news

Washington, D.C.– Today, the Non-Foreign Area Retirement Equity Assurance Act was introduced in Congress to ensure pay and retirement equity for federal employees in Alaska, Hawaii, and the U.S. territories. The legislation was sponsored in the Senate by Senators Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii), and Mark Begich (D-Alaska), and in the House by Repr... Read more »

Alaskan Congressman Don Young began circulating a “Dear Colleague” letter around the U.S. House yesterday afternoon, following news that Attorney General Eric Holder plans to reinstate the assault weapons ban at the President’s behest. The “Dear Colleague” letter asks other Members to sign a letter to the President urging him to discard the plan to reinstate the “assault weapon” ban. Both the “De... Read more »

Alaskan Congressman Don Young released the following statement this afternoon regarding the release of President Obama’s budget for Fiscal Year 2010: “"We just received the President’s budget today and it is quite extensive and exhaustive,” said Rep. Young. “It is our responsibility as legislators to make sure we do a comprehensive evaluation of the budget. I have served eight Presidents and a to... Read more »

Alaskan Congressman Don Young voted today in favor of H.R. 1105 the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009. Rep. Young secured funding totaling $64.8 million for Alaskan constituent projects of interest in this bill that passed by a vote of 245-178. “This appropriations bill proved very fruitful for Alaska this year,” said Rep. Young. “As always I’m very proud of the work I can do in D.C. on behalf of ... Read more »

Alaskan Congressman Don Young released the following statement this evening, following the Presidential Address: “I appreciate and admire President Obama’s ambitious schedule of attacking both our troubled social programs and the country’s deep recession all at once. “The economy is our biggest issue right now, and we need to focus on job creation and domestic production and not on raising the ta... Read more »

Alaskan Congressman Don Young won a victory for the Alaska Native contracting program and other Alaska small business owners last night in H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Senate version of H.R. 1 included a provision that appeared to prohibit the use of programs administered by the SBA that are designed for procurement through minority-owned business enterprises, women-own... Read more »

Alaskan Congressman Don Young voted no today on the Democrats’ spending bill, H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This bill provides only $1.10 per day in relief to workers, not even enough for a ½ a gallon of gas, while saddling every American family with $9,400 in added debt to be paid by our children and grandchildren. Currently only $47 billion or 5.9% of the total package is ... Read more »

Alaskan Congressman Don Young, a member of the Alaska Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, voted today for H.Con.Res. 35 which honors and praises the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) on the occasion of its 100th anniversary. Rep. Young is also an original cosponsor of this legislation. “I am a proud cosponsor of this bill bec... Read more »

Alaskan Congressman Don Young met with a White House official in his office yesterday to discuss his concerns with the stimulus package, namely the lack of adequate transportation infrastructure funding. He followed up with signing on to two letters regarding the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In the first bipartisan letter, addressed to President Obama, Rep. Young asks him to support “B... Read more »

Alaskan Congressman Don Young spoke with Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood last night after meeting with representatives from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), including Rick Thompson, President of NATCA in Alaska. Congressman Young and his former colleague, Secretary LaHood, discussed the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) plan to move Alaskan engineers to Seatt... Read more »