00         SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 18(RES)                                                        
01 Supporting and recognizing the importance of a natural gas pipeline project in the state;                               
02 and urging the federal government to take all necessary actions to expedite the state                                   
03 natural gas pipeline project.                                                                                           
04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
05       WHEREAS the state has long played a critical role in the energy independence of the                             
06 nation, with its vast oil and natural gas resources representing the largest reservoir in North                         
07 America; and                                                                                                            
08       WHEREAS the state has long envisioned a pipeline and export facility connecting                                 
09 North Slope gas to global markets, which could create thousands of high-paying jobs for                                 
10 United States residents and could generate long-term state and local revenue; and                                       
11       WHEREAS the state is rich in natural resources but also immense in size, which                                  
12 makes supplying reliable, cost-effective energy a challenge; and                                                        
13 WHEREAS residents from Fairbanks to Fort Yukon face tremendous energy costs                                           
14 that could be alleviated by the completion of a state natural gas pipeline project, with a spur                         
15 line to Fairbanks and related infrastructure, to produce and transport propane to communities                           

01 along the Yukon River for use in heating and cooking and to export liquefied natural gas                                
02 around the world; and                                                                                                   
03       WHEREAS recent federal administration support and attention underscore the                                      
04 strategic importance of a state natural gas pipeline project and may represent potential federal                        
05 funding and acceleration of the project; and                                                                            
06       WHEREAS a state natural gas pipeline project could provide reliable long-term                                   
07 infrastructure for both domestic energy security and global export opportunities; and                                   
08       WHEREAS the state has, for decades, advanced environmental reviews and                                          
09 permitting and has gathered international interest for a state natural gas pipeline project,                            
10 signaling readiness for final-stage federal support, financing, and permitting coordination of                          
11 the project; and                                                                                                        
12 WHEREAS the state has the only federally authorized proposed liquefied natural gas                                    
13 export project on the Pacific Coast of the United States, creating a short, direct energy                               
14 corridor that avoids canal chokepoints and contested waters to enable our allies to reliably                            
15 access liquefied natural gas from the state instead of relying on adversarial nations;                                  
16 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature strongly supports the rapid                                          
17 review of the most recent state natural gas pipeline project and recognizes its potential                               
18 strategic role in future energy for the state and as an export product for the United States; and                       
19 be it                                                                                                                   
20 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature expresses ongoing support                                          
21 for a state natural gas pipeline project and respectfully requests the support of Douglas                               
22 Burgum, United States Secretary of the Interior, the Department of Energy, the Federal                                  
23 Energy Regulatory Commission, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress, and all                                     
24 relevant federal agencies to expedite approvals, coordinate agency review, and ensure federal                           
25 funding for a state natural gas pipeline project.                                                                       
26 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Donald J. Trump, President                                   
27 of the United States; the Honorable Douglas Burgum, United States Secretary of the Interior;                            
28 the Honorable Chris Wright, United States Secretary of Energy; the commissioners of the                                 
29 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the                                          
30 Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Nicholas Begich, U.S.                                          
31 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.