OIA PRESS RELEASEU.S. Virgin Island’s Christensen Becomes First Delegate from Insular Areas to Serve on the House Energy and Commerce Panel
(Washington, D.C. – December 10, 2008) – Delegate to Congress Donna M. Christensen has been elected to a seat on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Christensen, who will begin her seventh term in the U.S. House of Representatives in January, was elected to the post by the House Steering and Policy Committee on Wednesday. Congresswoman Christensen is the first non-voting delegate to be named to the powerful House panel which has oversight over many issues to include Health, Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, Energy and Air Quality, Environment and Hazardous Materials, Telecommunications and the Internet and Oversight and Investigations. “I am both humbled and excited by this opportunity to serve the people of the Virgin Islands, the insular territories and the wider country on issues that will be of utmost importance to all of us,” said Christensen on Wednesday evening. “Being at the table and being able to vote on issues like lifting the Medicaid cap, extending SCHIP (the children’s health insurance program), and also on issues concerning the environment, energy, information technology, and consumer protections is an extraordinary opportunity for the Virgin Islands,” she said. “It has always been a goal of mine to serve on Energy and Commerce from my very first run for Delegate to Congress. I am grateful for the support of my colleagues as well as many in the health care industry who believed that I would bring a much needed perspective to this position.” Delegate Donna M. Christensen earned an M.D. (Doctor of Medicine) in 1970 from the George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., did her residency in family medicine at Howard University Medical Center from 1973 to 1974 and became a board certified physician in 1977. She maintained a private practice in family medicine from 1975 until her election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996 and is currently one of a small handful of physicians in Congress. |
