$8 Million Sits Idle, $4.2 Million Faces Sept. 2026 Deadline While Homebuyers Await Relief: VIHFA Rebuked in Senate

The V.I. Housing Finance Authority came under fire from the Committee on Housing, Transportation, and Telecommunications on Thursday, as lawmakers learned of millions in unspent federal and local funding.

VIHFA was one of several government agencies invited to comment on efforts to eradicate homelessness in the Virgin Islands. The authority’s testimony focused on its efforts to combat housing instability, including the availability of a significant amount of federal funding to achieve that goal.

Of the $8.5 million allocated through the Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF), VIHFA has only expended $4.3 million and has up to September 2026 to spend the remaining $4.2 million. Senator Ray Fonseca requested a spending plan.

Eugene Jones, the authority’s executive director, promised to “submit one” and assured the committee’s chair, Senator Marvin Blyden, that a plan does indeed exist. “I just have to send it to you, and it has a budget for the $4.2 million that's left,” he said. Though Sen. Blyden requested that the plan be submitted before the meeting ended, there was no mention that it had been received.