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LIE3r-RARY
KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY 
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON
TERRITORIAL AND INSULAR AFFAIRS
HEARING
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON
INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NINETY-THIRD CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
ON
H.R. 7699
A BILL TO PROVIDE FOR THE FILLING OF VACANCIES IN
THE LEGISLATURE OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS
HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
JULY 10, 1973
Serial No. 93-24
Printed for the use of the
committee on Interior and Insular Affairs
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
99 875 
WASHINGTON : 1973
11
1.
COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS
JAMES A. HALEY, Florida, Chairman
ROY A. TAYLOR, North Carolina
HAROLD T. JOHNSON, California
MORRIS K. UDALL, Arizona
PHILLIP BURTON, California
THOMAS S. FOLEY, Washington
ROBERT W. KASTENMEIER, Wisconsin
JAMES G. O'HARA, Michigan
PATSY T. MINK, Hawaii
LLOYD MEEDS, Washington
ABRAHAM KAZEN, JR., Texas
ROBERT G. STEPHENS, JR., Georgia
JOSEPH P. VIGORITO, Pennsylvania
JOHN MELCHER, Montana
TENO RONCALIO, Wyoming
JONATHAN B. BINGHAM, New York
JOHN F. SEIBERLING, Ohio
HAROLD RUNNELS, New Mexico
YVONNE BRATHWAITE BURKE,
California
ANTONIO BORJA WON PAT, Guam
WAYNE OWENS, Utah
RON DE LUGO, Virgin Islands
JAMES R. JONES, Oklahoma
JOHN P. SAYLOR, Pennsylvania, Ranking
Minority Member
CRAIG HOSMER, California
JOE SKUBITZ, Kansas
SAM STEIGER, Arizona
DON H. CLAUSEN, California
PHILIP E. RUPPE, Michigan
JOHN N. HAPPY CAMP, Oklahoma
MANUEL LUJAN, JR., New Mexico
JOHN DELLENBACK, Oregon
KEITH G. SEBELIUS, Kansas
RALPH S. REGULA, Ohio
ALAN STEELMAN, Texas
DAVID TOWELL, Nevada
JAMES G. MARTIN, North Carolina
WILLIAM M. KETCHUM, California
PAUL W. CRONIN, Massachusetts
DON YOUNG, Alaska
SIDNEY L. MCFARLAND, Staff Director and Chief Clerk
LEWIS A. SIGLER, Counsel
CHARLES LEPPERT, Jr., Minority Counsel
SUBCOMMITTEE ON TERRITORIAL AND INSULAR
PHILIP BURTON, Chairman
ROY A. TAYLOR
THOMAS S. FOLEY
ROBERT W. KASTENMEIER
PATSY T. MINK
LLOYD MEEDS
ROBERT G. STEPHENS, JR.
JOSEPH P. VIGORITO
JONATHAN B. BINGHAM
YVONNE BRATHWAITE BURKE
ANTONIO BORJA WON PAT
RON DE LUGO
AFFAIRS
DON H. CLAUSEN
JOHN P. SAYLOR
CRAIG HOSMER
JOE SKUBITZ
PHILIP E. RUPPE
MANUEL LUJAN, JR.
KEITH G. SEBELIUS
RALPH S. REGULA
JAMES G. MARTIN
MAURICE J. SHEAN, ADRIAN P. WINKEL, Consultants on Territorial and Insular Affairs
NOTE.—The chairman of the full committee is an ex Melo voting member of this sub-
committee. The first listed minority member is counterpart to the subcommittee chairman.
CONTENTS
Page
Text of H.R. 7699 
 1
Report of the Department of the Interior 
 1
Statements:
Carpenter, Hon. Stanley S., Director, Office of Territorial Affairs,
Department of the Interior 
 3
de Lugo, Hon. Ron, a Representative in Congress from the Virgin
Islands  
 3
Letter:
Kyl, Hon. John, Assistant Secretary of the Interior, to Hon. James
A. Haley, dated July 9, 1973 (report) 
 1
Material submitted by Hon. Ron de Lugo for the record:
Resolution No. 579, passed July 19, 1971, Ninth Legislature of the
Virgin Islands 
 11
Articles from the Daily News, St. Thomas, V.1.:
Time to Change the Law Regarding Senate Vacancies 
 11
Time for Congress to Act 
 12
Letters:
de Lugo, Hon. Ron, to Hon. Melvin H. Evans, Governor of the
Virgin Islands, dated June 7, 1973 
 13
de Lugo, Hon. Ron, to Hon. Melvin H. Evans, Governor of the
Virgin Islands, dated June 25, 1973 
 13
(m)
FILLING VACANCIES IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE
VIRGIN ISLANDS
TUESDAY, JULY 10, 1973
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
SUBCOMMI1 1EE ON TERRITORIAL AND INSULAR AFFAIRS
OF THE COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS,
Washington, D.C.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:25 a.m., in room
2257, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Phillip Burton (chair-
man of the subcommittee) presiding.
Present: Representatives Burton (presiding) , Kastenmeier, Steph-
ens, Won Pat, de Lugo, Clausen, Meeds, Luj an, and Taylor.
Also present: Maurice Shean, consultant to the subcommittee, and
Nancy Larson, clerk.
Mr. BURTON. The Subcommittee on Territorial and Insular Affairs
will be called to order.
The meeting this morning is on H.R. 7699 by Mr. de Lugo to pro-
vide for the filling of vacancies in the Legislature of the Virgin Islands
and without objection, at this point in the record we will have H.R.
7699 and also the Department letter dated July 9, 1973 and the state-
ment of our distinguished colleague, Mr. de Lugo.
[H.R. 7699, the le#er from the U.S. Department of the Interior to
Hon. James A. Haley, and the statement of Hon. Ron de Lugo in
full follow:]
[H.R. 7699, 934 Cong., 1st sess.]
A BILL To provide for the filling of vacancies in the Legislature of the Virgin Islands
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States
of America in Congress assembled, That section 6(h) of the Revised Organic
Act of the Virgin Islands (48 U.S.C. 1572 (h) ) 
is amended to read as follows:
"(h) The Legislature of the Virgin Islands shall by law provide the procedure
for filling any vacancy in the office of member of the legislature."
SEC. 2. The amendment made by the first section of this Act shall apply with
respect to vacancies occurring on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY.
Washington, D.C., July 9, 1978.
Hon. JAMES A. HALEY,
Choi ryn a n. Committee on Inferior and InRular Affairs,
House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.
DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This responds to your request for the views of this
Department on H.R. 7699, a bill "To provide for the filling of vacancies in the
Legislature of the Virgin Islands."
We recommend enactment of this bill.
H.R. 7699 would amend Section 6(h) of the Revised Organic Act of the
Virgin Islands to provide that the Virgin Islands Legislature shall establish the
procedure for filling vacancies occurring on or after the date of enactment, among
(1)
r4.
2
its members. At present the procedure is contained in Federal law and authorizes
the governor to fill all vacancies. In view of the fact that the Virgin Islands is
now essentially self-governing, we believe that the Virgin Islands legislature
should deal with the manner of filling its vacancies. Whether the legislature
chooses to have the governor continue to fill all vacancies or adopt some other
procedure is up to it. We would expect it to continue the requirement that no
person filling a vacancy would hold office longer than the remainder of the term
for which his predecessor had been elected.
The Office of Management and Budget has advised that there is no objection
to the presentation of this report from the standpoint of the Administration's
program.
Sincerely yours,
JOHN KYL,
Assistant Secretary of the Interior.
STATEMENT OF HON. RON DE LTJGO, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS
FROM THE VIRGIN ISLANDS
Dear Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, I appreciate the op-
portunity to appear on behalf of my bill H.R. 7699: to provide for the filling of
vacancies in the Legislature of the Virgin Islands.
This is an uncomplicated piece of legislation. It quite simply amends Section
6(h) of the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands to the effect that, the
Legislature of the Virgin Islands shall by law provide the procedure for filling
any vacancy in the office of a member of the legislature. The legislation provides
that this amendment shall apply with respect to vacancies occurring on or after
the date of enactment of this Act.
While lacking complexity, this bill has great significance to the people of the
Virgin Islands as a necessary part of our right to self-determination and in
furthering the democratic traditions of the territory. To continue to allow the
Governor to appoint individuals to fill vacant legislative seats is to subborn the
legislative branch to that of the executive. It also retains the undemocratic
colonial concept that the king has the power to appoint members of parliament.
Under present law the Governor is given almost total discretion in making his
decision; the only constraint being that his appointee must be a resident of the
district to which he is appointed to represent and meet the statutory quali-
fications of membership in the legislature.
In the Virgin Islands Legislature, a unicameral body of only fifteen members,
the unilateral authority of the Governor to fill vacancies could make it possible
for an irresponsible chief executive to frustrate the will of the electorate through
the use of his power of appointment. Thus in a closely divided legislature the
executive, in filling only one or two vacancies, might completely change the
political alignment of the assembly and totally alter the decision making balance
that had been determined by the voters.
That this is an unsatisfactory condition to the people of the Territory, is
evidenced by the fact that the Ninth Legislature passed a resolution petitioning
Congress to amend the Revised Organic Act to provide for special elections to
fill vacancies in the Senate that occur more than six months prior to the next
general election. In addition, the proposed Constitution of the Virgin Islands
considered this problem and contains a provision for filling legislative vacancies
by means other than executive appointment.
The legislative history of the enactment of the present method for filling
legislative vacancies does not disclose any rationale for the procedure which was
signed into law. However, it is interesting to note that the bill supported by the
Virgin Islands Legislature Assembly at the time when this provision of law was
considered provided that vacancies "would be filled as determined by law".
The Report of the Committee on American Legislatures of the American
Political Science Association states that, "appointment by governors appears
contrary to the principle of separation of powers". It is on this basis that I partic-
ularly object to the present method of filling legislative vacancies. My legis-
lation does not specify the particular method which should be employed because
I sincerely believe that this is a decision to be made by the people of the Virgin
Islands through their elected representatives.
Mr. BURTON. Mr. Carpenter could you step up here, and Mr. de
Lugo, would you also like to take the witness chair and describe the
purpose of the bill and the manner of achieving that purpose?
3
STATEMENT OF HON. STANLEY S. CARPENTER, DIRECTOR, OFFICE
OF TERRITORIAL AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Mr. CARPENTER. Yes, Mr. Chairman, I have a very short statement
which I 
shall read at this time.
Mr. Chairman, it is a pleasure for me to appear before you today
for the purpose of testifying on H.R. 7699, "A bill to provide for the
filling of vacancies in the Legislature of the Virgin Islands."
The Department of the Interior supports the bill and urges its
enactment.
At the present time, the procedure of filling vacancies in the Legis-
lature of the Virgin Islands is set forth in the Revised Organic Act
of the Virgin Islands, and therefore, is a subject for Federal legisla-
tion. The Organic Act provides at present that vacancies in the legisla-
ture shall be filled for the unexpired portion of the term by appoint-
ment of the Governor.
The amendment to the Organic Act proposed by H.R. 7699 would
give the legislature the authority to establish in territorial, rather
than Federal, law the procedure for filling vacancies in its member-
ship. It may be that the legislature, in its wisdom, may enact legisla-
tion to continue the present system of gubernatorial appointments, or
it may determine that another means of filling vacancies is preferable.
We believe this is a proper matter for local determination by the legis-
lative branch of the territorial government, and therefore, we sup-
port the bill.
From a comparative standpoint, we would point out that the Or-
ganic Act of the other organized territory, the territory of Guam, has
since its passage in 1950 had a provision similar to that proposed
here, -permitting the Territorial legislature to determine the method
for filling vacancies in.its membership.
I will be pleased to answer any questions which members of the
committee may have. Thank you. Mr. Chairman.
Mr. BURTON. Thank you, Mr. Carpenter.
Any questions?
Mr. CLAUSEN. No questions.
Mr. BURTON. Mr. de Lugo, I would like to commend you for your
statement and you can step forward if you want and expand upon
it.
Mr. Carpenter, you stay right there. I have one question to ask
both of you when Mr. de Lugo completes his testimony.
STATEMENT OF HON. RON de LUGO, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE VIRGIN ISLANDS, SPONSOR OF H.R. 7699
Mr. DR L-c-ao. Mr. Chairman, before I begin, I would like to thank
my colleagues for the good turnout this morning-. I know how many
of the other committees are meeting and how busy the Congress is
just coming back. I would like to thank Bob Kastenmeier and Lloyd
Meeds who were here a few moments ago. I would like to request
unanimous consent that my statement be placed in the record.
Mr. BURTON. That has already been done.
Mr. DE LUGO. Twill be very brief.
I think that the legislation is meritorious. I don't understand how
4
we overlooked this in the past. Guam at the present time has this
authority and all of the States. In the Virgin Islands the reality of the
situation is that on two occasions within the last approximately 2
years there have been vacancies that have occurred in the legisla-
ture. One was by death and the other was by resignation. In both cases,
they were extremely popular members of the legislature, and by
popular, I mean individuals who received substantial mandates from
the electorate were removed from office. Under the present system
the chief executive fills those vacancies, irregardless of how long it
is until the general election.
My own strong feeling is that these vacancies should be filled in a
special election, particularly with the small electorate we have, ap-
proximately 20.000 people. However, because of my commitments to
self-government, I would leave this entirely to the legislature to deter-
mine by Virgin Island law, which would of course mean that they
would do this in conjunction with the chief executive. He would have
the opportunity to veto legislation if he felt it was unconscionable.
Mr. BURTON. Mr. de Lugo, am I correct that your intention and
the language of the legislation contemplate that the legislature must
act and concur or the legislature must override the Governor in what-
ever procedure is established for the filling of vacancies and for what-
ever period of time up to, not beyond that of the unexpired term of the
vacated seat. Is that your understanding?
Mr. DE 1.417GO. That is absolutely correct, Mr. Chairman, I think this
follows right down the road the process that this committee has been
following for a number of years and the administration also. As much
self-determination as possible.
Mr. BURTON. The legislation could contain a requirement for a
special election, the legislation could contain the provision that the
Governor has the authority to appoint, or it could contain authority
for the Governor to appoint subject to the approval of the legisla-
ture. Similarly, it could contain provision for an interim appointment
pending the next election of any sort in the area. I guess putting it in
other terms, the Virgin Islands, if this legislation is approved, can
make its own judgment with respect to the various possible alterna-
tives.
Mr. DE LrGo. That is correct, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. TAYLOR. Would the gentleman yield?
Mr. BURTON. I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina.
Mr. TAYLOR. I just want to mention one other alternative which is
used in some States, in case of vacancy. The executive committee of
the party to which the last legislator belonged makes a nomination
and the Governor then is required to appoint the person nominated.
That places the real power in the executive committee of the political
party and it has some advantages. It is quick and the legislature
might be in session, and you want a quick appointment.
Next, it is inexpensive and may occur near the end of the term
when you wouldn't want to go to the expense of filling that vacancy
because you might not know whether or not the legislature will meet
again. That is a procedure used in my State very effectively.
Mr. WON PAT. Would the gentleman yield?
Mr. TAYLOR. Yes.
Mr. WON PAT. Do you mean, that in case there is a vacancy and
5
say the person was a Democrat, that the Democratic Party would
nominate him and say, if he was a Republican he would be nominated
by the Republican Party?
Mr. TAYLOR. That is correct.
Mr. WON PAT. Thank you.
Mr. TAYLOR. The executive committee of the party.
Mr. BURTON. Mr. de Lugo, I thank you very much, I think that is
another useful option available to the legislature.
Are,there any vacancies currently, Mr. de Lugo?
Mr. DE LUGO. Not at the present time.
Mr. BURTON. Now, under the wording of this proposal, if a vacancy
occurs between now and the date of enactment, that vacancy is still to
be filled by the Governor. Is it possible to amend this legislation to re-
quire that the legislation establish the procedure for filling a vacancy
that would occur between now and the date of enactment. Do you have
any reaction to that?
Mr. DE LUGO. My feeling would be to amend the legislation in that
manner. There is no question that the electorate finds it repugnant to
have these vacancies filled in a manner which they are filled at the
present time.
Mr. BURTON. Would the Department have any objection to an
amendment that in effect would hold in advance that any vacancy that
exists on the date of enactment would be subject to whatever political
process is determined by the Virgin Islands?
Mr. CARPENTER. No, we would have no objection to that, Mr. Chair-
man.
Mr. CLAUSEN. Would the gentleman yield?
Mr. BURTON. The Governor, I might note, even with this, if a va-
cancy occurs between now and the date of enactment, could fill it by
appointment. He could make that political judgment if he saw fit.
We're not necessarily binding him in any respect although it would
be a political judgment the Governor would simply have to make.
The gentleman from California, Mr. Clausen.
Mr. CLAUSEN. I wonder if you could provide to the committee for
our hearing record the number of elected officials in the legislature as
well as in the executive branch of the government of the Virgin Is-
lands, and what is the political balance between the two parties?
Mr. DE LUGO. There are 15 members of the legislature and there is
the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor and the Delegate to the
Congress. There are also the boards of education and elections. Those
are the only elected officials.
The present breakdown in the legislature of the Virgin Islands is
as follows: there are two Republicans' 
six Democrats and seven ICM's,
the last is a local independent political party.
Mr. BURTON. Do the Lieutenant Governor and Governor run in tan-
dem?
Mr. DE LUGO. They run in tandem, but what has occurred in the
Virgin Islands at the present time is that the Lieutenant Governor,
who was elected with the Governor and is Republican resigned, and
a Democrat resigned from the legislature and became the Lieutenant
Governor. So we have a Republican Governor, Democrat Lieutenant
Governor, and there was a vacancy in the legislature that was filled by
appointment, filled by a Republican.
99-875-73 
2
6
Mr. CLAUSEN Who appointed the Lieutenant Governor?
Mr. DE LUGO. The Governor appoints him, subject to legislative
confirmation.
Mr. BURTON. Is that pursuant to territorial laws in addition to the
Organic Act?
Mr. DE LUGO. Pursuant to the Organic Act, I believe.
Mr. CARPENTER. I believe that is so.
Mr. BURTON. One thing I would ask. Mr. de Lugo, I would ask you
to look through the various election procedures in the Organic Act and
perhaps at some point come in with a more omnibus approach, where
it is consistent with our Constitution, that the political process of the
Virgin Islands decides these matters for themselves. I am not sure
how broad in scope the general idea would be, but I just think we have
reached a stage where we do not want to be sitting, hearing every de-
tail of election procedures, as long as the Constitution is abided by,
that are developed by the political parties of the Virgin Islands.
The gentleman from New Mexico, Mr. Lujan.
Mr. LUJAN. I am wondering, Mr. Chairman, Mr. de Lugo, if per-
haps in passing some kind of legislation it might work out better when
the chief executive and the legislature are of the same party. It seems
at the moment part of the reason for it is the objection of one politi-
cal party to someone of another political party appointing someone,
would it not work a little smoother if we delayed this thing until
such time as either the Republicans gain control of the Virgin Islands
Legislature or the Democrats get the governorship?
Mr. BURTON. May I point out to the gentleman from New Mexico,
that it is clear that the record in this respect is clear. We require the
Governor to participate in this process in the sense that he must sign
the bill or there must be the votes to override it, which is a two-thirds
majority.
Mr. LUJAN. Two-thirds.
Mr. BURTON. That is to avoid the legislature from imposing its will
unilaterally on the executive. We assume whatever considerations are
valid will prevail since no one party has even a majority, and the
process quite clearly would require, in party terms at least, that two
of the three parties agree on an override in the event that is done.
That probably is about as safe a situation as we could construct.
Mr. DE LUGO. Would the chairman yield?
Mr. BURTON. Yes.
Mr. DE LUGO. This is not a partisan political matter in the Virgin
Islands. The feeling among the Virgin Islands people irregardless of
party, is they find it repugnant because it is a throwback. Here we
have come so far in self-government and this committee has carried
us down that road, gotten the elected Governor' 
Delegate in the Con-
gress, and the administration has helped us in
F•-• 
this and suddenly we
find ourselves with a chief executive and I am not talking personali-
ties now, I am talking about the process when there is a vacancy he
can put anybody in there. It is a throwback to the time when the Vir-
gin Islands were under Denmark and they had a colonial consul
and the King appointed people to represent his interest in there and
that is the closet analogy I can make.
Again, I will say that most people in the Virgin Islands feel this
way, that the vacancies should be filled by the electorate. However,
this is a determination which will be made by the legislature and the
elected Governor by local law.
Mr. LUJAN. Your preference then would be a special election?
Mr. DE Limo. Unless it is 60 days before.
Mr. LUJAN. Is there any State that requires a special election for
State legislature.
Mr. BURTON. Ours does. California requires a special election.
I think that really the point is that each area has its own view of
what it ought to do with its own problems. You may prefer to have
special elections, or you may not. But certainly we don't want to get
involved in that process. I have one amendment here, on line 9 where
it says vacancies occurring. I would like to add the language "existing
on or" so section 2 of the bill would read after the amendment: "The
amendment made by the first section of this Act shall apply with re-
spect to vacancies existing on or occurring on or after the date of enact-
ment of this Act."
Is there any objection to that amendment?
Mr. CLAUSEN. Are we in markup?
Mr. BURTON. We're doing both.
Mr. CLAUSEN. We're in final passage.
Mr. LUJAN. Is the legislature in session now?
Mr. BurirroN. The gentleman from California has a substitute.
Mr. CLAUSEN. Let me ask a couple of questions here to clear up in
mind and the record. I am concerned about the possible additional
expenses involved in this. Are there any expenses that would be re-
quired of the Federal Government or the territorial government, as a
result of the enactment of this legislation?
Mr. DE Limo. You addressed that to me? I won't reply to the Fed-
eral Government, but the local government, it will depend upon the
determination of the legislature and the Governor as to the procedure
that is set up.
Mr. CARPENTER. Yes, depending on what the legislature will decide.
Presumably, if they decide on the special election, there would be cer-
tain election expenses which would be borne by the territorial gov-
ernment. I do not see any Federal expenses.
Mr. CLAUSEN. Now, I notice that we do not have the Governor or
his office listed as a witness. Do we have a statement from the Gover-
nor on this does anyone know?
Mr. DE LUGO. Again, I will reply.
I would like unanimous consent to submit correspondence which I
addressed to the Governor on June 7. I addressed the following letter
to Governor Evans:
"Enclosed are copies of H.R. 6135 and H.R. 7699 which I have in-
troduced in the House of Representatives, and which are tentatively
scheduled for hearings, later this month, before the House Interior
and Insular Affairs Committee.
"I would appreciate receiving any comments you would care to make
regarding these legislative proposals, or any information you believe
would be useful to the committee in its deliberations on these bills.
"Thank you very much for your consideration on this matter, and
with warm personal regards, I am, Sincerely" et cetera. That, as I said
was sent on June 7.
I received no reply to that, and again I corresponded with the Gov-
8
ernor outlining my position on the bill and explaining it extensively
to the Governor and again requested the Governor's comments. That
was sent to the Governor on June 25, 1973.
Again I received no reply.
Mr. CARPENTER. May I add, Mr. Chairman, that Mr. Thomas Dunn,
the territorial officer of my office, was recently down in the Virgin
Islands and talked to the Governor, who stated that he had no ob-
jection to the bill. Is that correct, Mr. Dunn?
Mr. DUNN. Yes.
Mr. BURTON. Well, here again the Governor's views or the legisla-
ture's views aren't that persuasive. It is our mission to extricate our-
selves from the involvement in the political processes provided, of
course, this continuing concern about the Constitution. But otherwise
it is a matter of a political question and let the political processes
down there work their will one way or another. We should not be in-
volved in throwing our weight in either direction in this respect.
There is no other route to take. Other than for us to get—we're all too
involved as a matter of at least theory in too many details of the self-
government. It only makes sense for these decisions to be determined
locally for whatever reason. The local people should decide for what-
ever reason which procedure they like or they don't like. That is the
general thrust of our democratic system.
Mr. CLAUSEN. Mr. Chairman, I am wondering what guarantees or
assurances do we have that once this legislation is enacted that there
would be a balanced input from the legislative and executive branch?
Mr. BURTON. We require that they determine how this be done by
act of the legislature, which requires either the signature of the Gover-
nor or two-thirds vote to override just as in the great number of other
instances where there is a difference.
I assure the committee that it is not the chairman's desire in any
way to involve himself or us in the political effects of any of this.
My affection for the Governor is well known. I view this action ex-
clusively as a way of shedding ourselves of this vestigal aspect of the
relationship between us and the interior workings of the Virgin Is-
lands.
Yes, the gentleman from New Mexico.
Mr. LUJAN. Mr. Chairman, commenting on the amendment whieh
you offered, might I say that we might leave it up to the time when the
proper legislation is passed by the Government of the Virgin Islands.
because you say on or after the date of this act, and supposing the
legislature doesn't act for 3, 4, 5, 6 months after. There is no way to
fill the vacancy then and it would have the same effect if you would
change your amendment to say that for example, in line 10, which says
"on or after the date of enactment of" and scratch "this Act", to "on
or after the date of the proper legislation by the Territorial Govern-
ment" or some such words.
Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Chairman.
Mr. BURTON. The gentleman from North Carolina.
Mr. TAYLOR. Are the hearings concluded? If so, I ask unanimous
consent that we suspend the rules and mark up H.R. 7699.
Mr. CLAusEN. If the gentleman would hold, I would like to ask
unanimous consent in order to complete our record, that the record be
left open for a period of say 10 days, so the Governor and the execu-
tive branch could submit a statement regarding the legislation.
9
Mr. BURTON. Without objection, the unanimous request from the
gentleman from California is agreed to and without objection the
unanimous consent of the gentleman from North Carolina is agreed
to.
Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Chairman I ask unanimous consent that H.R.
7699 be considered read in full, printed in the record and open for
amendments at any point.'
Mr. BURTON. Without objection, it is so ordered.
I would be interested in reaction from the gentleman from North
Carolina and the gentleman from California as to the point made by
Congressman Lujan. The point as I understood it was is it more effi-
cacious to have this axe fall on the date of enactment or have this legis-
lation now become operative until there is a valid and subsisting law
by passage of the legislature and the signature and/or by past legis-
lature legally and overriding by the legislature. Mr. Taylor, do you
have any comment on that?
Mr. TAYLOR. I would like to get Mr. de Lugo's comment on it. I am
not sure how often the legislature is in session, or how easy it is to
call it in session and how easy it would be to get this act imple-
mented.
Mr. DE LUGO. First, let me say to my colleagues on the minority side
that the legislature is not closely divided on partisan lines at the pres-
ent time. So that what we're talking about here is principle rather
than any political games that we could play. We're not out to do that.
I think if we're to follow on what we have done in the past we should
have confidence in the legislature, tell them to go ahead and set it up,
set up the machinery. I think we should do that immediately. What
we're asking the Virgin Islands to do here is exactly what Guam has
done since 1950 and what all of the 50 States do. So it is hardly a
new road that we're going down.
Mr. BURTON. The gentleman from New Mexico.
Mr. LUJAN. My only point in doing that, we ought to go along with
it. But to eliminate any possibility that there would be a period of
time in which someone might resign or die and could not be appointed
because the Federal law says one thing and the Territorial govern-
ment is not ready for the legislation' 
it is not a big deal.
Mr. DE LUGO. Again, speaking as the Representative from that area,
if it were—if there were a vacancy at the present time and it were not
filled, it would not have a significant immediate effect on the workings
of the legislature.
Mr. BURTON. Mr. Clausen.
Mr. CLAUSEN. Would the gentleman yield?
How often does the legislature actually meet ?
Mr. DE LUGO. It meets, I am not clear on this, because it was just
recently that—
Mr. CARPENTER. I think it is on call.
Mr. CLAUSEN. The regular session of the legislature shall be held
annually commencing the first Monday in January unless the legisla-
ture shall fix a different date.
Mr. DE LUGO. That is new, at one time if you will recall, it was
limited to a 60-day session. At the present time there is no limit to the
length of the meetings.
See bill on p. 1.
10
Mr. TAYLOR. You mean annual in January, and beyond that sub-
ject to the call of the Governor?
Mr. DE LUGO. Yes.
Mr. TAYLOR. So if a vacancy develops in August, and we got this
bill enacted about that time, the Governor would have to call the
special session in order to get the legislation to implement the act?
Mr. DE LUGO. Unless the legislature had simply recessed at its last
meeting and this is what has been happening fairly frequently of late.
The legislature has almost been meeting year around and there
would be no difficulty.
Mr. TAYLOR. There would be no danger of a delay in being able to
get the vacancies filled?
Mr. DE LUGO. No, I don't see any reason to assume that.
Mr. CLAUSEN. I would like to have the attention of the gentle-
man from Guam, is the language of this legislation essentially the
same as that which was provided in the authorization for the Guam
Legislature?
Mr. WON PAT. It would be in the Organic Act. Vacancies occurring
in the legislature shall be filled as the legislature shall provide except
that no person filling a vacant office shall fill the office for longer than
the term for which his predecessor was elected.
Mr. CLAUSEN. That is in the Organic Act, was there a special legis-
lation passed that provided the Guamanians a similar flexibility for
self-determination. I mean how do the Guam laws come into effect.
What is the Guam procedure for filling vacancies?
Mr. WON PAT. This was designated in the Organic Act back in
1950, the procedure enacted by the legislature.
Mr. BURTON. In other words, as oftentimes happens, the Organic
Act for territories would relate back to that act and our action is as
I said, the shedding of a vestigal appendage to bring the Virgin Is-
lands into conformity with what we have had for some 23 years in the
territory of Guam.
I am sure we all have a busy enough schedule. We do not need to be-
labor this momentous earth-shaking matter.
I will withdraw the amendment on the existing language, so that
if there is a vacancy that occurs between now and the date of enact-
ment, and if the Governor chooses to fill it, he can go ahead and fill it.
Mr. CLAUSEN. As the gentleman from the Virgin Islands indicated,
he doesn't see any basic problems.
Mr. BURTON. There being no further amendments to H.R. 7699,
the Chair will entertain a motion that it be favorably reported to the
full committee.
Mr. CLAUSEN. Mr. Chairman, I will move that H.R. 7699 be re-
ported favorably to the full committee and I see no reason for amend-
ment.
Mr. BURTON. Any unreadiness, all signify by saying "aye".
(Chorus of "ayes".]
Mr. BURTON. Those opposed, "nay".
[No response.]
Mr. BURTON. The "ayes" have it and it is so ordered.
Mr. DE LUGO. Mr. Chairman, before we adjourn, may I have unan-
imous consent to make a part of the record the resolution passed on
on this matter, that was by the Ninth Legislature of the Virgin Islands
and also two editorials calling on Congress to take this action?
11
Mr. BURTON. Without objection, it is so ordered.
[Resolution No. 579, passed July 19, 1971, by the Ninth Legisla-
ture of the Virgin Islands of the United States in full follows:]
[Two editorials from the Daily News newspaper, dated Monday,
May 7, 1973 and Wednesday, May 16, 1973, also follow:]
[The two aforementioned letters from Mr. de Lugo to Governor
Evans also follow:]
(BILL 5058)
No. 579
(Passed July 19, 1971)
NINTH LEGISLATURE OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS
OF THE UNITED STATES
Regular Session
RESOLUTION
Petitioning the Congress of the United States To Amend the Revised Organic
Act of the Virgin Islands To Provide for a Special Election To Fill Any
Vacancy in the Office of a Member of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands
WHEREAS the recent and untimely death of a member of the Legislature of
the Virgin Islands has called to the attention of the people of the Virgin Islands
the provisions of section 6 of the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands
which require the Governor to fill any vacancy in the office of a member of the
Legislature by appointment; and
WHEREAS it is inconsistent with the increasing self-government granted to
the people of the Virgin Islands in recent years that any vacancy in the office
of a member of the Legislature should be filled by appointment; and
WHEREAS it should be reserved to the electors of the Virgin Islands the right
to fill by special election any vacancy occurring in the office of a member of
the Legislature in the same manner as such electors originally select members
of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands; Now, Therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of the Virgin Islands:
That the Legislature respectfully petitions the Congress of the United States
of America to adopt an amendment to the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Is-
lands to provide that in the event of a vacancy in the office of a member of the
Legislature occurring more than six months prior to the next general election
such vacancy shall be fixed by means of a special election in such manner as
the Legislature of the Virgin Islands may by law direct, and be it further
Resolved that copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the
United States, to the Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior,
to the Presiding Officer of the Senate of the United States, to the Chairman of the
Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the Senate of the United States, to
each member of said Committee, to the Chairman of the Committee on Interior
and Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives of the United States, and to
each member of said Committee.
Passed July 19, 1971.
[From The Daily News, St. Thomas, V.I.]
TIME To CHANGE THE LAW REGARDING SENATE VACANCIES
We have pointed out several times in the past the basically undemocratic
manner in which Virgin Islands law provides for the filling of vacancies in the
Legislature. As the law is now written the filling of a seat vacated through
death, permanent incapacity or resignation is solely a prerogative of the Gov-
ernor, and he may make the selection according to his own whim without any
guidelines except that his appointee be legally qualified and be a resident of the
district for which there is a vacancy.
Last week, for the second time since he was elected, the Governor demon-
strated the validity of our criticism of the present system by appointing a
12
member of the Republican Party to fill a seat vacated by a Democrat. Coming on
the heels of his nomination of a Democrat to fill the lieutenant governorship the
chief executive's runningmate had resigned, this latest appointment makes it
apparent that the present legislation affords too easy an opportunity for the
Governor to tamper with the makeup of the legislative branch as elected by the
voters.
It is as difficult to conceive of the governor of any of the 50 states being
entitled to appoint a member of his own legislature as it is to imagine the
President being empowered to make his own choices to fill vacancies in the
Senate or House of Representatives. The reason for this is embedded in the
democratic tradition of checks and balances in which the executive, legislative
and judicial branches are separate and equal. For any chief executive to be
empowered to make appointments to the legislative branch is to subordinate the
legislative to the executive, and is a return to the days of parliaments appointed
by the king, which is more suited to a colony than to a territory that elects its
own governor and legislature.
While the two appointments to the Legislature the Governor has made in the
past two years have not had any apparent effect on that body's makeup, it is
easy to envision situations in the future where the chief executive's power to
make such appointments could be used to set the Senate on a course quite dif-
ferent from what the voters had intended. In this respect, it is significant to
note that the senator appointed by the Governor last week was not a candidate
for that office in last year's election, and therefore can hardly be considered
a representative of the people.
The Governor's power to fill vacancies in the Legislature and lieutenant
governorship afford too much opportunity for mischief on the part of the chief
executive for the law to be permitted to go unchanged. Now, while there are no
such vacancies, is the time for our legislators to act in a statesmanlike fashion
and correct this situation. For them not to do so would be an admission that
they prefer to continue a condition that permits the voters wishes to be flouted.
[From The Daily News, St Thomas, V.I.]
TIME FOR CONGRESS TO ACT
The introduction by the Virgin Islands Delegate to Congress of legislation to
correct the peculiar manner in which vacancies in the territorial Legislature are
filled is the third time in two years that the lawmakers attention has been drawn
to this problem. We trust that this prodding will encourage Congress to amend
that portion of the Revised Organic Act dealing with Senate vacancies, for this
year. for the second time in two years, a vacancy in the Legislature was filled by
the Governor in a manner that can only be described as contrary to the demo-
cratic process.
Congress' attention was first called to this problem two years ago in a resolu-
tion introduced by then Senator Ariel Melchior Jr. petitioning that body to
amend the Revised Organic Act to provide for special elections to fill vacancies
in the Senate that occur more than six months prior to the next general election.
Surprisingly this resolution passed by but a narrow eight to six margin, and it
is interesting to note that some of those who voted against the measure then
have been among the loudest in their criticism of the Governor's latest action in
naming a Republican to fill a seat vacated by a Democrat.
The proposed Virgin Islands Constitution, which received a rather lukewarm
endorsement from the voters last year, also provides a new means of dealing
with Senate vacancies. It provides for a special election in the case of vacancies
occurring more than 12 months prior to the next general election, and for
vacancies occurring less than 12 months before a general election provides for
the territorial committee the former senator was a member of to select a replace-
ment. If the former senator was a member of no party then the seat would be
filled by a two-thirds vote of the Legislature. Again, some of those who voted
against this have been loudest in their criticism of the latest replacement.
Unlike either of these proposals, the Virgin Islands Delegate's measure before
Congress simply asks for the Revised Organic Act to be amended to permit the
Legislature itself to determine the procedure to fill vacancies. In addressing the
House, he explained that he did not specify any procedure because of his commit-
ment to self-determination and belief that such a decision is one that should
rightfully be made by the Legislature.
The fact that for three times in two years Congress has been urged to correct
4
13
this poorly thought out section of the Revised Organic Act is solid evidence of
the need to do so. If there are any doubts, the lawmakers have only to think of
how inconsistent with the democratic process it would be if the President were
empowered to fill vacancies in the House of Representatives or Senate without
any regard to the voters wishes. In these islands with their unicameral Legis-
lature of but 15 seats the situation could be even more perilous.
JUNE 7, 1973.
Hon. MELVIN H. EVANS,
Governor of the Virgin Islands,
Government House, St. Thomas, V.I.
DEAR GOVERNOR EVANS: Enclosed are copies of H.R. 6135 and H.R. 7699 which
I have introduced in the House of Representatives, and which are tentatively
scheduled for hearings, later this month, before the House Interior and Insular
Affairs Committee.
I would appreciate receiving any comments you would care to make regarding
these legislative proposals, or any information you believe would be useful to
the Committee in its deliberations on these bills.
Thank you very much for your consideration on this matter, and with warm
personal regards, I am,
Sincerely,
RON DE LUGO,
Member of Congress.
JUNE 25, 1973.
Hon. MELVIN H. EVANS, M.D.,
Governor of the Virgin Islands,
Government House, St. Thomas, V.I.
DEAR GOVERNOR: I was surprised to read your comments in the June 22,
1973, "Daily News" concerning my bill to provide for the filling of vacancies in
the Legislature of the Virgin Islands.
According to the newspaper account, you could see "no merit" in "legislation
to take authority to fill vacancies in the Senate away from the governor and
give it to the Senate." Actually my bill provides that the Legislature of the
Virgin Islands shall by law provide the procedure for filling any vacancy in the
office of a member of the Legislature.
In my speech before the House of Representatives at the time I introduced
this bill, I indicated that democratic principles demand that vacancies be filled
by the people at special elections. However, I refrained from writing in any
specific procedure, as I believe this is a decision that should rightfully be made
by the Legislature.
I consider the fact that the Subcommittee on Territorial and Insular Affairs
has scheduled hearings immediately after the July 4 recess to be an indication
that its members are placing a high priority on the importance of letting our
people, the Legislature, and the Governor determine the process by which legis-
lative vacancies should be filled.
I hope that after you have had an opportunity to consider the actual text of
my legislation that you will agree that our people, through their elected rep-
resentatives should be allowed to decide the best method for filling legislative
vacancies.
With warm personal regards, I am
Sincerely,
RON DE LUGO.
Member of Congress.
Mr. DE LtrGo. Thank you very much.
Mr. BURTON. I might say to the committee we have other pending
items of business. We have legislation affecting Guam. We have the
request of the Samoan leadership that in the event the workload this
year permits before the Congress adjourns, that we make a trip to
Samoa. I think it absolutely vital that as many of you as possible
arrange your schedule for that visit.
This is the committee in the House with this responsibility and we
14
simply cannot adequately fulfill our mission if we don't have some
firsthand view of these areas. So we're going to try to go there. It is
going to be an arduous trip, since we're going to try to take in Samoa
as well as Guam and those portions of the trust territory that time
will permit. So I mention that now. I know that the travel is time con-
suming and arduous but we must sometime this year prepare ourselves
to make this onsite visitation.
Thank you very much. The committee will stand adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 10:53 a.m. the committee was adjourned.]
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