Del. Donna Christensen (D) Elected 1996, 5th term
Born:	Sept. 19, 1945, Teaneck, NJ
Home:	St. Croix
Education:	St. Mary's Col., B.S. 1966, George Washington U., M.D. 1970
Religion:	Moravian
Marital Status:	married (Christian)
Professional Career:	Practicing physician, 1975-97; Territorial Asst., Commissioner of Health, 1988-94; Acting Commissioner of Health, 1994-95.
DC Office	1510 LHOB20515, 202-225-1790; Fax: 202-225-5517; Web site: www.house.gov/christian-christensen
State Offices	St. Croix, 340-778-5900; St. Thomas, 340-774-4408.
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The delegate from the Virgin Islands is Donna Christensen, first elected in 1996, when she beat Victor Frazer, a Republican who ran as an independent and was the upset winner in 1994. Christensen is from an old St. Croix family; her father was Virgin Islands Chief District Court Judge Almeric Christian. She graduated from St. Mary's College and George Washington Medical School; she practiced medicine for more than 20 years in the Virgin Islands, in a family practice and in several public positions. She was elected a Democratic national committeewoman in 1984 and ran one losing race for delegate in 1994. In 1996 she attacked Frazer, who after some hesitation caucused with the Democrats, for foreign travel (11 trips to four continents) and for inaction in opposing the welfare bill. Christensen led Frazer 38%-34% on November 5; in the runoff two weeks later she won 52%-48%. It was a regional race: Christensen won 69% on St. Croix, Frazer 64% on St. Thomas and St. John.

In the House, Christensen has forged alliances with the Congressional Black Caucus and, when it was in office, the Clinton administration to achieve her goals; she works on health issues for the Black Caucus. She opposed Bill Clinton's designation in January 2001 of 12,708 undersea acres as the U.S. Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument, arguing that it would hurt local fishermen. As ranking minority member of the Parks Subcommittee, she got a hearing on the issue in the Virgin Islands in July 2002.

Christensen has argued that the Virgin Islands government, with $1 billion in debt, is on the verge of bankruptcy. In October 2004 she persuaded the House to vote for her bill to establish a financial overseer with veto power over government spending for five years. On this she was strongly opposed by Governor Charles Turnbull. In August 2004 she advanced a constitutional amendment, co-sponsored by the delegates from Guam and American Samoa, allowing residents of U.S. territories overseas to vote for president. "Every conflict this country has been in, we have sent our young men and women to serve or to die in, per capita, some of the highest numbers you will find. While our nation is at war, and we're burying our soldiers just like everybody else, I think that maybe it's a timely point at which to introduce this."

Christensen was reelected by wide margins in 2002 and 2004.

Committees

• Homeland Security (12th of 15 D): Emergency Preparedness, Science & Technology; Management, Integration & Oversight; Prevention of Nuclear & Biological Attack.
• Resources (10th of 22 D): National Parks (RMM).
• Small Business (7th of 15 D): Regulatory Reform & Oversight.