USVI’s Delegate and WAPA Whitewash Failed Generator Project

It is strange times in the U.S. Virgin Islands  (USVI) when the territory’s non-voting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, Stacey Plaskett jumps to defend the notoriously inept public power authority, Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority WAPA.

Recently, leading Republican members of the U.S. House Oversight Committee, led by Byron Donalds of Florida, wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Inspector General (Rae Oliver Davis )and demanded an inquiry into why four $75 million HUD-approved, U.S. taxpayer-funded propane generation units purchased by WAPA are still not working. 

Shockingly, Delegate Plaskett came to the defense of WAPA, releasing a statement calling the inquiry by the Republican lawmakers, “perpetuated propaganda,” and bringing the generators online “did not account for the delays that were inevitably created by the pandemic.”

Interestingly, WAPA released a statement defending the project at about the time Delegate Plaskett released her statement, and claimed the pandemic caused delays, but admits there remains “several gating factors that need to be cleared” in order to get the generators online.

It was surprising to see Delegate Plaskett defend WAPA. In 2019, Delegate Plaskett called on USVI Governor Bryan to declare a state of emergency at WAPA.

How things must have really advanced at WAPA since 2019.

Plaskett Supports Investigation by U.S. House Oversight Committee

To those acute readers, Delegate Plaskett’s statement condemning the Republican lawmakers’ letter also encourages the U.S. House Oversight Committee to “obtain necessary information and push agencies and recipients to use funds appropriately.”

The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) applauds Delegate Plaskett’s call for a deeper examination into the failed $75 million generators to nowhere. We encourage her to send a letter to HUD’s OIG supporting the investigation. 

USVI’s Troubling History of Misusing Federal Dollars

At this point, HUD investigators are quite familiar with the propensity of USVI to misuse federally-allocated dollars. Just recently, HUD’s Inspector General opened two audits of the VI Housing Finance Authority (VIHFA).

First, the OIG is auditing the VIHFA’s monitoring of its 2017 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery funds. According to HUD, the audit is looking into whether the territory “effectively monitored” its CDBG Disaster Recovery funding, “by itself and by sub recipients to ensure the national objectives and performance measures were met.”  

Second, OIG is auditing VIHFA’s CDBG Disaster Recovery Match Program to ensure they are appropriately utilizing the program.

Secretary Fudge: Spend! Spend! Spend!

HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge recently pleaded with the USVI leaders to “move with some urgency” because “the funds can be taken away for use elsewhere.”

Secretary Fudge wants the USVI to shovel money out the door and get it spent, but she should want to ensure these funds are spent effectively. Simply spending money for the sake of spending money is a poor strategy – especially for a territory with a storied history of waste.

TPA thanks Reps. Byron Donalds, Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio), Michael Cloud (R-Texas), and Glenn Grothman (R-Wisc.) for sending the letter and trying to keep the USVI honest.