Members of the U.S. House Committee on Infrastructure and Transportation will be holding meetings with officials in Alaska this week, including in Kodiak and in Anchorage.
The entourage includes Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Missouri), Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-Washington), Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Florida), Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-California), Rep. Julia Brownley (D-California), and a group of staffers, security personnel, and representatives from groups such as the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
Vice Admiral Andrew J. Tiongson, Commander USCG Pacific Area, which stretches from Rocky Mountains across the Indo-Pacific, Arctic and Antarctic regions, all the way to the coast of eastern Africa, is scheduled to attend as well.
Not yet on the official CODEL (congressional delegation) schedule: Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola, who is said to have been out of the country during August recess.
Peltola is a member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and is on the Subcommittee on Aviation. She has been MIA, not been seen in the state since Congress went into August recess. Her state director Josh Revak is rarely seen in public.
The meetings appear will include port and aviation issues, as representatives from the aviation sector are expected to also fly into Anchorage.
Rep. Peltola is also not able to attend meetings with Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg from Aug. 14-16. Her campaign and official social media accounts have been unusually quiet, and the mainstream media is not asking her questions about her whereabouts. Peltola is expected to be back from her travels for a charity fishing event that follows the Kenai Classic at the end of the month.
