[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 172 (Sunday, November 23, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2426]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. DONNA M. CHRISTENSEN

                         of the virgin islands

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 21, 2003

  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation 
to create the position of Chief Financial Officer for the Government of 
the Virgin Islands. It is my hope and intention that by temporarily 
placing the reins of fiscal management of the Virgin Islands government 
outside of the political arena we will be able to end years of crisis 
management and place the islands on sound financial footing for the 
long term.
  Mr. Speaker, my beloved community, has been plagued over the years 
and several administrations, by one economic or fiscal crisis after 
another. If allowed to continue or recur, they have the potential of 
forcing us into total fiscal collapse.
  The factors which have caused these crises are numerous and include 
among other things: the decline in our tourism sector due to the 
demographic shift from cities of the Eastern Seaboard to areas in the 
West and Midwest; being hit by as many as 6 catastrophic hurricanes 
since 1989; and the fact that the territory's geography mandates a 
large government workforce and necessitates the replication of many 
basic services.
  When the current administration of Governor Charles W. Turnbull took 
office in January of 1999, the territory was in a fiscal state of 
enormous and alarming proportions.
  While Governor Turnbull is to be commended for his response to that 
crisis and the succeeding ones he has faced, because of the special and 
unique burdens we face, history informs that the necessary political 
resolve to put measures in place to address these problems, some of 
which will call for public sacrifice, is best found and sustained 
outside of the political process.
  It is for this reason that I am introducing the Virgin Islands CFO 
Act today. The CFO will be empowered to oversee and approve all 
spending of the government of the Virgin Islands and be authorized by 
law to disapprove items of spending which would send the government 
into financial deficit. The CFO position would sunset after five years 
and while he or she would be appointed by the Governor of the Virgin 
Islands from a list of names selected by a search commission, and 
confirmed by the Legislature, he or she will not be an ``at-will'' 
employee of the government and could only be removed for cause.
  Mr. Speaker, this is not an easy bill for me to introduce, but it is 
a necessary one at this time. It is an action that I feel is in the 
best interest of all of my constituents and the responsible course of 
action for me to take. I ask for my colleagues support.

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