Congressman Nick Begich showed his statesmanship side on Thursday, delivering his first formal address as a U.S. representative to the joint session of the Alaska House and Senate.
In his remarks, Begich stayed true to his conservative values of smaller government and more private sector opportunity for Alaskans, while disarming the Democrat narrative of division and partisan politics. He even took a moment to give a courtesy mention of his predecessor Mary Peltola.
At the end of his 20-minute speech, Begich took questions. Senate President Gary Stevens allowed questions primarily from Democrats, with only a couple of Republicans in the House and Senate being allowed to ask Begich a question. Democrats harped on the narrative of there being not enough federal funding for the state.
Alaska is unique and it is different, Begich said, acknowledging that it is harder to provide services in such as big state, and that size, distance, and remoteness makes it more expensive.
Alaska is the second most federally dependent state in country, second only to New Mexico, he said. Alaska needs to open up resource development to reinvigorate the economy. He reminded his audience that during the statehood debate, the question was whether Alaska could develop its resources and not become essentially a colony.
Instead, he said, the federal government has done everything it could to shut down Alaska’s ability to actually break free of that colonial status. That is something he is working to change.
Among his topics were the development of a natural gasline and not only producing raw materials, but doing more of the processing of minerals, rather than sending them off to China only to have them returned in the form of cell phones.
“Beyond our ports, Alaska needs better connections to the Lower 48, and that means finally establishing a rail-to-rail connection through Canada. This project has enormous potential to lower shipping costs, improve supply chain reliability, and create new trade opportunities. I’m committed to working with stakeholders at the state and federal levels to move this vision forward,” Begich said. “We also need to preserve and strengthen the Alaska Marine Highway System, which is a lifeline for so many coastal communities. I’m working to ensure federal transportation policies recognize and support this critical service.”
He also spoke about his work to expand affordable and reliable energy.
“I’m focused on expanding power generation to lower energy costs and making sure our power transmission infrastructure is resilient enough to handle our extreme conditions. Whether it’s securing investments for microgrids in rural Alaska or pushing for better interconnection between regions, this is a priority that affects every Alaskan—families and businesses alike,” Begich said.
Good job nick. We definitely hired the right guy.
Open Alaska up. We should be flush with cash at this point in our history. Now it’s catch up time.
Nick has turned out to be everything I thought he’d be! Thank you Nick for being such defender and promoter of Alaska’s resources. It’s so very important!
Gary Steven’s is another imposter, faux, ‘Republican’. Good job to Congressman Begich for rising above the leftist narrative. Truly proving to be a statesman.
There is nothing that say Marxist like unity. And Mary P is the most Marxist representative Alaska has ever suffered. Mark Begich and his speech shows his true colors. A closet Marxist. Good luck Alaska.
If you can’t get his name right, should you be considered a serious person?
So far so good!
Open Alaska up and start a permanent fund too run the state from.
The theft of the people’s permanent fund, (not so permanent) must stop.
NB3 looks better each day. So glad I supported him. And will do so much more in the coming months.
Senate Prez skewed questions to favor the Leftists? No big surprise there…
does statesman mean saying a bunch of crap that really means nothing. Did he say any actual facts. Is the 45.7 million dollars still coming to Seward from the EPA? Is Royal Caribbean still interested in committing to the project without shore power? Seems like legislature and railroad would like to know that. He talks about the power transmission infrastructure. Is the HVDC project Dunleavy mentioned in his state of the state address dead? the Alaska Energy Authority says funding is paused.
Thanks for all your hard work! Go Nick, go!
Nick your message is heard now go back to DC for round 2 ! Your the right guy to be in the fight for Alaska States rights to develop our riches .
With Our State’s natural resources, we should be flush and not have to worry about education for the children of this great state! Make Alaska Smart Again!
Thank you, Nick. Also, we as a state need to become less reliant on Federal funds and we can. The idea that we have to have federal funding is a crutch that has been abused too long. The funding we do get goes to projects that don’t benefit all Alaskans and pet projects. Efficiency is important to make sure it’s being spent wisely.
His speech was as good as any speech to the Legislature, but so far as the discussion about natural resources, jobs, federal and justice system restrictions on development, and the impossibility of building new roads, you can find the same admonitions and language in speeches given to the Legislature by Congressman Young, Senator Ted Stevens, and Senator Frank Murkowski.
We hear the same grocery lists of development and employment opportunities but the state is stuck on the back side of a petroleum reserve curve. Governor Dunleavy’s address to the Legislature in 2019 and his most recent address, in 2025, are interchangeable, and if someone had put the 2019 speech in the teleprompter last month no one would have noticed. Until state and local government go through what President Trump is attempting to do with federal employment and spending we will continue to see Alaskans choose food stamps over jobs; and we will continue to see people who want to work hard in the private sector leave for other states.
Any one of us could give the speech; mention timber, a gas line, rare earths, and then look eastward toward Washington, DC to say, “You dirty rats,” and then take questions. I think there are now 14 people saying publicly and/or to friends that they are in the gubernatorial race, and it’s sad to note that not one of them will depart from that speech when they come to be on the campaign trail. Nick Begich gave a good speech, and so far as I can see that’s the best Alaska can do.
So nice that Nick mentioned Mary Peltola. Did he tell them that she’s out on the hunt for husband #6 and won’t be back until the honeymoon is over?