Sullivan Convenes Hearing to Review U.S. Coast Guard Operations and Readiness, Underscores Need for King Cove Road
USCG Commandant: “I can’t foot stomp loud enough the criticality of building out this 11-mile stretch of road.”
WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK), chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard, convened a hearing to review the readiness and operational performance of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), particularly in light of numerous natural disasters and storms that may have stretched the multi-mission service beyond its limits. Highlighted throughout the hearing were numerous discussions on Alaska-focused priorities and concerns, including the development of icebreakers, the home of future Coast Guard assets, and the ongoing need to build the King Cove road.
Senator Sullivan chairs a hearing to discuss Coast Guard readiness and operations (click here to watch)
“Today’s hearing was an important step in reviewing the real world needs and operational requirements of the U.S. Coast Guard,” Senator Sullivan said following the hearing “Not only did this serve as an opportunity to further review readiness, revitalization, needs for infrastructure and assets, it also served as a moment to highlight the critical work being done by our men and women of the Coast Guard to protect our coastal communities, waterways and oceans. Importantly, this hearing featured key testimony from both Admiral Zukunft and Etta Kuzakin of King Cove on the need to build the 11-mile, life-saving road between King Cove and Cold Bay – a project we’re working to approve through all means necessary.”
Among witnesses testifying were Admiral Paul Zukunft, Commandant of the USCG, who spoke broadly to the various challenges facing Coast Guard operations, assets and missions, and directly addressed his unabashed support for building the 11-mile, one lane, gravel road between the communities of King Cove and Cold Bay.
Admiral Zukunft speaking on the need to build the King Cove Road (click here to watch)
“I sincerely appreciate your leadership on this very critical issues that is not widely known in the 48 contiguous states,” Admiral Zukunft said in response to questions from Senator Sullivan.“… You and I saw this 11-mile stretch. This is very attainable at a very moderate cost, but you can’t put a dollar sign on a life. To a community, this is not a highly trafficked area to begin with. I cannot foot stomp loud enough the criticality of building out this 11-mile stretch of road and providing the lifeline that this community needs to high level healthcare.”
The hearing’s second panel heard directly from King Cove resident Etta Kuzakin, who in 2013 was rescued by the USCG in extreme weather conditions while 34 weeks pregnant. Kuzakin spoke passionately of her admiration for the men and women of the USCG, who she credits with saving her life and the life of her unborn child, and for the need to bring this longstanding injustice to a close – for the sake of the people of King Cove and the men and women of the Coast Guard.
Etta Kuzakin, President of the Agdaguxx Tribe and resident of King Cove, tells of her rescue by the USCG (click here to watch)
“Today, I am speaking to you not only as President of the Agdaguux Tribe, but as a mother who nearly lost my youngest child and possibly my own life, were it not for the courageous men and women of the Coast Guard who came to my rescue more than four and a half years ago,” Kuzakin stated in her opening remarks. “Our notoriously harsh and unpredictable weather on the Alaska Peninsula means that some Coast Guard medevacs are not only dangerous for patients, but also for the Coast Guard. At least 30 percent of the time, flights are delayed or cancelled because of gale-force winds, snow squalls or dense fog. Yet, time and time again, the Coast Guard has come to our rescue when no one else could. We’re hopeful that in the near future, we’ll have a single-lane gravel road connecting our isolated community to the nearby all-weather Cold Bay Airport, providing a safe and reliable transportation alternative.”
Since the 2013 denial of the King Cove road by former Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell, the community has experienced 68 medevacs, including 17 by the Coast Guard. Senator Sullivan and the Alaska congressional delegation have long pushed to resolve this issue both administratively and legislatively through the introduction of the King Cove Land Exchange Act. In August 2017, Senator Sullivan and Admiral Zukunft traveled to King Cove, AK where they met with members of the community, including Mayor Henry Mack, to discuss the need for the life-saving, 11-mile road to connect the community to the all-weather airport loca1ted in Cold Bay.
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