The federal budget bill Congress just passed to avoid a government shutdown was born as a bill from Delegate Donna M. Christensen to help the V.I. Water and Power Authority move to renewable energy, according to Christensen’s office.
House Resolution-83 was first introduced by Christensen on the opening day of the 113th Congress in January 2013, along with H.R. 92, to direct the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service to make a grant to WAPA for energy generation, transmission and distribution, according to the statement from her office.
H.R. 83 proposed assembling a group of experts to help all the territories move away from fossil fuels and transition to locally produced renewable fuels. After the committee was told of the increases in V.I. energy costs, it sent the bill out of subcommittee and committee. The Senate passed the same provision in its Omnibus Territories bill in June, the statement said.
According to Christensen’s office, the bill faced many hurdles, including a hold based on jurisdiction by the Committee on Natural Resources, concern about budget impact by House Republican leadership, and others.
"But when it came time to pass the bill that would avoid a federal government shutdown and fund the federal government for 2015 and the (continuing resolution) for the Department Homeland Security, it was my bill, H.R. 83, amended to add provisions that were critically important to the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, that was used as its vehicle," Christensen said in a statement.
The "CROmnibus" was passed as an amendment to the original H.R. 83. It is called the CROmnibus because it combines elements of an omnibus spending bill and a continuing resolution, which is used when there is no agreement on the underlying spending bill.
"I consider it an honor, despite my non support of the Dodd-Frank, Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation and the District of Columbia provisions, that my legislation provided the vehicle for such an important piece of legislation as I prepare to depart after 18 years of service," Christensen said.
