Libby Casey

Congress is returning from its Thanksgiving holiday with only a few weeks left before it adjourns for the year. The Super Committee may have failed, there’s still plenty to work on.

If the Congressional Super Committee in Washington had reached agreement over how to tackle the federal debt, this week would have been one of announcements and negotiations.

It looks like the key government witness in the federal corruption case in Alaska will not face charges of child sexual abuse. Deputy Attorney General Richard Svobodny says the case is closed unless someone provides new information or there are federal charges against 74-year-old Bill Allen.

Alaska’s Senators expressed disappointment Monday afternoon at word that the special congressional super committee has given up its attempt to combat the federal debt.

A special independent investigator who probed into misconduct by prosecutors in the case of the late Alaska Senator Ted Stevens says they should not face criminal charges. Despite that the investigator found widespread concealment of evidence that could have helped Stevens mount his defense.

Expectations are fading that the Congressional committee tasked with coming up with a budget deal will succeed, but Alaska’s Senators are still encouraging the Joint Selection Committee on Deficit Reduction to “go big” and get something accomplished.

As Congress struggles to find ways to bring down the national debt, Republicans in the House are offering a plan: increase oil and gas production to pay for repairs to America’s highways and jump-start the economy. Part of that includes opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to development. A House Committee held two hearings Friday in Washington on drilling in Alaska. It was a familiar litany of arguments, but also had some fireworks.

Senators representing states that border America’s oceans heard a warning on Thursday about carbon dioxide and how it could have a deadly effect on valuable fish and crab stocks through ocean acidification. University of Alaska Fairbanks professor Jeremy Mathis was invited to Washington by Sen. Lisa Murkowski to share his research.

Alaska Congressman Don Young gave Interior Secretary Ken Salazar a piece of his mind on the Obama Administration’s energy policy Wednesday. Young tried to drive his point home by showing up late into the hearing wearing a beanie on his head. It was topped by a propeller, and sported a pin that said “Obama’s Energy Plan.”

Steve Heimel, APRN - Anchorage & Libby Casey, APRN - Washington DCThis morning Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is defending the Obama administration's new five-year offshore oil and gas lease sale schedule before the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee.