Everyone is talking about numbers this session. Alaska’s budget deficit is nearly $3.5 billion. The Republican-led majority threatens to cut an additional $1 billion from state government spending. Over $3 million is slated to be cut from early childhood education, which would decimate effective programs like Parents as Teachers, the Imagination Library, and pre-k in Alaska.
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This week, the State Senate scheduled a hearing for the U-Med/Northern Access Road bill that Senator Gardner and I introduced. I also attempted to restore funding to critical programs like Pre-K and job readiness, as well as welcomed a new colleague to the Legislature.
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Link to the HB128 Sponsor Statement from the office of Representative Scott Kawasaki.
Read More →I know you’re frustrated, and I’ve been incredibly frustrated, that we are in an extended session. But It seems like an end to the impasse may be near. So I won’t mention at all that I’d rather be in the middle of a fishing stream than in the middle of an extended session squabble. I will mention – for those of you who believe in needs-based financial aid so people can afford college and vocational education – that today we made some significant progress.
Read More →I returned Sunday night from my trip to the Energy Council. The four days spent in Washington were filled with non-stop meetings and seminars throughout the day. I travelled with three fellow House Democrats and a dozen House Republicans for meetings about Alaska. Meetings included visiting our Congressional Delegation and members of the Senate Energy Committee, the EPA and the Department of Interior.
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