Legislature(2017 - 2018)BUTROVICH 205
04/17/2018 12:30 PM Senate SPECIAL CMTE ON THE ARCTIC
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HJR33 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HJR 33 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON THE ARCTIC
April 17, 2018
12:31 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Cathy Giessel, Chair
Senator Donald Olson
Senator Click Bishop
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Pete Kelly
Senator Lyman Hoffman
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 33(AET)
Urging the Alaska delegation in Congress to pursue the
establishment of a U.S. Coast Guard port in the Arctic region;
supporting the increase in defensive capabilities in the Arctic
region; and encouraging the development of critical Arctic
infrastructure.
- MOVED CSHJR 33(AET) OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HJR 33
SHORT TITLE: DEVELOP: ARCTIC INFRASTRUCTURE/DEFENSE
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) TUCK
02/09/18 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/09/18 (H) AET
02/27/18 (H) AET AT 11:30 AM BARNES 124
02/27/18 (H) Heard & Held
02/27/18 (H) MINUTE(AET)
03/06/18 (H) AET AT 11:30 AM BARNES 124
03/06/18 (H) Scheduled but Not Heard
03/08/18 (H) AET AT 11:30 AM BARNES 124
03/08/18 (H) Moved CSHJR 33(AET) Out of Committee
03/08/18 (H) MINUTE(AET)
03/09/18 (H) AET RPT CS(AET) NT 4DP 2AM
03/09/18 (H) DP: EDGMON, JOSEPHSON, TUCK, LINCOLN
03/09/18 (H) AM: NEUMAN, TALERICO
04/04/18 (H) TRANSMITTED TO (S)
04/04/18 (H) VERSION: CSHJR 33(AET)
04/06/18 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/06/18 (S) ARC
04/17/18 (S) ARC AT 12:30 AM BUTROVICH 205
WITNESS REGISTER
MICHAEL LOWE, Staff
Representative Chris Tuck
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HJR 33 on behalf of the sponsor.
RICHARD BENEVILLE, Mayor
City of Nome
Nome, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported HJR 33.
ACTION NARRATIVE
12:31:07 PM
CHAIR CATHY GIESSEL called the Senate Special Committee on the
Arctic meeting to order at 12:31 p.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators Olson, Bishop, and Chair Giessel.
HJR 33-DEVELOP: ARCTIC INFRASTRUCTURE/DEFENSE
12:31:36 PM
CHAIR GIESSEL announced the consideration of HJR 33, which urges
the Coast Guard to establish a port in the Arctic and bolster
defense capabilities in the Arctic. [Version 30-LS1350\J was
before the committee.] She noted that this was a key topic of
discussions for the Alaska Arctic Policy Commission, which she
and Senator Olson were on several years ago.
MICHAEL LOWE, Staff, Representative Chris Tuck, Alaska State
Legislature, presented HJR 33 on behalf of the sponsor.
12:32:44 PM
CHAIR GIESSEL shared that on the Arctic Policy Commission,
former Admiral Tom Barrett said the thing that kept him awake at
night was concern about the lack of infrastructure to respond to
any accidents involving passage vessels and cruise ships going
through the Bering Strait. All those lives that would need to be
rescued with no means to execute that, to say nothing of the
fuel, and so forth. The resolution has zero fiscal note.
12:33:28 PM
CHAIR GIESSEL opened public testimony.
12:33:34 PM
RICHARD BENEVILLE, Mayor, City of Nome, supported HJR 33. He
said his remarks would be brief but passionate. Nome is working
to expand its port into a deep-draft, strategic port. He just
returned from Norway from an Arctic Frontiers presentation. The
people of Norway, Finland, Sweden, and even Russia are not
looking at the future. They are dynamically in it. He would like
to see Alaska, the United States, more in it. He grew up in the
Air Force and just outside of town when he was a kid was a White
Alice site, part of defense during the Cold War. The reason for
its presence in Alaska was proximity to the Bering Strait and
Russia. Although the Coast Guard and the Russians are working
together now, which is wonderful news, he grew up in the Air
Force and remembers the Cold War. He looks forward to a series
of port infrastructure going north to put Alaska in the game.
Senator [Lisa] Murkowski was brilliant to get a $1 billion into
a DoD [Department of Defense] bill for a new icebreaker. The
country should have three. It is so outnumbered. He loves the
country. He loves Alaska. It is so important to speak with one
voice. An incredible half of the country's coastline is in
Alaska.
12:36:19 PM
SENATOR OLSON asked Mayor Beneville where else he has lived.
12:36:31 PM
MAYOR BENEVILLE replied that he has been in for Nome 30 years.
Before that Barrow, now Utqiagvik, for eight years and he loved
it. Before that, he was in New York City, the Upper West Side.
SENATOR OLSON asked him to remind the members of what he did in
Barrow, or what his mother told him he would be doing in Barrow.
12:37:18 PM
MAYOR BENEVILLE replied that he will, but he has to preface it
by saying that this is the truth and he does not mean to insult
the Inupiaq people at all. He has told it many times. They know
the story and appreciate the irony in the story. When he was
little, his grandmother used to chide him during the subway
baseball series because he rooted for the Yankees just to make
her angry because she was born in Brooklyn. She would turn to
him, look at him with her steely blue eyes, shaker her finger,
and say, "Dick, you know, one of these days with your mouth,
you're going to end up selling freezers to the Eskimos. And,
sir, I proudly worked for Alaska Commercial up there and had a
wonderful time." That changed his life. The people of Utqiagvik
allowed him to improve his life to where it is today, which he
is very happy about.
12:38:25 PM
CHAIR GIESSEL closed public testimony.
12:38:34 PM
SENATOR BISHOP said he was in full support.
CHAIR GIESSEL called the committee's attention to Summary of the
2018 National Defense Strategy of the United States of America
in their packets. She entertained a motion.
12:38:58 PM
SENATOR OLSON moved HJR 33, Version 30-LS1350\J, out of
committee.
12:39:14 PM
There being no objection, CSHJR 33(AET) moved from the Senate
Special Committee on the Arctic.
12:39:23 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Giessel adjourned the Senate Special Committee on the
Arctic at 12:39 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Arctic Committee Hearing Agenda - 4 - 16 - 18.pdf |
SARC 4/17/2018 12:30:00 PM |
|
| CSHJR33.pdf |
SARC 4/17/2018 12:30:00 PM |
HJR 33 |
| HJR33 - Sponsor Statement.pdf |
SARC 4/17/2018 12:30:00 PM |
HJR 33 |
| HJR33 - Supporting Document - News Article from Newsweek.pdf |
SARC 4/17/2018 12:30:00 PM |
HJR 33 |
| HJR33 - Supporting Document - News Article from The Diplomat.pdf |
SARC 4/17/2018 12:30:00 PM |
HJR 33 |
| HJR33- Supporting Document - National Defense Strategy.pdf |
SARC 4/17/2018 12:30:00 PM |
HJR 33 |