The governor criticized the measure for cutting the BPT rate from 5% to 4.5%, a move she said would deprive the government of more than $40 million in revenue while granting “a windfall” to large businesses. Leon Guerrero argued that the rollback would weaken the government’s ability to fund essential services, including public safety, healthcare, and education, at a "time of federal fiscal uncertainty."
She also faulted the Legislature for passing the budget without appropriating additional funds to repair GMH following an August power fluctuation and fire. Instead, lawmakers proposed seeking federal approval to divert American Rescue Plan Act funds earmarked for a new hospital to cover repairs — an approach Leon Guerrero described as trading away the island’s future.
Despite acknowledging that the Legislature passed the budget with a veto-proof majority, Leon Guerrero said she could not support a measure that prioritized tax relief for large corporations over the hospital’s urgent needs. “I believe it is reckless to put away the umbrella with dark skies looming ahead,” she wrote in her veto message to Speaker Frank Blas Jr.
In a public address, the governor criticized the Republican majority for recessing during a declared emergency at GMH and for pursuing a resolution that seeks federal funds she said may be too late to secure. She argued that the island’s only public hospital cannot wait for Congress and needs immediate local support.
Her substitute budget keeps all fiscal elements intact but maintains the Business Privilege Tax at 5%, shifting the money set aside for tax relief directly to GMH repairs, operations, and patient safety measures. “This is not about blame,” Leon Guerrero said. “It is about whether we will finally do what our people expect of government—to solve problems and make progress.”