Moving Forward with Alaska’s Future in Mind

Radical, environmental, outside fundraising groups and their friends in Congress and the White House have made Alaska ground zero in their efforts to hamper responsible fossil energy development, and as a Senior Member of the Natural Resources Committee, I am well-positioned to shape this debate and protect Alaska from groups whose sole mission is to cripple the foundation of our economy and turn the entire state into a National Park; strictly a vacation destination for wealthy backpackers from the Lower 48.

Thanks to the confidence you’ve placed in me, and the broad support of my colleagues, I have had the privilege of serving as Chairman, and now as a Senior Member of the Full Committee, and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs, of the House Natural Resources Committee. My work this Congress has focused on promoting policies that will reduce energy costs for all Americans and decrease our growing dependence on hostile foreign nations for resources we have in abundance here at home.

At the same time, I’ve been busy fighting off ill-conceived energy and natural resources legislation that would do the exact opposite. The actions of the Obama Administration and the numerous irresponsible proposals introduced this year in Congress will make us more dependent on foreign nations for the energy and mineral resources we have available domestically, further threaten our economic and national security, and send billions of dollars worth of investment and thousands of American jobs overseas in the process.

I believe in producing results instead of promises, which is why I have passed legislation to open the Arctic national Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil and gas development through the House 12 different times, passed legislation through the House this Congress to open up more offshore areas to oil and gas development while ensuring Alaska gets its fair share of the revenues, and reduced the EPA’s funding by $2.1 billion – or 20.4% – since Republicans gained control of the House in 2010. At the same time, the EPA staffing has been reduced by 2,059 bringing staffing to the lowest levels since 1989.