Liz Ruskin, Alaska Public Media
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
Senate Debates Emergency Unemployment Policy Extension
The U.S. Senate has been debating all week whether to extend emergency unemployment compensation for the long-term unemployed. Some 6,500 Alaskans were receiving the extended benefits before Congress let the program expire Dec. 28.
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Murkowski Calls For End To Crude Export Ban
Sen. Lisa Murkowski today called for lifting the decades-old ban on crude exports. In a speech to the Brookings Institution, she said the oil boom in North Dakota and elsewhere in the Lower 48 calls for a wholesale review of the energy export rules.
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Election Year Ramps Up
With 2014 underway, we now entered an election year. Alaskans will be choosing a governor, a lieutenant governor and as always, deciding whether to re-elect Alaska Congressman Don Young. But national attention, and money, is already focused on the U.S. Senate race.
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New Energy Politics Changes Likely To Affect Alaska
In Washington, at both the White House and in Congress, 2014 brings changes to the politics of energy that are likely to affect Alaska.
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Budget Pressure Mounts On Senate Appropriations Committee
It’s quiet in the U.S. Capitol these days, but the pressure is on one groups of lawmakers – the appropriators – among them Alaska’s two senators, Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich.
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Rio Tinto Considers Pulling Out Of Pebble Mine
Another investor in the proposed Pebble Mine says it may back out. Rio Tinto announced today that it will perform a strategic review of its investment in the controversial gold and copper mine in the Bristol Bay region and that the review will consider divestment.
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Reindeer Herders Ask For Help As Herds Dwindle
Here’s a story about reindeer that has nothing to do with Santa. The reindeer herders of the Seward Peninsula have endured years of declining stocks. Once they had more than 100,000 animals. Now, it’s down to about 20,000 and the industry teeters on the edge of viability. Kawerek Reindeer Herders Association sent a delegation to Washington, D.C. earlier this month to see if the federal government can help.
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New Ambassador To China Could Trigger Senatorial Domino Effect
In Washington D.C., the buzz around the Capitol is that the White House is going to nominate Montana Senator Max Baucus to be ambassador to China. His departure with a year left on his term would trigger a domino effect in the Senate, advancing a few Democrats to key positions, and that could have big implications for Alaska.
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Congress Likely To Pass Budget
It looks like Congress will finally pass a budget. A two-year spending plan easily cleared a Senate hurdle today, and is headed for final passage tomorrow. Both Alaska senators supported it, but they’re not entirely happy.
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State May Get 8 Cargo Planes
The state may be taking possession of eight new airplanes. They’re 1980s era cargo planes that the Army doesn’t want anymore. A provision in the Defense Bill now before the U.S. Senate offers them to the governor of Alaska. The catch is, the state has to figure out what to do with them – and how to pay for their upkeep.
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Presidential Adviser Pete Rouse Maintains Alaska Roots
One of President Obama’s closest advisers is leaving. Pete Rouse has been at Obama’s side since his first days in the Senate and at the White House, serving at times as chief of staff. But Rouse shuns the spotlight, so few people know of his Alaska roots, or the pull he’s had on the 49th state.
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Big Outside Money Expected For US Senate Race
Outside money is expected to pour into the race for the U.S. Senate seat held by Mark Begich, and the first of it is making a splash across Alaska’s TV sets.
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FDA To Announce Decision On Genetically Modified Salmon
Alaska’s Congressional delegation is bracing for an FDA decision on genetically modified salmon and Sen. Mark Begich has asked the head of the agency not to exploit the holiday season to release what’s expected to be an unpopular report.
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Arctic Fibre Reveals Alaska Broadband Plans
In another sign of how climate change is transforming the Arctic, a Toronto-based company is planning to lay a fiber-optic cable through Canada’s Northwest Passage.
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Federal Budget Deal Might Include Higher Air Travel Taxes
Brace yourselves for higher airline ticket fees, maybe. In Congress, budget negotiators are trying to craft a deal that would keep the government running and avoid automatic spending cuts without raising taxes. But lawmakers say the deal may include higher user fees, among them, a doubling of the security fee air passengers pay - from $2.50 per flight segment to $5.
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Bills Would Help Communities Deal With Marine Debris
Two bills aimed at helping coastal communities deal with marine debris advanced in Congress on Wednesday. Alaska Congressman Don Young, a co-sponsor, says they would make it easier for local, state and tribal governments to get money to remove rubbish that floats to their shores.
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Survey Says Alaska Has Poor Business Climate
A survey of oil company managers and executives has given Alaska poor marks for its business climate. The annual report by the Fraser Institute, a conservative Canadian think tank, stacks Alaska up against other states and countries in an effort to develop a “policy perception index.” The respondents weren’t kind to the 49th state.
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ANWR Campaigns March On, No End in Sight
Congress is so stuck in partisan mire it hardly passes any bills these days. So it would seem unlikely it could pass anything as controversial as opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling. Still, two campaigns, Arctic Power and Alaska Wilderness League, remain on the job in Washington, D.C. One has been fighting for 20 years to allow oil development on the coastal plain of the refuge, the other working just as long to ensure that day never comes.
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Amendment Would Let Military Prosecutors Handle Sexual Assault Reports
The U.S. Senate this week has been debating how the military should handle sexual assault reports from service members. Both Alaska senators have signed on to an amendment that would let military prosecutors, rather than a suspect’s commander, determine which cases to pursue. Senator Lisa Murkowski on Wednesday spoke on the Senate floor about some of the incidents that motivate her.
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Tlingit Code Talkers Receive Recognition
Navajo code talkers were recognized more than a decade ago for their service in World War II. They used their Native language as a code that the enemy was never able to crack, but until recently, no one knew that Tlingits from Southeast Alaska also served as code talkers.
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