Two top state lawmakers released an open letter Feb. 27 calling Alaska’s all-Republican congressional delegation to action. The letter, addressed to Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, and House Rep. Nick Begich III, urges for “a reasoned approach” to the Trump administration’s budget-slashing initiatives. A copy was also sent to Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
Republican Senate President Gary Stevens and Independent House Speaker Bryce Edgmon co-authored the letter.
“Unfortunately, this could be a historic time for Alaska, and not in a good way,” Edgmon told KUCB.
In the letter, the pair highlight concerns about the potential loss of millions of dollars in collective wages for federal workers, threats to funding for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and lost energy infrastructure grant money. They called for an end to the “unchecked elimination of federal programs and untempered reduction in the federal workforce.”
Edgmon commended Murkowski for her recent remarks critical of the Trump administration, drawing comparisons to the late Sen. Ted Stevens.
“Picking up where Ted Stevens left off, that sort of approach to putting Alaska first instills in me a lot of pride as, first and foremost, an Alaska resident — and secondly, as a legislator,” he said.
The speaker was less enthused following Begich’s address to a joint session of the state legislature, in which the congressman voiced support for some of Trump’s cost-cutting measures. During that address, Begich described the government’s current level of spending as “unsustainable.”
Edgmon contrasted Begich’s stances with that of late Alaska Congressman Don Young.
“I think Don Young would have put Alaska first,” Edgmon said. “He wouldn't have put an ideology or the administration in front of the many needs that are scattered all across Alaska.”
Stevens and Edgmon wrote that the state legislature cannot fix the “financial havoc” coming from the federal level. They called on the congressional delegation and Dunleavy to work together to address what they describe as a “looming crisis.”
