In the News/Op-eds
Military investments should help Alaska weather economic challenges
by Sen. Dan Sullivan
Alaska is facing tough economic times. Budgets are being squeezed, workers are being laid off and families are making due with less. But it's important to understand that we've been here before, and we've come out stronger because of it. It's also important to remember that just like in past recoveries, the federal government has a significant role to play in Alaska. Working together again, Alaska's congressional delegation is united on this issue. We are making sure that Alaska gets its f… Continue Reading
03.17.16
Alaska must have clear path to pursue justice for young women in Allen case
by Sen. Dan Sullivan, Alaska AG Craig Richards
As many Alaskans know, the state still hasn't fully recovered from the corruption scandal that beginning in 2006 rocked the state and sowed the seeds of mistrust between the people and their government. Certain prior actions by the U.S. Department of Justice -- the most powerful guardian of justice in our country -- have contributed to that lingering mistrust. However, there is a new opportunity for U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to right past wrongs. That's why we announced last month tha… Continue Reading
02.21.16
Pentagon recognizing Alaska's strategic value
by Sen. Dan Sullivan
World leaders are justifiably on edge about North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-Un. From executing senior members of his government and military to rocket launches and nuclear tests, the irrational and paranoid Kim Jong-Un has combined his nuclear goals and ballistic-missile ambitions into a volatile mixture of regional and global instability. In response, Congress has stepped up to lead by recently passing bipartisan legislation to broaden sanctions and punish North Korea for its nuclear progra… Continue Reading
12.13.15
Obamacare hurts Alaska most
by Sen. Dan Sullivan
Recently, while home in Anchorage, in the course of two hours, three people in three different places - a gas station, Carr's and Lowe's - talked to me about how Obamacare is wiping them out. Hardly a day passes when I don't hear from or read about Alaskans harmed by Obamacare. One Alaska family tells me they now pay $1,200 per month in premiums with a $10,000 deductible. Another couple pays more than $3,000 per month in premiums, almost $38,000 per year. Here's an excerpt from a constitue… Continue Reading
08.27.15
Fixing Alaska's model VA system: Used to reform national veterans' care, state system now needs help
by Fairbanks Daily News-Miner Editorial Board
News-Miner opinion: A year and a half ago, the national Veterans Affairs health system was in disarray. At clinics across the Lower 48, veterans waited for care for weeks and months, in some cases dying before receiving treatment. But the Alaska system was a different story. Thanks to reforms pushed by the state's congressional delegation, the Last Frontier's veterans had shorter waits and better access to care. So Congress developed a national system akin to Alaska's - only to have its rollout … Continue Reading
06.01.15
Alaska, Washington state must work together
by Sen. Dan Sullivan
As an American, a U.S. senator and an Alaskan, I'm deeply concerned with the security of our nation and the economic wellbeing of my state, much of which depends on continuing the historic and mutually beneficial relationship between Alaska and Washington state. That relationship is strained and put at risk when officials in Washington use Alaska's economy as a platform to engage in political opportunism. I'm referring specifically to Seattle Mayor Ed Murray's recent actions to attempt to bloc… Continue Reading
05.11.15
OP-ED: ‘Rebalance’ to Asia calls for 3-pronged strategy
by Sen. Dan Sullivan
Almost two decades ago, I was a Marine Corps infantry officer aboard an amphibious assault ship with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit deployed in the South China Sea. The ship I was on, the USS Belleau Wood, received orders to transit the Taiwan Strait during what later became known as the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, precipitated by Chinese military action and missile launches in the run up to Taiwan's 1996 presidential elections. We were part of a show of substantial U.S. military force in th… Continue Reading
04.26.15
Standing tall against sex trafficking: Sen. Dan Sullivan crafted worthy amendment to bill targeting sex trade
by Fairbanks Daily News-Miner Editorial Board
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner editorial: Sex trafficking is a difficult issue to confront. It's hard to think about people being placed in such a position, much less talk about it and develop effective strategies to combat it. Therefore, it's heartening the U.S. Senate, in a rare show of bipartisanship, came together this week to pass legislation aimed at protecting victims of sex trafficking and making punishing the perpetrators of such crimes more effective. Kudos especially to Sen. Dan Sullivan,… Continue Reading
04.22.15
Sen. Dan Sullivan explains his views on the Iran deal and why
by Sen. Dan Sullivan
Last week in an op-ed about the Iranian nuclear deal, Juneau resident Richard Moniak raised questions about an earlier column I wrote in this paper, and about the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's recent passage of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, which I co-sponsored. If the act passes in both the House and the Senate, it will allow Congress to have an up-or-down vote on an eventual nuclear arms agreement with Iran - one of the most significant national security issues facing A… Continue Reading
04.08.15
New waters rule would greatly expand EPA role
by Sen. Dan Sullivan
Alaskans and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy generally don't agree on much. But recently, when talking to a reporter about water, she hit on a consensus, albeit unintentionally: "Water is personal," she said. Indeed it is. And Alaskans know just how personal. We are a state that understands and loves its water. We boast 43,000 miles of coastline, and millions of lakes. More than 43 percent of our state's surface area is composed of wetlands - which accounts for 6… Continue Reading
03.24.15
Wall Street Journal OpEd: Obama’s Alaska Wilderness Head Fake
by Senator Dan Sullivan
President Obama's plan to designate 12 million acres as wilderness in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge did not fool Alaskans. The announcement in January revealed his goal of starving the trans-Alaska pipeline by stranding tens of billions of barrels of American oil permanently under the Arctic tundra, and turning the state into a giant national park. Given the huge importance the oil industry plays in employing Alaskans and funding state services, the president's plan will wreak havoc on t… Continue Reading
03.21.15
Congress should have a say in US-Iran nuclear weapons deal
by Sen. Dan Sullivan
As I traveled throughout our great state last year, I heard repeatedly how worried Alaskans were about national security. From the growth and brutality of ISIS and a resurgent Russia waging war in the heart of Europe, to a steady march by Iran to obtain nuclear weapons, Alaskans recognized the unprecedented challenges threatening our country. They sensed what former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger recently put into words during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing: "The United States ha… Continue Reading
02.03.15
Let's win assault on Alaska together
by Senator Dan Sullivan
Most of us remember where we were when we first learned of some momentous event that seemed briefly to freeze history in time. Like many Alaskans, I'll never forget where I was on 9/11. Many of us will never forget where we were when we learned that Sen. Ted Stevens was in the plane crash that took his life, or when Gov. Wally Hickel passed on. And I will never forget where I was when I heard that President Barack Obama was once again going to attempt to lock up millions of acres of Alaska la… Continue Reading