On the day that Congress took a next step toward passing President Donald Trump’s spending bill, the Virgin Islands Delegate to Congress offered her thoughts about recent wranglings on Capitol Hill. Delegate Stacey Plaskett described efforts being made to raise awareness among local lawmakers about how Congressional actions will impact their own budget considerations.
Hearings on the fiscal year 2026 V.I. executive spending plans are now underway through the 36th Legislature Budget, Appropriations and Finance Committee, with hearings held Monday and Tuesday. Plaskett said she expects that final approval by the Legislature will be linked to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which is still being crafted in Washington.
The bill includes dramatic cuts in social service programs like the SNAP nutrition and school lunch programs, Medicaid, Medicare and Meals on Wheels. It also calls for revisions to the student loan program; Plaskett points out that 70% of students attending the University of the Virgin Islands receive federal Pell Grants.
And public school administrators nationwide received letters Monday from the Trump administration announcing hefty cuts in allotments, many are counting on, ahead of the new school year.
“This bill is really going to have a huge detrimental impact on the Virgin Islands and across our country. I know that I’ve been talking with Senate leadership and our local legislature’s leadership about budget cuts that we’re going to have to make and ways that we’re going to have to figure out to work around,” the delegate said.
On Tuesday, the federal tax and spending bill won Senate approval after Vice President JD Vance cast a tiebreaking vote. The measure now returns to the House of Representatives, where it won initial passage; observers say it may be subject to further revisions on the second round. Plaskett noted that Democratic lawmakers in the Senate tried to modify the spending plan but failed to do so.
“The Democratic senators (sic) offered amendments to highlight what the (Republican) majority is not willing to do, the same way we did in the House when the bill was in front of us,” she said.
Plaskett suggested that elected officials in the V.I. may have to offset some of those anticipated cutbacks by finding new revenues. “We’ve got to incentivize new businesses and new revenues to come in here because we cannot rely entirely on the federal government for those resources … We’ve got to increase our own taxes, increase our own revenues coming in so that we can make up that difference,” the delegate said.
The V.I. delegate offered her thoughts while joining guests on a scheduled event held on St. John Tuesday. The Ram Head Trail Hike took place two days ahead of the territory’s observance of Emancipation Day. Ram Head was officially recognized as a historic site in March 2024.
Tuesday marked the third annual hike sponsored by the delegate to Congress.
Thousands of visitors over the years have hiked along the trail for outdoor recreation. For Plaskett and others, it gained greater significance after being dedicated as one of the sites linked to the 1733 Fortsberg Uprising.
“ … we started this hike as a way to give honor, and memorialize and commemorate those of our ancestors who came before us and the work that they did,” she said.

But some of those who joined the hike, like Ira Griggs from St. Thomas, said he was just glad to spend the day enjoying nature.
“The hike was nice. Little hard and challenging,” Griggs said, “but I liked the hike.”
Challenges were also on the delegate’s mind when sharing her thoughts on current events and the qualities of leadership. “I think what our islands are going to need … is to listen to the people and really internalize what those needs are, and to be able to gather us all together in one place to move forward together for the betterment of everyone,” Plaskett said.