News From Senator Begich: September 8, 2009

Posted: September 9th, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: 2009, 2009

Upcoming Events…
September 22, 2009
Washington D.C.
“For the Rights of All: Ending Jim Crow in Alaska”
7:30 – 9:00 p.m.
Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian
Independence Ave. SW & 4th St. SW, Washington D.C.

September 25, 2009
Anchorage
Public Town Hall on Health Care Reform
5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Bartlett High School
1011 N Muldoon Rd., Anchorage

September 26, 2009
Fairbanks
Public Town Hall on Health Care Reform
11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Friends Community Church
1485 30th Ave, Fairbanks

Back To Work

It’s great to be back in Washington, D.C., and back to work in the Senate after a long August recess. With health care reform our most immediate issue, you can look forward to progress on the details in the coming days and weeks. I continue to stay focused on my priorities for Alaskans, which is finding a way to make health care more affordable and accessible. We also need to keep an eye out for how it is going to impact small businesses and make sure the financial burden on them is not increased. I appreciate all of the comments I heard during the recess from Alaskans. It is your voices and ideas I bring to work with me every day. I look forward to my Sept. 26 health care town hall in Fairbanks at the Friends Community Church from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. I’m also working on hosting a town hall in Anchorage on Sept. 25. Stay tuned for details.

Sincerely,
Senator Mark Begich

Travel Promotion Act Back on Track

Sen. Begich will join his colleagues in a vote this week on the Travel Promotion Act (TPA), designed to boost the nation’s economy and create thousands of jobs. The act creates a public-private partnership designed to better explain U.S. security policies and promote travel to the U.S. to attract millions of additional overseas visitors. Since 9/11, overseas travel to the U.S. has decreased dramatically, partly due to confusion over new security rules implemented after that date. The TPA will have industry working together to better communicate entry policies and promote travel to America. It is paid for through a $10 fee paid by foreign travelers from Visa Waiver countries and from contributions from the travel industry. “With an economic impact of about $1.6 billion a year, tourism is one of the leading industries in Alaska and plays a key role in our economy,” said Sen. Begich, a co-sponsor of the legislation. “This bill will go a long way in bolstering that industry and restoring the United States as the premier travel destination for international tourists.”

OCS Development Welcomed by Senator Begich

With the Sept. 21 public comment deadline for the Draft Proposed Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program (2010-2015) approaching, Sen. Begich is reiterating to the Obama administration and his colleagues in Congress that Alaskans know how to do responsible oil and gas development. Sen. Begich welcomed a recent ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals which said the federal government’s 2007 sale of oil and gas leases in the Beaufort Sea did not violate environmental laws. And the senator recently introduced Senate Bill 1560 to ensure that Alaskans will receive the same share of the revenue from offshore development as people in Louisiana receive from drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The Minerals Management Service estimates 27 billion barrels of oil and 130 trillion cubic feet of gas can be recovered off Alaska’s coasts. This is more than enough to keep the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System running at capacity for another generation and make the proposed Alaska natural gas pipeline a reality.

Stimulus Bill Already Producing Alaska Results

The ambitious economy recovery package passed by Congress earlier this year with Sen. Begich’s support is ahead of schedule and is helping turn around the national economy. Meanwhile, Alaska leads the nation in the per person amount of funds coming to any state, with $1,024 per Alaskan, according to an August think tank analysis. Vice President Joe Biden announced last week that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed into law by President Obama in February is putting millions of dollars on American streets and creating thousands of jobs. For Alaska, the bill so far means: $5 million to 14 different law enforcement agencies to hire new police officers; expanded health services through 26 health centers; 600 new education jobs; $4 million to create summer youth jobs; $120 million for airport and highway projects across the state; progress on 95 facilities on Alaska military bases; and improvements to six national parks in the state. Sen. Begich was the only member of Alaska’s congressional delegation to support the economic improvement package.

Mobile Office Rolls Through Alaska State Fair

The staffs of Sen. Begich and Sen. Murkowski’s offices capped off the summer-long mobile office tour by hosting hours every day at the Alaska State Fair. Hundreds of Alaskans stopped by the booth to share their thoughts on federal issues to be conveyed to the entire Alaska Delegation.

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