Sen. Dan Sullivan struck out in anger over a Biden Administration rule that could end up grounding essential small planes in Alaska, due to the fact that many of them require leaded aviation fuel.
During a hearing on the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, Sullivan slammed his hand on a table and yelled at Democratic Sen. Tom Carper and his staff. Carper, of Delaware, heads up the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and has been pushing the environmental agenda.
There are 8,734 registered aircraft in Alaska, making up 3% of all U.S. registered aircraft — 12 planes for every 1,000 Alaskans. More than 200 communities in Alaska are not reachable by road.
“I’m getting tired of my state being singled out by this staff, Democrat staff, on everything,” Sullivan yelled. “This goes to safety of my constituents. And you guys jump in at the last minute, and I’m so goddamn sick of it. Anything that deals with Alaska, you feel it’s open season because the radical environmental groups want to shut my state down. It’s wrong. It’s bull—, and I’m really mad about it!”
Sullivan has been advocating for legislative language to allow Alaska aircraft owners more time to transition from standard leaded aviation fuel, which is what nearly all small planes use in Alaska. The Environmental Protection Agency is mandating no leaded aviation fuel by 2030, and Sullivan has asked that Alaska be given an extension until 2034. Engines in existing planes will need to be completely replaced.
The matter at hand is a result of the FAA’s “Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions” (EAGLE) program, implemented in 2022 to phase out leaded aviation fuel in eight years.
“I’m sick of Alaska being the target of Senate Democrats and this president at nearly every possible opportunity—all to appease their environmental activist friends with heavy wallets—aka eco-colonialists,” Sullivan said. “They say they care about the rights of Indigenous Americans, yet they don’t listen to their concerns, and they undermine their economic opportunities and safety all the time because that’s what the eco-colonialists do.”
Sullivan explained it on X/Twitter: Here’s what’s happening this time: Alaska has over 200 communities not connected by road, making aviation a matter of life and death for thousands of Alaskans. I secured a provision in the FAA reauthorization bill providing Alaska a four-year extension from the national EPA requirement to transition off of standard leaded aviation fuel, recognizing a state as reliant on older aircraft as Alaska could not feasibly implement this mandate in that timeframe. Even with this extension, this transition will be extremely difficult and expensive. The Chair and Ranking Member of the Commerce Committee—Democrat Maria Cantwell and Republican Ted Cruz—both supported this exemption. But, without any data supporting the move, the EPW Committee Democratic staff slashed Alaska’s four-year implementation extension in half. Doing the bidding of far-left environmental groups, national Democrats are targeting Alaska and endangering the lives of Alaskans. What about the safety of rural Alaskans? It is shameful.”
