Plaskett’s Centennial Bill Sees Bipartisan Support As Over 70 Congresspeople Sign On

ST. CROIX — Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett announced via press release this morning that her bill to create a Congressional Commission and postal stamp commemorating the coming centennial anniversary of the transfer of the Virgin Islands from Denmark to the United States, has been receiving widespread support from congresspeople on both side of the aisle.

The Centennial Commission Act, introduced earlier this month alongside a resolution (H.R. 2615) to create a postal stamp commemorating the historical 1917 event, has already garnered the support of 74 members of Congress.

“I am grateful for the support of my colleagues, and hopeful that their support will help move this important legislation forward. Like I shared previously, a Congressional Centennial Commission will allow us an opportunity to revisit the history leading up to and directly following the transfer and educate those unaware of that history on a national level — the issues that continue to exist a century later,” Plaskett said.

The freshman congresswoman said she expects the Commission to not only bring a national awareness to the events commemorating the Transfer, but to also assist the local efforts already underway.

The Congressional Commission will engage the other lawmakers in Congress and the Barack Obama administration in a new national discussion around the issues that still exist in the Virgin Islands and America’s other island territories.

The members of Congress who signed on to Plaskett’s Centennial Commission Act have also signed a letter which Plaskett said would be submitted to the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee in support of her recommendation for the creation of a commemorative stamp.

“My Colleagues have also signed a letter of support that we have sent the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee encouraging them to issue a postal stamp commemorating the centennial, and we are hopeful that the support of 74 members of Congress will bode well for us when the Committee takes up our resolution in July,” Plaskett said.