00SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 38                                                                                        
01 Expressing support for a cooperative United States-Canada feasibility study on                                          
02 extending the North American rail system through British Columbia and the                                               
03 Yukon Territory to Alaska.                                                                                              
04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                              
05  WHEREAS rail transportation is the most cost-effective long distance method of                                       
06 overland transportation; and                                                                                            
07  WHEREAS  rail transportation is an essential component of the North American inter-                                  
08 modal transportation system; and                                                                                        
09  WHEREAS rail transportation is energy efficient, capable of moving goods three to                                    
10 nine times farther per unit of fuel than highway transportation; and                                                    
11  WHEREAS rail transportation emits lower levels of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide,                                   
12 nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds per ton of freight moved than other modes                               
13 of freight transportation; and                                                                                          
14  WHEREAS rail transportation systems allow controlled access to and reduced overall                                   

01 effects on environmentally sensitive regions; and                                                                       
02  WHEREAS rail transportation remains an important component of national and                                           
03 continental defense planning; and                                                                                       
04  WHEREAS the North American rail transportation system will not be complete until                                     
05 it extends to all states, provinces, and territories on the continent; and                                              
06  WHEREAS the State of Alaska recently enacted legislation to reauthorize the                                          
07 delineation and acquisition of a rail transportation corridor from the present terminus of the                          
08 Alaska Railroad to the border between Alaska and the Yukon Territory; and                                               
09  WHEREAS Alaska, the Yukon Territory, and British Columbia contain extensive oil                                      
10 and gas, mineral, and timber resource reserves that currently are inaccessible, and bilateral                           
11 cooperation in the development of a freight transportation infrastructure would facilitate the                          
12 utilization of these resources for the benefit of the United States and Canada; and                                     
13  WHEREAS a northern rail system may significantly benefit the visitor industry by                                     
14 facilitating the comfortable movement of passengers over long distances while minimizing the                            
15 effect of such movement on the surrounding environment; and                                                             
16  WHEREAS ongoing research and advancements in rail technology continue to                                             
17 increase the efficiency of rail transportation and ensure rail safety and decrease the effect of                        
18 rail transportation on the environment;                                                                                 
19  BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the                                           
20 government of the United States and the government of Canada to engage in a cooperative                                 
21 feasibility study to examine the costs and benefits of constructing a rail connection to link                           
22 Alaska and the Yukon Territory by way of northern British Columbia with the existing North                              
23 American rail transportation system; and be it                                                                          
24  FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the                                         
25 government of the United States and the government of Canada to establish a bilateral                                   
26 commission representing local governments, business interests, and aboriginal stakeholders to                           
27 define the goals and objectives for the cooperative feasibility study and to report the results                         
28 of the study to the appropriate governmental entities of the United States and Canada; and be                           
29 it                                                                                                                      
30  FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests that                                        
31 funding for operation of the bilateral commission and for the conduct of the cooperative                                

01 feasibility study be considered a priority for the governments of the United States, Canada,                            
02 British Columbia, the Yukon Territory, and the State of Alaska.                                                         
03  COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Jean Chretien, Prime                                        
04 Minister of Canada; the Honorable David Collenette, Minister of Transport, Transport Canada;                            
05 the Honorable Dan Miller, Premier of the Province of British Columbia; the Honorable Piers                              
06 McDonald, Government Leader, Yukon Territory; the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the                              
07 United States; the Honorable Madeleine K. Albright, United States Secretary of State; the                               
08 Honorable Rodney E. Slater, United States Secretary of Transportation; the Honorable Strom                              
09 Thurmond, President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Jesse Helms, Chair of                                 
10 the Committee on Foreign Relations of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable John McCain, Chair                                 
11 of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the U.S. Senate; the                                       
12 Honorable J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable                                
13 Benjamin A. Gilman, Chair of the Committee on International Relations of the U.S. House                                 
14 of Representatives; the Honorable Bud Shuster, Chair of the Committee on Transportation and                             
15 Infrastructure of the U.S. House of Representatives; and to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the                           
16 Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S.                                             
17 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.