Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett’s Biography

Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett represents the United States Virgin Islands’ at-large Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. She is currently serving her fourth term in Congress.

For the 117th Congress, Plaskett has been appointed to serve on the Ways and Means Committee which is the chief tax-writing and revenue generating committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. It is the oldest and one of the most exclusive committees in Congress. In true historic fashion, she is the first Member from a U.S. territory and only the fourth African American woman to serve as a member of this powerful body.

Plaskett previously served on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, as well as the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. She was also a member of the House Committee on Agriculture where she served as the Chair of the Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture and Research in the 116th Congress. Stacey is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Blockchain Caucus as well as the New Democrat Coalition, where she serves as the Leader- At Large. The Congresswoman is also a Co-Chair of the Congressional Caribbean Caucus.

Similarly, during her tenure as a member of the Committee on Agriculture, Ms. Plaskett has sat on multiple subcommittees including, Commodity Exchanges, Energy and Credit, Livestock and Foreign Agriculture and chaired the largest Agriculture subcommittee– Biotechnology, Horticulture and Research. On these committees, Congresswoman Plaskett has worked to ensure that the Virgin Islands and other rural communities receive adequate funding for necessary rural development programs including public infrastructure development, access to high- speed broadband, and small business support. Ms. Plaskett has advocated to protect programs that provide needed supplemental assistance to hardworking families.

As a member of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, Congresswoman Plaskett applied her skills as a former prosecutor to ensure accountability and transparency both within government and private sector entities whose operations impact the Virgin Islands community and communities across America.

Ms. Plaskett earned her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, and her Juris Doctorate from American University’s Washington College of Law. Congresswoman Plaskett has a long history of public service having started as an Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx DA’s office as well as having worked as a political appointee at the Department of Justice where she served as Senior Counsel under both Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson and his successor James Comey. In the Virgin Islands, she served as General Counsel for the Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority, charged with the economic development of the U.S. territory and also worked in private practice as counsel and transactional attorney for numerous companies.

As the Congressional representative for the Virgin Islands, she also hosts the Washington Report series which seeks to keep Virgin Islanders abreast and aware of the happenings in Washington, D.C. The series is aired on WTJX monthly.

Most importantly, Stacey is the mother of 5 – three adults and 2 younger children and the wife of Jonathan Buckney-Small. She and Jonathan are avid readers, cooks and news junkies.