Lawmakers on the Senate Budget, Appropriations and Finance Committee stressed the need for government agencies to spend federal dollars before they disappear during a budget hearing for the V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency, Energy Office and Fire and Emergency Medical Services Tuesday.

VITEMA Director Daryl Jaschen testified that the agency expects to receive a nearly $5.9 million General Fund appropriation in 2026 and $4.32 million in federal grants. Jaschen said the most significant impact to the agency is expected to be a loss of grant-funded personnel, noting that Federal Emergency Management Agency grants could evaporate “with little or no notice as FEMA redefines grant funding eligibility and expects states and territories to absorb these costs.”

The agency’s deputy director of grants management, Florecita Brunn, later told Sen. Novelle Francis Jr. that FEMA is poised to rescind “Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities” grants awarded to the territory in 2022 and 2023 for half a million dollars and more than $264,000, respectively. After questioning from Senate Majority Leader Kurt Vialet, Brunn acknowledged that the funds were never drawn down. Brunn said one of the grants was earmarked for St. John-based nonprofit Love City Strong and the other was for VITEMA.

“We reached out and they notified us that, because there was no movement, we could not begin any process on the ground,” she said amid prodding from Vialet and Francis.

“Why was there no movement? That’s what we need to get to the bottom of,” Francis said.

The exchange came as the Trump administration has repeatedly cut spending and staff at critical agencies and floated the idea of eliminating FEMA altogether. The agency’s former acting director, Cameron Hamilton, was fired last month, days after telling the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Homeland Security that he didn’t think the agency should disappear. Reuters reported three weeks ago that Hamilton’s replacement, David Richardson, baffled FEMA staffers when he said during an all-hands meeting that he didn’t know the United States had a hurricane season. The White House later claimed Richardson’s remark was a joke.

The uncertainty prompted Francis to ask Jaschen if VITEMA has a contingency plan should FEMA dissolve.

“A lot of that, senator, is still up in the air. As far as contingency … we’re going to have to come back to the Legislature, because that’s where the funding cap I had to work with is based upon,” Jaschen said, adding he was concerned about the 16.3 VITEMA employees whose positions are funded by FEMA. Later, Jaschen said he can’t sustain current operations without those staff members.

Vialet eventually returned to the subject of unspent federal grants, highlighting several earmarked specifically for enhancing cybersecurity.

“With all the stuff going on in cybersecurity, I could find a lot of ways that we could spend the money to protect the Virgin Islands,” he said.

Sen. Marise James picked up where Vialet left off.

“Why aren’t we able to spend the funds? Because those numbers are big numbers, and the deadlines are looming, and I do not like to hear that we’re asking for an extension,” she said, prompting Brunn to explain that funds distributed by the U.S. Homeland Security Department are “very strict.”

“Maybe we’re not on the radar,” James said, noting the climate of spending cuts in Washington. “Maybe that’s good right now — but at some point, I think there’s going to be an examination of money not spent, and what we’re basically saying is: we want to be viewed as a community that spends what it’s given.”

Jaschen’s testimony Tuesday also included an update on the agency’s Emergency Call Centers, which operate the territory’s 911 system. Jaschen said the agency has spent close to $203,000 on overtime for ECC operators this year. In 2026, the agency will have to spend $578,908 to upgrade and maintain its seven-year-old Computer Aided Dispatch and Record Management System, which coordinates response efforts among VITEMA, the V.I. Police Department, the V.I. Fire and Emergency Medical Services, and the V.I. Corrections Bureau. Currently, no funding source has been found, Jaschen said.

Lawmakers later heard from VIFEMS Director Antonio Stevens, who testified in defense of a $35.2 million General Fund appropriation for the coming fiscal year. Stevens said VIFEMS has upped the number of nationally registered Emergency Medical Technicians from 38 to 65 since October 2024. The department also recently received its state certification to train new EMTs, and it expects to add seven ambulances to its fleet within the year.

In the morning, V.I. Energy Office Director Kyle Fleming defended a $1,556.951 General Fund request.