Op-Ed: State of the Territory | The Delegate to Congress: A Voice Without a Vote

November 2, 2025

In her biweekly column, “State of the Territory,” former Sen. Janelle K. Sarauw delves deeper into issues of concern for V.I. residents.

If the Legislature is the people’s house, the Executive the hands and feet, and the Judiciary the conscience, then the Delegate to Congress is the voice of the Virgin Islands in the nation’s capital. It is a role born out of compromise, shaped by colonial status, and sustained by the determination of Virgin Islanders to be heard in the halls of American power.

The position of Delegate is not a local creation. It comes directly from federal law, specifically the Revised Organic Act of 1954, which was amended by Congress in 1972 to authorize the Virgin Islands to elect a non-voting Delegate to the United States House of Representatives. The details are codified in Title 48 of the United States Code, Chapter 16, sections 1711 through 1715. These provisions spell out the role: how the office is elected, the length of the term, privileges in the House, and the Delegate’s ability to serve on committees, speak on the floor, and introduce bills, but not cast final votes. The Virgin Islands Code does not create or define the Delegate’s powers, because it is a federal office, not a territorial one. The Code only governs the mechanics of how we elect the Delegate, but not what the Delegate does once sworn into Congress.

The seat itself is relatively young in American political history. In 1972, Congress amended the Revised Organic Act to create the office, and later that year Virgin Islanders held their first election. Ron de Lugo became the inaugural Delegate to Congress in 1973, bringing the Virgin Islands a formal presence in Washington for the first time. From that moment forward, Virgin Islanders finally had an elected voice in Congress, even if it was a limited one. Through the 1980s, 1990s, and into the present, the office has matured into a critical link between the territory and the federal government.

Each Delegate has used committee assignments to push Virgin Islands priorities. Ron de Lugo served on the Interior and Insular Affairs Committee, where he was able to advocate for territorial issues such as infrastructure and natural resources. Donna Christian Christensen sat on the influential Energy and Commerce Committee, where she shaped national health policy and worked to secure parity for Virgin Islanders in Medicare and Medicaid. Stacey Plaskett has served on both the Ways and Means Committee, which oversees taxation and trade, and the House Agriculture Committee, where she has fought for programs that support farmers and rural communities in the territory. These assignments reflect the quiet but critical influence that Delegates can wield, even without a final floor vote, because much of the real work of Congress happens in committees.

This makes the office both powerful and powerless at the same time. Powerful, because the Delegate is the official bridge between the Virgin Islands and the federal government, with the ability to introduce bills, negotiate with colleagues, and secure federal funding. Powerless, because when history is written in votes on the House floor, our Delegate cannot cast a binding vote. The paradox is a reminder that the Virgin Islands is not a state but an unincorporated territory, subject to the authority of Congress yet without full representation in it.

The role is also unique because the Delegate wears two hats. At home, Virgin Islanders often view the office as a kind of fourth branch of government, holding town halls, addressing constituent concerns, and explaining federal law. In Washington, the Delegate joins a small coalition of territorial representatives from Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands who push together for greater equity. Few political roles in America demand such constant translation between local needs and federal realities.

Still, the position is often misunderstood. Many Virgin Islanders expect the Delegate to wield the power of a full voting member of Congress, able to deliver sweeping reforms or guarantee specific outcomes. In truth, the Delegate’s influence lies in advocacy, coalition building, and persistence, not in final votes. Expecting the Delegate to deliver state level results is like asking a coach to win the game without being allowed on the field. The coach can draw up the plays, rally the team, and argue with the referees, but someone else has the ball when the score is tallied.

The Delegate’s role also highlights the unfinished business of democracy in the Virgin Islands. More than a century after transfer from Denmark, Virgin Islanders are United States citizens who can fight in wars, pay federal taxes, and serve in federal service, but who cannot vote for president and whose voice in Congress is constrained. The office itself is a daily reminder of both progress and limitation. Progress in that we have a representative, limitation in that the representation is incomplete.

Yet the Delegate to Congress remains indispensable. Without a seat in Washington, the Virgin Islands would be voiceless in federal debates that shape our daily lives. With it, we have a platform, a messenger, and an advocate who can carry our stories, our struggles, and our aspirations into the halls of Congress. A voice without a vote is like a singer without a microphone. You can still hear the tune, but not at full volume. Until full equality is achieved, the role of the Delegate will remain both a symbol of our persistence and a measure of our unfinished fight for self-determination.

Editor’s Note: Opinion articles do not represent the views of the Virgin Islands Source newsroom and are the sole expressed opinion of the writer. Submissions can be made to visource@gmail.com.