In the News/Op-eds
OP-ED: Seizing opportunities for Alaska with the Trump administration
by Sen. Dan Sullivan
I recently delivered my annual address to the Legislature in Juneau. I spoke about the success we’ve had in continuing our military build-up, including the possibility of re-opening the U.S. Navy base in Adak, to counter the unprecedented number of Russian and Chinese incursions near our air and waters. I spoke about our veterans and how we’re continuing to work to make sure they get the benefits they have earned. We’ve also passed significant legislation, the Social Security Fairness Act, to e… Continue Reading
10.23.24
EDITORIAL: Alaska hurting from fentanyl
by Editorial Board
A recent story spoke to the alarming statics regarding Alaska drug overdoses, especially related to fentanyl. Such opioids killed a record number of Alaskans in 2023 as Alaska’s percentage of drug overdoses increased by 40% — the largest increase of any state for ’23. Alaska had 123 drug overdose deaths in 2014, 105 in 1018 and 342 in 2023. To say that Alaska is under attack is an understatement. But that is how U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan sees it. He has started a statewide fentanyl awareness ca… Continue Reading
06.09.24
OP-ED: Sullivan corrects the record on News-Miner’s account of flag incident
by Sen. Dan Sullivan
While I don’t always agree with the News-Miner’ editorials, I have long respected its professional work, especially getting the facts right. But the recent editorial, “The media rush that sparked a flag frenzy and got it all wrong,” misses the mark in so many ways, I felt compelled to respond personally. But before recounting the serious problems with this editorial, let me start with what happened and share an area of agreement. My office received a phone call from a constituent who was worki… Continue Reading
10.08.23
OP-ED: Stars are aligned to make a major push for Alaska LNG
by Sen. Dan Sullivan
There is no doubt that our state and nation are facing many challenges. Inflation is eating into paychecks. The wide-open southern border is fueling thousands of fentanyl overdoses. The cost of energy is skyrocketing. At every turn, it seems that the Biden administration is determined to shut down our state. Here is another challenge: Alaska’s Railbelt utilities are predicting that without further significant discoveries in the Cook Inlet, within the next five years, we will be forced to import… Continue Reading
08.07.23
OP-ED: Uniting Alaskans to address the youth mental health crisis
by Sen. Dan Sullivan
On June 26, I hosted the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, in Anchorage to hold a series of town hall-style roundtables—as well as a Facebook Live dialogue—to discuss the mental health crisis among our youth, how social media impacts that crisis, and how we can work together to combat it. The meetings were very productive and I thank the hundreds of Alaska mental health experts, parents, youth, public officials, tribal and non-profit leaders, for sharing their insights and for coming toget… Continue Reading
08.01.22
EDITORIAL: A Permitting Test for Democrats
by Editorial Board
Permitting headaches for public works are a bipartisan complaint. So we wonder: Will Democratic Senators join their Republican colleagues in voting to reverse a Biden Administration rule that adds costly new roadblocks? Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan plans to call for a vote as early as this week on a resolution to overturn a Council on Environmental Quality change to permitting rules under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Under the Congressional Review Act, a simple majority of both ch… Continue Reading
04.17.22
OP-ED: Sullivan and Inupiaq Leader: As Interior Secretary Visits Alaska, Here’s What We’d Like Her to Say.
by Harry Brower and Dan Sullivan
As many Alaskans know, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland is visiting our state this coming week, including a visit to Utqiagvik. It's a commitment that she gave to Sen. Dan Sullivan prior to her confirmation, and we are heartened that she's living up to this commitment. Because of the power Interior secretaries have over our state, the relationship between the secretary and state leaders has at various times in history been strained. And many of the decisions that the Interior Department, o… Continue Reading
03.04.22
OP-ED: Let Alaska Sell American Energy to the World
by Harry Brower Jr. and Josiah Patkotak
Even as Russian tanks lined up on the Ukrainian border in February, the Biden administration froze U.S. drilling on federal lands and issued rules making it harder to build natural-gas pipelines. We may be Inupiaq Eskimos 5,000 miles away from the Washington policy machine, but we know crazy when we see it. And this is crazy. Big profits from oil and gas exports to Europe and the U.S. are enabling Vladimir Putin's aggression in Ukraine. Curtailing U.S. energy production forces the world to buy … Continue Reading
01.08.22
OP-ED: Headwinds and hope for the new year
by Sen. Dan Sullivan
Let's face it, 2021 was another tough year. The pandemic, which we had all hoped would be in the rearview mirror by now, is still front and center. It's taken too many lives of our fellow Americans, and has greatly disrupted our communities. Inflation, which is at a 40-year high, is shrinking the budgets of working Alaskans. Compounding these serious challenges is the Biden administration's open hostility to Alaska's economy and our way of life. However, despite these challenges, we have been a… Continue Reading
02.27.21
OP-ED: Even during a pandemic, the iconic Iditarod continues
by Sens. Dan Sullivan & Lisa Murkowski, and Rep. Don Young
The Iditarod - the Last Great Race - captures the imagination and the hearts of many Alaskans, as well as people around the world. Teams of mushers and their dogs racing roughly 1,000 miles across the state of Alaska toward the finish line in Nome, in some of the harshest conditions and across some of the most difficult and rugged terrain on the planet. It is quintessentially Alaskan. There are other sled dog races around the world and throughout Alaska, but the Iditarod is the most renowne… Continue Reading
12.07.20
OP-ED: “Defense Is on the Ballot in Georgia”
by Sen. Dan Sullivan
The stakes in the Georgia U.S. Senate races on Jan. 5, 2021, between Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler and their respective challengers, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, are very high for a host of reasons. One that has not received enough attention is the readiness of our military. The U.S. faces rising threats from China, Russia and Iran, and continued robust funding of our military is clearly at stake in Georgia, which will decide the Senate majority. Nowhere is the divide between Democrat… Continue Reading
03.27.20
U.S. senators, congressman address COVID-19 pandemic
by Senator Dan Sullivan, Senator Lisa Murkowski & Congressman Don Young
We understand what a challenging and unprecedented time this is for Alaskans. The COVID-19 virus has been an evolving pandemic, spreading worldwide and severely disrupting life across America and our state. Alaskans are worried not only about their personal health and the impacts that Alaska's health systems may face, but also the potential short-and long-term economic impacts on working families, jobs and small businesses across the state. But in true Alaska fashion, folks in the state hav… Continue Reading
01.24.20
OP-ED: Goldman Sachs to Native Alaskans: Drop Dead
by Harry Brower Jr.
As the mayor of Alaska's North Slope Borough, I represent about 10,000 people in an area larger than most states. Beneath our lands are some of the largest oil and gas reserves in the world, including Prudhoe Bay and the coastal plain of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. Since the 19th century, when our Inupiat ancestors made initial contact with the West, we have worked to maintain a balance between the modern world and our rich cultural inheritance. Largely because of the oil and gas und… Continue Reading
01.17.20
EDITORIAL "The Senate—unanimously!—acts to improve the health of our oceans"
10.26.19
EDITORIAL: Every human should be alarmed by the plastic crisis in our oceans
by Editorial Board
"WITHOUT CHANGE," warns a bipartisan group of senators, "there will be more plastic by weight than fish in the oceans by 2050." Some of the signs of this growing crisis are visible: sea turtles caught in discarded fishing nets; piles of trash floating in the ocean; birds and fish stranded in plastic six-pack rings. But much of the trash in the ocean is not so obvious. National Geographic reports that the iconic Great Pacific Garbage Patch - also known as the Pacific trash vortex - is … Continue Reading
03.29.19
Trump has not been ‘soft’ on Russia. He’s been tougher than Obama.
by Senator Dan Sullivan
Now that the Mueller investigation is over, we can put to bed the persistent and erroneous allegations that President Trump's campaign colluded with the Russians to get him elected. Likewise, we should also put to bed another persistent and pernicious narrative: that the president and his administration have been "soft" on Russia. This narrative has been continuously promulgated by a host of former Obama administration officials (see, for example, the recent Post op-ed by a former U.S. ambassad… Continue Reading
06.26.17
The Missile Defense Imperative
Liberal opposition to missile defense has persisted since the 1980s, but the politics may be changing with technological progress and the rising threat from North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un's nuclear weapons. Congress has an opportunity this summer to notch a rare bipartisan deal that enhances U.S. security. Kim has already overseen more nuclear and missile tests than his father and grandfather combined, and the Defense Intelligence Agency warns that "if left on its current trajectory" Pyongya… Continue Reading
02.02.17
Don’t ‘tear up’ the Iran deal. Let it fail on its own.
by Sen. Dan Sullivan
As a candidate, Donald Trump said he would "tear up" the Iran nuclear deal once elected. Many of us in the Senate strongly opposed this deal on substance - it provides the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism a pathway toward to nuclear weapons inside of a decade - and also on process. The Obama administration sought the approval of the U.N. Security Council, but essentially ignored the constitutional role of the Senate in seeking to finalize the deal as an executive agreement, not a treat… Continue Reading
12.05.16
How to Put Building Permits on a Fast Track
by Sen. Dan Sullivan
President-elect Donald Trump has made investing in U.S. infrastructure a priority. This country urgently needs to build and repair roads, bridges, airports, pipelines and rail lines. But a huge roadblock is the federal permitting system. Even with a more business-friendly administration, a trillion-dollar infrastructure plan won't accomplish much unless Congress reforms the way public-works projects are approved. America used to be the envy of the world in building great projects responsibly, e… Continue Reading
05.06.16
The truth about our continuing combat role
by Sen. Dan Sullivan
When the president is in open disagreement with the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on one of the most critical issues our nation faces - whether to send our sons and daughters into combat - it should be cause for significant national concern. President Obama has repeatedly told the American people that U.S. troops are not in combat in the Middle East. In 2010, he announced that "our combat mission is ending" in Iraq. He used the same words in 2014 regarding A… Continue Reading