Mammogram Funding Bid Collapses as Senators Clash Over Streetlight Bill and Hospital Accountability

A promise by Senator Ray Fonseca to offer an amendment to Bill 36-0210 which would authorize the purchase of a mammography machine for the Schneider Regional Medical Center did not come to pass, after several lawmakers expressed their displeasure with his approach.

Bill 36-0210 is an act appropriating the sum of $4 million from the V.I. Insurance Guaranty Fund to the V.I. Water and Power Authority for the repair, replacement, and operation of streetlights throughout the Territory. It was designated as the bill to which non-germane amendments could be made during Monday’s legislative session.

When Bill 36-0210 was first discussed last month, several lawmakers took issue with the proposed funding source and the decision to provide the Water and Power Authority with another injection of funds. Senator Kurt Vialet, the bill’s sponsor, insisted that the government had “not paid the required amount to keep street lights on.” At that December 15th meeting, Senator Fonseca lamented that other critical needs, including hospitals, remain underfunded.

On Monday, he informed his colleagues that SRMC’s mammography machine is “out of service,” creating a “backlog of women awaiting routine breast cancer screening.” He went on to emphasize the importance of breast cancer screening. It was to that end that Sen. Fonseca requested the “favorable consideration” of the Legislature to reduce the amount of funding designated for WAPA.