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.
