WASHINGTON, D.C. – Alaskan Congressman Don Young today voted in support of H.J. Res. 80, the American Indian and Alaska Native, Health, Education, and Safety Act, which will provide immediate funding for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Education, and Indian Health Service through December 15, 2013. Congressman Young issued the following statement after the vote: “As I continue to wo... Read more »
FAIRBANKS — Two Interior residents testified in Washington on Thursday about their experience with armed, body-armor-clad federal agents at gold mining claims near Chicken in August. Sheldon Maier, the president of the Fortymile Mining Association, and miner Linda Kile described their experience at a U.S. House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. They said the police ta... Read more »
Alaska’s tribal hospitals and clinics would continue to be funded under legislation sponsored by Senators Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich, despite delays in Congress to pass a federal budget. Rep. Don Young introduced similar legislation in the House last week. Funding for the Indian Health Service was attached to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The IHS wou... Read more »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – During the week of August 19, 2013, a team of agents, led by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), raided placer mine sites in the Fortymile Mining District near Chicken, Alaska to investigate potential Clean Water Act violations. Today the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held an oversight hearing entitled, “EPA vs. American Mining Jobs:... Read more »
WASHINGTON, DC – Senators Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich today announced the introduction of a Senate bill that would deliver advanced appropriations to the Indian Health Service – creating funding certainties for a year ahead so that health care providers can best deliver medical services to our Nation’s first Americans – similar to the Department of Veterans Affairs system where Congress sets fu... Read more »
As it stands, the Bering Sea crab harvest is on hold until fishermen receive their permits from federal government. But three Pacific Northwest congressional leaders have an idea to get the season back on schedule. The plan from Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Rep. Don Young, along with Doc Hastings, a Washington State representative, is to recall the National Marine Fisheries Service staff members who w... Read more »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Rep. Don Young (both R-Alaska) today sent a letter to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe insisting that commercial hunting and fishing guides and air taxi operators with valid permits be allowed to continue to operate in National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska. Unlike other Department of the Interior agencies, the USFWS has taken steps to p... Read more »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the federal government begins the second week of the government shutdown, Congress remains in gridlock. President Obama and Senate Democrats, led by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), continue to refuse to come to the negotiating table. However, since the shutdown began on October 1, 2013, the House of Representatives has passed a variety of funding bills to reopen essential ... Read more »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Alaskan Congressman Don Young today announced the passage of H.R. 3223, the Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act, legislation that would ensure that federal employees currently furloughed during the government shutdown would be retroactively compensated. “I am relieved to see the House pass this bill that will give federal workers, who have been furloughed through no fa... Read more »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Alaskan Congressman Don Young today announced cosponsoring of H.R. 3223, the Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act, legislation that would ensure that federal employees currently furloughed during the government shutdown would be retroactively compensated. “This bipartisan bill is the right thing to do for the thousands of furloughed federal employees around the country.... Read more »
