- Sec. Ken Salazar announced he's stepping down from the Department of the Interior today. We didn't always see eye to eye, but I appreciated his many trips to Alaska to hear from Alaskans about development and federal lands. I wish him well.
- Sorry to report the House stripped money for Alaska and other states out of the natural disaster funding bill today. The pared-down version only funded relief for Hurricane Sandy victims. No disrespect to anyone who was impacted by that horrible storm, but we have families struggling to have enough to eat this winter due to the chinook failure and they need help too. I'll keep fighting to see victims of federally and state-declared disasters get the help they deserve.
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- Welcome to the newest interns in the DC office, Brenda Lutz, Logan Spencer and Morgan Fawcett. Internships are available every semester and during the summer. If you're interested, visit http://www.begich.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/InternshipApplication for more information.
- My Anchorage staffer Greer went ice skating on her street last night. Be careful out there in the rainy, icy January weather, Alaska!
- Julianne Curry and Mark Vinsel outside the offices of United Fishermen of Alaska in Juneau last night. Julianne is the incoming executive director of UFA stepping into Mark's shoes. Mark will stay on as an administrative director. This photo was taken by my Juneau office director, Sally Smith.
- Look for my table at this great event for kids and families tomorrow. There will be lots of information on how to keep young Alaskans safe and healthy.
- Thanks to Wasilla High School senior Sabrina Holm, who made me this kuspuk! Sabrina is an Alaska Native student excelling in the school's IEA program - she's also a Certified Nursing Assistant. (Not to mention a great seamstress.) It was a pleasure to get to meet with her and her classmates in Wasilla yesterday.
Mark Begich added 24 photos to the album Show me your Alaska - January Cover Photo Contest.
- Due to such a positive response and high volume of submissions, moving forward we can only add three photos per entrant to the album.
Thanks to everyone for sharing their photos and keep 'em coming. - Submit your entry to be considered for the top spot on my Facebook page by emailing photos to coverphoto@begich.senate.gov. Entries must include the name of the photographer, location (I'm counting on Alaska!) of the photograph, and a brief description. All submissions must be the entrant’s own work. NOTE: if you choose to submit a photo that is not your own but meaningful to you, it will still be posted in the album, just not considered as a finalist.
- I'll be on The Dave Stieren Show on AM 750 KFQD at 3 p.m. today - give me a call!
Mark Begich updated his cover photo.
Submit your entry to be considered for the top spot on my Facebook page by emailing photos to coverphoto@begich.senate.gov.
Entries must include the name of the photographer, location (I'm counting on Alaska!) of the photograph, and a brief description. All submissions must be the entrant’s own work.
Photo submissions will be posted to an album on my page. The winning entry, chosen by me, will be on display throughout the month of February. The final day for submitting photos is January 29th and a winner will be selected on January 31st.
- This month, Sen. Mark Begich is holding a Facebook cover photo contest with the theme “Show Me Your Alaska,” encouraging any and all Alaskan photographers (amateur, professional, or anyone with a camera) to show their Alaska pride by submit...
Mark Begich shared a link.
I have the best interns! Here's a piece in the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman about my Wasilla office intern, Danielle James.- Proud to announce my newest committee assignment on the Appropriations Committee. It’s a great place to push for serious spending cuts, especially when we’re at such a critical point with the national deficit. I’ll work to make smart cuts that address our national challenges while working with Sen. Lisa Murkowski to represent Alaska’s interests and protect strategic resources like Eielson Air Force Base.
- Thanks to the American Red Cross of Alaska and the first responders from the Anchorage Police Department and Anchorage Fire Department who responded yesterday to the apartment fire in Midtown - sounds like it could have turned out a lot worse without their bravery and commitment. You make Alaska great!
Mark Begich shared a link.
Just learned Alaska will be getting its first Honor Flight Network chapter! If you're not familiar with this charity, it raises money to send military veterans to visit war memorials in Washington, D.C. Here's some info on the good work HFN does.Mark Begich shared a link.
Alaskans: It is time to let the FDA know what you think about genetically modified salmon. The public comment period on a draft finding of "no significant impact" to the environment or human health from FRANKENFISH is now open and we need to make sure they know how wrong-headed this finding is. Log your thoughts via this site (look for the green "submit a formal comment" button on the left), and please share this post far and wide! Just say no to Frankenfish!Mark Begich shared a link.
To all of you who expressed your frustration and disgust at the idea of Congress getting a pay raise, I have good news: The Senate succeeded in killing that notion in our fiscal cliff bill.- Not a moment too soon - the Senate passed a deal tonight that protects the middle class AND includes a rejection of the scheduled automatic pay raises for Congress. It's in the hands of House members now. Happy New Year, Alaska!
- New Year's resolutions:
1. Spend more time with family;
2. Spend more time with colleagues of different perspectives - political, regional, economic or otherwise - In both the Senate and the House;
3. Try to avoid cliffs - cuts are needed but we can make them less dramatic if we work together;
4. No more potato chips - okay, maybe only with lunch but definitely not between meals. - The Homeland Security Committee, of which I'm a member, put together the bipartisan report released today after pushing the administration for answers on the attacks in Benghazi that resulted in the loss of American lives. While it's clear the administration did not take the necessary steps to protect our public servants abroad, we are demanding they implement recommendations to make sure this never happens again.
- I'm going to stick around here until this deal is done, but like everyone else in this country, I'm fed up. A deal should have been done days ago. Working families need certainty that their taxes won't go up. There's a way to get this done without cutting benefits to our seniors. Time for our leaders to take some political risk for the sake of our country.
- I continue to oppose the President’s executive order to give members of Congress a pay raise. The American people don’t get an automatic pay raise and neither should members of Congress.
- The Senate's decision to extend the FISA Amendment's Act today for five years presents some serious concerns about our Constitutional rights,ones that myself and Alaskans fiercely believe we must protect. While it is critical for law enforcement agencies to be able to utilize surveillance tools to protect us from terrorism, a loophole remains in the FISA Act that would allow for unchecked monitoring of American's personal communications. We need a better balance between protecting our safety and constitutional rights
Mark Begich shared a link.
We lost a great American yesterday with the passing of Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf. My prayers are with his family and friends.- Welcome to Lt Governor Brian Schatz who has big shoes to fill replacing the late Sen. Inouye. Glad to have him in the Senate.
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