compatible because WAPA purchased the wrong generators which are unable to be integrated into the existing infrastructure. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Florida) and other House Republicans have demanded a full inquiry from HUD’s IG office to understand how this occurred. Unfortunately, Governor Bryan and his power utility have failed to offer even the bare minimum of transparency on this matter.

Importantly, WAPA owes more than $150 million to Houston-based energy company Vitol for the construction of state-of-the-art propane electricity generation facilities – a clean, affordable, and reliable source of energy for the territory.

Since the completion of the facilities in 2017, the USVI and WAPA have continually sought to avoid repayment to Vitol while expecting the company to continue to operate the facilities and generate power for the territory’s residents.

Governor Bryan has promised to solve this issue in the next 30 days, saying he is “optimistic that we will be able to announce a positive resolution in short order,” as well as noting “we will pay that off, so that it’s no longer a debt to WAPA.”

To date, Governor Bryan has not provided clear details on how this would occur.

U.S. territories continue to need oversight. This hearing is an opportunity to bring much needed transparency. Senate Energy and Natural Resource members must take these issues seriously, ask Governor Bryan the hard questions, and scrutinize thoroughly the territory’s handling of taxpayer dollars.