00 CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 42(TRA) 01 Supporting the Northern Continental Corridor concept; and urging the United States 02 Department of Defense to fund further analysis for the Northern Continental Corridor. 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 WHEREAS the state occupies a critical role in the national defense of the United 05 States, hosting strategic radar systems, missile defense assets, and Arctic infrastructure 06 essential to the security of the continental United States; and 07 WHEREAS the capacity and range of surface logistics is a foundation for defense 08 readiness, economic resilience, industrial development, and community affordability across 09 the state; and 10 WHEREAS the Northern Continental Corridor concept has national defense value 11 through improved redundancy, bulk movement capability, and year-round surface access, 12 supporting Department of Defense installations, Arctic infrastructure development, and long- 13 term sustainment requirements; and 14 WHEREAS the Northern Continental Corridor concept is based exclusively on 15 publicly available data, historical feasibility studies, government filings, and established 16 transportation and economic modeling benchmarks, with calculations derived from 01 recognized and verifiable sources; and 02 WHEREAS the Northern Continental Corridor concept is in an early planning stage, 03 intended to establish an analytical baseline and identify areas requiring further technical, 04 institutional, and defense-specific evaluation; and 05 WHEREAS the Northern Continental Corridor concept demonstrates that, based on 06 publicly available data and calculable tables, the proposed corridor is technically possible, 07 financially credible under base case assumptions, and aligned with long-term United States 08 defense, industrial, and Arctic policy objectives; and 09 WHEREAS modeled capital investment associated with the Northern Continental 10 Corridor concept is estimated in the range of approximately $22,000,000,000 to 11 $43,000,000,000, projecting to add approximately 330,000 to 510,000 jobs nationwide, 12 including tens of thousands of direct construction jobs and sustained, long-term operational 13 employment; and 14 WHEREAS the Northern Continental Corridor concept may offer meaningful 15 affordability benefits for residents of the state through improved reliability, scale, and 16 resilience of surface logistics, lowering costs for construction materials, fuel, industrial inputs, 17 and essential goods, and increasing food security without displacing existing transportation 18 modes; and 19 WHEREAS the Northern Continental Corridor concept is structured to complement, 20 not replace, the state's existing trucking and marine shipping industries by expanding total 21 freight volume, improving intermodal connectivity, strengthening backhaul efficiency, and 22 increasing overall surface logistics for rail, truck, and maritime sectors; and 23 WHEREAS trucking and marine operators are essential partners in first mile, last 24 mile, port, terminal, and regional distribution activities, with the development of the Northern 25 Continental Corridor projected to generate additional freight flows, equipment demand, and 26 employment opportunities within those industries; and 27 WHEREAS expansion of the current Northern Continental Corridor planning through 28 Department of Defense funding would provide for refined defense logistics modeling, 29 engineering validation, institutional coordination analysis, and interagency alignment, 30 expanding on publicly available data; 31 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 01 Department of Defense to fund further analysis and evaluation of the Northern Continental 02 Corridor concept, including defense-specific logistics requirements, refined engineering 03 validation, and institutional coordination necessary for the federal government to make 04 informed decisions about the Northern Continental Corridor. 05 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Donald J. Trump, President 06 of the United States; the Honorable JD Vance, Vice President of the United States and 07 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Pete Hegseth, United States Secretary of Defense; 08 the Honorable Michael P. Duffey, United States Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition 09 and Sustainment; the Honorable General Gregory M. Guillot, Commander, United States 10 Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command; and the Honorable 11 Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Nicholas 12 Begich, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.