(Washington, DC, January 25, 2005)—Delegate to Congress Donna M. Christensen today stressed the need for local hiring and contracting in the ongoing HUD receivership of the Virgin Islands Housing Authority in a teleconference with Assistant Housing Secretary Michael Liu and other HUD and Virgin Islands officials.

Christensen also questioned how long the receivership would last in light of today’s announcement that Jose Bosque-Perez would replace Donna Ayala as receiver.

“It seems that return to Virgin Islands control is at least a year and a half away and that they are considering several restructuring options,” Christensen said on Tuesday morning.  “I was also briefed on their homeownership initiatives, which are of utmost importance to my constituents,” the Delegate said.

“I look forward to the issuance of their upcoming report on the state of the Virgin Islands Housing Authority and more detailed answers to the questions that I posed,” Christensen said. The Delegate said that she thanked Ayala for her service and welcomed Bosque, who is not unfamiliar with Virgin Islands issues.