Peter Granitz, NPR- Washington DC

Environmentalists from Alaska are hoping to persuade Congressional staffers Shell Oil should not continue its drilling operation in the Arctic this summer.

Just one day after President Obama’s inauguration, Congress returned to the fight over whether to raise the nation’s borrowing limit. Many Republicans are unwilling to extend the debt limit, and Congressman Don Young won’t commit either way.

President Obama swore in for his second term today. He spoke to a crowd on the National Mall of about a million people, with millions more tuned in at home. And while most people watched from afar, some lucky Alaskans were there to witness to it firsthand.

The unemployment rate in Alaska dropped to 6.6 percent in December. The decrease of point one percent from November continues a downward trend. The state has seen its unemployment rate decline since August.

President Barack Obama laid out clear directives to Congress yesterday. He wants the legislative branch to ban the sale of high capacity magazines and armor piercing bullets, require background checks for all gun sales, and crack down on straw purchases of guns – sales when a legally cleared person buys a gun for someone who is legally barred from purchasing one.

The U.S. House has stripped a relief bill of money for the fishery disaster in Alaska. The outlook is not much better in the Senate.

Vice President Joe Biden says he will deliver recommendations for new gun control measures to President Barack Obama on Tuesday. Mr. Biden says he will call for both legislation and executive order from the White House.

Congress failed to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act last year. It’s unclear if and when the new, recently sworn in Congress will pick the measure up. Victim service providers in Alaska are worried about future funding without a reauthorization.

The top oil lobbyist in Washington DC says Shell Oil should not be hampered by the grounding of the Kulluk. The American Petroleum Institute says Shell Oil should move forward with its Arctic Ocean plans this year.

Congress has passed the first of two relief bills for Superstorm Sandy. Money for Alaska was not in it. The Senate passed a $60 billion aid package a couple of weeks ago. Included was more than $60 million to study and prevent marine debris. Also included was $150 million for fishery disasters across the country.

When the 113th congress gets to work, Democratic Senator Mark Begich will have some new committee assignments. Begich has secured a seat on the Indian Affairs committee. He will no longer have a spot on the budget committee. Begich also now has a seat on the powerful appropriations committee, he gave up his seat on the Armed Services Committee for the appropriations position.

Environmental groups are calling on the Obama administration to stop issuing permits for all offshore drilling in Arctic waters. Shell is leasing wells in the Arctic already, and Conoco’s permits begin in 2014.

The 112th Congress has officially ended – a Congress many are labeling the least effective, and most disliked of all time. Representative Don Young swore in as a member of the 113th Congress today. This is Young’s 21st term.APRN’s Peter Granitz sat down with Young in his Capitol Hill office just after he was sworn in, to talk about what Alaska can anticipate in the future. One of the things Young says he’ll push in his next two year term is the Indian Empowerment Act designed to allow more use of Native land and resources for the benefit of Native people.

As New Year’s Eve approaches, Congress is at an impasse on the so called fiscal cliff, signs point to an agreement on taxes but it’s unclear what will be done about spending cuts.

The Senate passed a disaster relief bill today. Included is money for fishery disasters across the country. Subsistence and commercial fishermen won’t get any money soon, because the House is unlikely to take up the bill.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson announced she’ll step down early next year. U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski isn’t sure who should replace her.

The nation is just five days away from the New Year. And as we’ve all heard more than a year now, the New Year will bring tax increases and federal spending cuts. There is no deal in sight, though leaders may try and push a pared back plan to avert the fiscal cliff.

Congress is recessing for the Christmas holiday, but both chambers are likely to return Thursday. There many, pressing issues to complete before the year is out. Regardless of how far along the legislative process a bill gets, if it is not passed and signed into law by the end of one Congress, legislators must start over when a new Congress convenes. There is concern that Congress will let many laws lapse.