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| October 9, 2012 |
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Begich Tours Southeast Alaska,
Holds Hearings in Anchorage
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A great day in Southeast - Sen. Begich toured the new shipyard facility at the Alaska Ship & Drydock while visiting Southeast Alaska for several days.
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I'm taking advantage of the Senate being out of session this month to visit Alaskans across the state to discuss issues from energy and transportation to jobs and federal budget cuts. Over the weekend, I was able to visit with hundreds of Alaskans in Ketchikan, Sitka and Juneau. The rest of this week, I'm in Kenai, Anchorage, Chugiak, Eagle River and the Mat-Su Valley.
I was especially honored to address the 100th anniversary of the Alaska Native Brotherhood in Sitka over the weekend. Created in 1912, the same year Alaska won the right to create a Territorial Legislature, the ANB and its sister organization, the Alaska Native Sisterhood, have achieved enormous economic and civil rights accomplishments for Alaska's Native people.
This week in Anchorage, I am joining a focus on the important role the visitor industry plays in our economy. I'll speak to the Alaska Travel Industry Association's annual conference Tuesday, where I'll detail numerous steps Congress has taken in recent years to grow this industry and its nearly $5 billion in benefits to Alaska. I am also holding a field hearing of the Steering and Outreach Committee I chair to hear about the state of their industry and what we can do to improve it.
One of the issues Alaskans tell me they are concerned with is the series of automatic federal budget cuts scheduled to take place early next year unless Congress acts. I share this concern and have been pressing for a comprehensive deficit-reduction measure. Without action, Alaskans could see budget cuts of up to 9 percent to military spending, rural development and social service programs, among many others. I'll continue to work for a responsible mix of budget reductions, some new tax revenues and small investments in education and public facilities to encourage private-sector growth.
Please continue to let me know the issues of concern to you.
Sincerely,
Senator Mark Begich
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Begich to hold Senate hearing in Anchorage
on the 2012 drilling season |
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At 10:00 a.m. on October 11, 2012, at Gorsuch Commons on the campus of University of Alaska Anchorage, Sen. Begich will chair a field hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard in Anchorage. Sen. Begich is the chairman of the subcommittee. The hearing will include federal officials and representatives of industry for a discussion of the 2012 drilling season in the Arctic and an outlook on the next decade's developments and what federal resources will be needed. Among the participants will be Deputy Secretary David Hayes of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Other speakers include Laura Furgione, acting director of the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Rear Admiral Thomas Ostebo, commander of the U.S. Coast Guard's 17th District; Pete Slaiby, vice president of exploration and production for Shell Alaska; Jake Adams, North Slope Borough Chief Administrative Officer; and Edith Vorderstrasse, consulting division manager of Ukpeagvik Iñupiat Corporation.
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A new name at the Alaska Native Brotherhood - Sen. Begich was honored to be adopted into the Tsaagweidi clan and given Tlingit name Kaawusteen.
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Keeping Alaska Communities Connected - Sen. Begich stopped by KRBD Community Radio in Ketchikan to discuss local issues and give an update from Washington.
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| Begich to XTRATUFS: Make it in America, Again... |
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Dismayed by news of Alaskans' unhappiness with a decline in the quality of tried-and-true XTRATUFS boots, Sen. Mark Begich is asking the American manufacturer to resume assembly of the boot in America. In a letter to the CEO of Honeywell, Begich also asks for the company's advice on how to encourage more American manufacturing in the U.S., citing problems with the U.S. tax code. "People replacing boots that used to last for years found the new pairs leaked and the soles separated from the uppers after just a few weeks' wear. These were not the durable boots Alaskans were used to, earning the new name: 'SORT-OF-TUFs,'" Begich wrote.
*Share photos of your XTATUFS on Senator Begich's Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/Begich
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A brew in Sitka - Sen. Begich stopped by a local small business success story, Baranof Island Brewing Company, on an economic development tour of Sitka.
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A visit from Italy - Italian Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero recently stopped by to visit Sen. Mark Begich in Washington, D.C. The Ambassador is an active pilot and recently visited the Alaska Aviation Museum in Anchorage.
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Begich Recommends JPARC to Army for Live Training
as Alaska Offers "Unparalleled Training Environment" |
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Urging the U.S. Army to place additional equipment in Alaska to support live training of Army units and regional allies all the way through the Brigade level, U.S. Senator Mark Begich recently wrote to Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno and Secretary of the Army John McHugh to recommend the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex (JPARC) for its unparalleled training environment. Begich writes in the letter: "This complex, coupled with the available Naval training space, provides great capacity for training the joint force…Alaska provides homeland soil and forward presence in the Asia-Pacific region."
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Begich Welcomes Home Members of the 4/25 from Afghanistan
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Begich: Some good news for a change
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U.S. Senator Mark Begich today issued the following statement welcoming home to Alaska members of the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division. The 4/25 has been deployed in Eastern Afghanistan for a 10-month combat tour and is returning to Alaska in waves throughout September and October.
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Always an optimist, Sen. Mark Begich shares some good news with Alaskans about the state of the U.S. economy in the Begich Minute. While Congress enters into difficult discussions about reducing the deficit, cutting waste, and reforming the tax code, Begich finds a minute to list a few important reasons to be optimistic about our future and point to the progress we have made.
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