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More than 40 years after Alaska aboriginal land rights were decided by the Alaska Native Land Claims Settlement Act, that process is nearing a close with the pending transfer of tens of thousands of Tongass National Forest land to Sealaska Corp., the regional Alaska Native Regional Corporation for Southeast Alaska. Bills sponsored by members of Alaska's U.S. Congressional delegation would do exact... Read more »

There is hope legislation sponsored by the Alaska Congressional delegation aimed at settling land conveyances with Sealaska Corp. might finally get a vote. In February, Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich sponsored the “Southeast Alaska Native Land Entitlement Finalization and Jobs Protection Act.” The bill would allow Sealaska to select roughly 70,000 acres of land under provisions in the 1971 A... Read more »

House Republicans on Wednesday took one of the first steps toward overturning a new Obama administration plan for managing wildlife and oil development in the 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. During a House subcommittee hearing on a bill to repeal the reserve management plan, Republicans insisted the administration’s blueprint tilts too heavily toward conservation by walling off ... Read more »

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Alaskan Congressman Don Young released the following statement today regarding Alaska Governor Sean Parnell’s proposed plan for assessing oil and gas potential in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR): “Opening ANWR for the benefit of Alaskans and Americans is long overdue, and I want to thank Governor Parnell for his continued leadership on this issue. During my time in Co... Read more »

Juneau, Alaska (AP) -- The state of Alaska on Monday proposed a multiyear, multimillion-dollar plan aimed at determining the true oil and gas potential in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. State officials hope the plan will reinvigorate — and reshape — the debate over whether to drill on the refuge's coastal plain. The plan was announced at an event hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Inst... Read more »

The Obama administration's release yesterday of a sweeping rule governing oil and gas drilling across roughly 700 million acres of federal lands drew an expected firestorm of criticism from Republicans, and one salvo from the president's own party. While policymakers are still combing through the details of the Bureau of Land Management's 171-page draft hydraulic fracturing rule, initial reactions... Read more »

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In the wake of yet another potential scandal from the Department of Justice, Alaskan Congressman Don Young has sent a letter with Congressman Trey Radel (R-FL), a former journalist, to Attorney General Eric Holder and Deputy Attorney General James Cole expressing grave concern for the possible First Amendment rights violations that occurred during their investigation of the Asso... Read more »

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Alaskan Congressman Don Young released the following statement today regarding the proposed regulations of hydraulic fracturing on federal and tribal lands announced by the Department of Interior: “Today’s announcement by the Department of Interior is very disappointing, but I have come to expect nothing less from an Administration beholden to environmental special interests. Th... Read more »

WASHINGTON, D. C. – Alaskan Congressman Don Young, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs today held a legislative hearing on H.R. 623, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium Land Transfer Act, that he introduced earlier this year. This legislation would direct the Department of Health and Human Services to transfer a 2.79 acre parcel of federal land in Anchorage, Ala... Read more »

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Alaskan Congressman Don Young voted this afternoon in favor of H.R. 45, to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and health care-related provisions in the Health Care Education and Reconciliation Act of 2010. “Today marks the 37th time since 2011 that Congress has voted to repeal all or parts of this awful piece of legislation, which I have called the worst bill ... Read more »