Why It Matters

The Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands filed a first-quarter 2026 lobbying disclosure through Winston & Strawn LLP, reporting $130,000 in lobbying expenditures. The Bryant Gardner lobbying disclosure covers four issue areas: federal appropriations, tax policy, immigration, and healthcare. The territory is a longstanding player in federal lobbying records, and this filing continues a multi-year effort to secure federal resources and policy changes for the islands.

The U.S. Virgin Islands operates under a structural disadvantage in federal policy. As a territory, it lacks voting representation in Congress, receives lower federal Medicaid matching rates than states, and has been fighting the downstream effects of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on its economic development programs. The territory is also still managing recovery from Hurricanes Irma and Maria, nearly a decade later. The lobbying agenda reflects an effort to address each of these challenges through appropriations, tax reform, healthcare funding, and immigration policy.

By the Numbers

Winston & Strawn is one of several firms the USVI government employs. This first-quarter 2026 filing is one of at least three disclosures filed by the territory this quarter. The other two were filed by Squire Patton Boggs and Callwood Associates LLC.

The $130,000 reported in this filing represents an increase from the $30,000 Winston & Strawn reported in the fourth quarter of 2025, though it is below the $190,000 reported in the second quarter of 2025. Over the past two years, Winston & Strawn has reported a combined $1,190,000 in lobbying fees from the USVI government across nine filings.

Lobbyist Bryant Gardner is the sole registered lobbyist on this filing. Gardner has been the primary lobbyist on Winston & Strawn's USVI work across multiple filings. A prior filing in the second quarter of 2025 also listed lobbyist Jade Baker, but Baker does not appear on this first quarter 2026 disclosure, making Gardner the only government affairs consultant on the account for this period. No congressional staff experience for Gardner was identified in available records.

The Agenda

The first-quarter 2026 Bryant Gardner lobbying disclosure covers four specific issue areas:

  • Federal Assistance and Infrastructure: The filing states lobbying "in support of increased federal assistance for the Government of the US Virgin Islands, including environmental and other infrastructure projects, increased Medicaid and health care infrastructure funding, transportation funding, community project funding, disaster recovery, and energy funding."
  • Tax Policy: The filing states lobbying "in support of amendments to the GILTI tax and legislation creating tax-related economic growth incentives."
  • Immigration: The filing states lobbying "in support of H-2B visa extensions and a visa waiver program to aid USVI labor shortages," specifically referencing the Admission of Nonimmigrants portion of 8 USC 1184 and HR 362, the Virgin Islands Visa Waiver Act.
  • Healthcare: The filing states lobbying "in support of legislation on health care issues, including increases in Medicaid and hospital funding for USVI."

Broader Context

Several policy developments provide context for the territory's lobbying priorities this quarter.

On tax policy, the GILTI provision has been a persistent concern for the USVI. The territory's governor has publicly described it as "a longstanding injustice to the USVI," arguing that the provision was aimed at preventing Americans from using foreign tax incentive programs but should never have applied to U.S. territories. The USVI's push for a fix gained some traction in the House reconciliation bill, with VI Consortium reporting that Delegate Stacey Plaskett's REVIVE VI Act was included in the package. The provision drew criticism from some members, including Sen. Jack Reed, who called the "Virgin Islands Carve Out" a "giveaway to the ultra-wealthy" in a June 2025 statement.

On healthcare, the territory's hospital system has been under financial strain. The St. Thomas Source reported that the 36th Legislature of the Virgin Islands unanimously voted to allocate emergency funding to the territory's hospitals in April 2025. Rep. Stacey Plaskett has publicly argued that "healthcare equity means ensuring that zip code (or in the Virgin Islands' case, which island you call home) doesn't determine whether you live or die," framing the Medicaid funding gap as a matter of basic access.

On infrastructure and disaster recovery, a RAND Corporation analysis found that at the pace of spending as of 2025, spending the recovery funding from the 2017 hurricanes "will take about 15 years." The territory's recovery director has projected that peak construction activity won't occur until 2028.

On immigration, the national H-2B visa cap for fiscal year 2026 has tightened. USCIS made available only 35,000 supplemental H-2B visas for the year, significantly fewer than in prior years, creating pressure on employers in the territory who rely on seasonal and construction labor.

An April 2026 House hearing on H.R. 8210, the "A Stronger Workforce for America Act of 2026," included a statement noting that the U.S. Virgin Islands and other territories are currently ineligible for federal integrated English literacy and civic education program funding, with the bill including a fix for that gap.

The Bottom Line

The USVI government's lobbying operation spans multiple firms and covers a wide range of federal policy priorities. The Winston & Strawn filing reflects a continued, consistent push on appropriations, tax policy, healthcare, and immigration that has been ongoing for at least two years. Spending this quarter is up sharply from the prior quarter, suggesting increased activity as Congress works through reconciliation and appropriations.

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