CONGRESSWOMAN PLASKETT ADDRESSES CRITICAL PRIORITIES FOR U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS AT INTERAGENCY GROUP ON INSULAR AREAS PLENARY SESSION

For Immediate Release Contact: Alayah Phipps

September 5, 2025 202-813-2793

PRESS RELEASE

CONGRESSWOMAN PLASKETT ADDRESSES CRITICAL PRIORITIES FOR THE

U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS AT THE INTERAGENCY GROUP ON INSULAR AREAS SENIOR PLENARY SESSION

Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett delivered remarks yesterday at the Interagency Group on Insular Areas (IGIA) 2025 Senior Plenary Session at the U.S. Department of the Interior, addressing key opportunities and challenges facing the U.S. Virgin Islands.

"I appreciate the opportunity to share my programmatic and legislative priorities for the Virgin Islands during the IGIA session," said Congresswoman Plaskett. The session brought together territorial officials from American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam, featuring presentations on proposed working groups covering infrastructure, workforce development, energy, and biosecurity initiatives.

Congresswoman Plaskett highlighted several significant achievements for the territory, citing her work in coalition building at the congressional level to negotiate with the Trump Administration to give the Virgin Islands an exemption from punitive port service fees that would have increased shipping costs by 50-60%. By working with Ambassador Greer, the United States Trade Representative, Plaskett secured a 2,000 nautical mile exemption that supports the Virgin Islands and our neighbors. Plaskett also lauded the permanent increase of the rum cover-over rate to $13.25 per proof gallon effective on December 31, 2025, secured through H.R. 1. "This year's victory-making the $13.25 rate permanent-represents the culmination of sustained legislative efforts and demonstrates how IGIA's important advocacy platform can work alongside direct Congressional action and bipartisan coalition-building," noted Plaskett.

In her remarks, Congresswoman Plaskett emphasized that that the cover-over victory is not complete until the Virgin Islands receives its fair share of worldwide rum cover-over revenue, noting that the current base percentages established in 1983 under the Caribbean Basin Initiative do not reflect the Virgin Islands' true market share in today's rum industry. The ratio was never adjusted when Diageo relocated from Puerto Rico to the Virgin Islands.

Plaskett raised critical concerns about the Virgin Islands' healthcare system, which faces acute challenges requiring immediate federal action. "Medicare reimbursement rates for local hospitals rely on catastrophically outdated data-1982 for Schneider Regional Medical Center and 1996 for Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital," Plaskett explained. "We cannot build a prosperous future while our citizens face systemic discrimination and a broken healthcare system. These outdated reimbursement rates undermine our hospitals' ability to provide quality healthcare. Prior to the 2017 hurricanes, we had nearly solved this issue, but following the hurricanes, CMS determined that the rebasing would need to occur once the hospitals were rebuilt." Plaskett emphasized that this change, which does not require congressional action, must be a priority and focus of the federal government.

Congresswoman Plaskett also expressed concerns about the National Park Service's engagement with the Virgin Islands as a whole, both on St. Croix and St. John. Plaskett discussed the NPS' lack of engagement and transparency and use of bureaucracy as a barrier and excuse to work with the community. "The National Park Service is in many respects an invasive species on the people of the Virgin Islands more concerned with flora and fauna than with people," Plaskett shared.

Plaskett outlined several ongoing legislative initiatives designed to transform the territory's economic future. The DiasporaLink Act would establish the first U.S.-Africa fiber optic cable via the Virgin Islands, making the territory a "Digital Safe Harbor" for high-tech jobs and digital businesses. The REVIVE VI Act, which fixes an unintended consequence of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to restore the Virgin Islands' economic development tools, continues to be a priority.

"The territories have long faced underfunding and exclusion from federal infrastructure programs, and I am committed to working with this Administration and across party lines-putting people over politics to lower costs, create jobs, and strengthen our communities."

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