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March 8, 2007 – During attempts by the Finance Committee Wednesday to ferret out information on the Virgin Island's loss of millions of dollars, Senator Louis Patrick Hill charged that there is no honest effort to ascertain what is causing the hemorrhaging of federal funds earmarked for the Department of Education.
In impassioned tones, an indignant Senator Hill declared that political rhetoric invariably spews forth when legislators attempt to ascertain who and what is accountable for the loss of funds and the subsequent loss of goods and services. "Our children are particularly hurt by what is an apparently broken system in the Education Department's fiscal management", stated Hill.
He went on to say that the answer was clear during an explanation from a testifier as to why the Department of Education has only encumbered 13% of $17 million dollars in reimbursable federal funds. "She did not want to hurt anyone's feelings by giving their names. We have to put a face on this incompetence that is hurting the people of the Virgin Islands. Somebody has to be held accountable for the loss of at least fifty million dollars in the last few years alone."
In a later statement, Senator Hill said he wanted no part in "spinning our wheels, and without accountability and a resolution for change, that is exactly what we are doing.
To this end, Senator Hill requested that the Finance Chairman, Senator Terrence Nelson, call before the Committee and subpoena if necessary, all Program Managers and School Principals to provide serious answers about the loss of millions of dollars for our children and the potential loss of millions again in fiscal year 2007.
