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Senate Majority
Bipartisan Coalition Website
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State
Senator District E
Senate
Majority Leader
Senator Cathy Giessel Newsletter
UPDATES
Issues affecting
your
family, community and jobs.
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Dear friends and
neighbors,
Photo: I attended a
Nuclear Energy Institute symposium this week with nuclear engineers
and engineering students from around the world! I foresee that
nuclear energy will be Alaska’s energy of the future.
The Alaska Dividend
This is a dangerous topic
to talk about! The Dividend is called the “3rd Rail”, meaning it’s
electrified and dangerous to touch it!
But I’m going to be brave
and talk about this program.
Here’s what I worry
about: Alaskans who work 2 jobs to make ends meet; kids who go home
to empty homes with no one to take care of them after school;
families who can’t afford healthy foods or sometimes any food;
adults and kids who are depressed, anxious, even thinking about
suicide; parents who can’t afford healthcare for themselves or
their kids.
Alaska benefits from
Federal funds to support food banks, supplemental nutrition
programs (SNAP), afterschool programs (like Boys & Girls Club
and others), rental assistance ($700/month or so), Medicaid for
healthcare and mental health, special needs services in schools,
funding for schools, and much more! But these Federal funds don’t
cover all the costs for these programs - and now federal funding
has been cut in recent months, by an act of Congress and our
President.
60% of Alaskans don’t
utilize any of these services. In fact, 60% of Alaskans don’t
desperately wait for the Dividend to distribute. That’s
because they have income sources that cover these needs and more.
However, I worry about
the other 40% of Alaskans who do need access to food banks,
Medicaid, SNAP, rent subsidy, and who wait anxiously for the
Dividend.
The Dividend, as written
44 years ago, is running out of money. Two reasons: a) the
structure of the Fund is badly outdated and needs fixing; b) the
state budget is no longer funded by oil taxes as it was when the
Dividend was created.
Why aren’t oil taxes
paying the bills anymore?
A) Oil production has
slowly fallen over the last 40 years; B) Price of oil has fallen;
C) Not all oil companies pay corporate income tax (Hilcorp, for
example, doesn’t pay this tax); D) Oil tax deductions reduce the
oil taxes paid by new oil fields.
Attached is a “History
of the Permanent Fund and Dividend”. I didn’t make this
history up; it’s documented by many people like me, who were here
in the 1970’s. We remember the events that created the
Dividend program.
Dividend spending was
never meant to be income replacement for residents. And it was
never meant to be entitlement spending that was “owed” to Alaskans.
The Permanent Fund was
created to serve as savings available to fund state services when
oil taxes no longer did. That time is now.
I will be honest with
you: I will vote to fund state services first, before dividend
spending. I will be sure that SNAP, Medicaid, roads, public safety,
schools, healthcare, rent support, clean air regulations and more
are funded - before Dividend spending. These state services allow
our families, businesses, and communities to function and
prosper.
Healthy families,
businesses and communities are what make our state a great place to
live. That is my goal and what I work for every day.
I want to be truthful
with you. I won’t promise big dividend spending to win your votes
or “likes”. Those promises are fake and unable to be
fulfilled. Promises like that do not reflect our current fiscal
reality.
So I’ve touched the “3rd
Rail”. Through this and previous newsletters I’ve been truthful
with you about the dividend, the Permanent Fund history, and
today’s financial situation.
My hope is that we can
work together to build a great future for all Alaskans in the next
generations.
49
forward: For generations of Alaskans. Alaska Landmine
The Alaska Permanent Fund
embodies that generation’s pioneering, hardy spirit. Those
Alaskans, who had far less than we do today, selflessly chose to
transform a portion of our resource wealth into a renewable
financial resource for future generations rather than spend it on
themselves.
Let's Talk!!
I have a "Catch up
with Cathy" event this Saturday, October 4 at the Kaladi
Brothers Cafe on Tudor from 9:00-10:00am. Come get some coffee and
chat about what matters to you!
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Items in this Newsletter:
· Catch up with Cathy Events
· Community Wildfire Protection Plan
· Govenor Vetoes Reading Incentive Grant and CTC
Funding Legislation
· Current Topics, Stuff I Found Interesting,
Arctic Issues, Economy, Education, Politics, Healthcare,
· Resource Values, Permanent Fund
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AK
LNG nets two new agreements as development decision looms. KDLL
Glenfarne enlisted another
firm to
update the project’s current cost estimate. Prestidge says Glenfarne does not expect
construction costs to be “significantly more expensive” than previous
estimates, but they’re keeping the final construction price tag
secret. “You wouldn't normally be publishing costs for a project –
for a private project, kind of on a recurring – rolling updates,” he
said. “And so the ultimate cost to complete is going to be something
that is most likely not going to be made public.”
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These are informal coffee
conversations held on certain Saturdays from 9:00am-10:00am. The next
few events are listed below. I hope to see you there!
October
4: 9-10am
at the Kaladi Brothers Cafe on Tudor Road
October 25: 9-10am at the Steam Dot in O'Malley Center
November 15: 9-10am at the Grind in Girdwood
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Community Wildfire Protection Plan
I’ve attended several
wildfire presentations at national meetings in the past few months.
Universally agreed upon was
the concept that vegetation control is one of the basic elements of
wildfire prevention.
For our district that
means: removing beetle-kill trees, cut back underbrush, remove brush
piles, create a defensible perimeter around your home. Don’t use burn
barrels! (Sad that I have to say that but I was shocked to see one in
use recently on hillside).
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AFD's Community Wildfire
Protection Plan (CWPP) survey is currently open through September
30th, and we have received 277 responses to date. We would like to
reach a minimum of 500 responses. The survey results will directly
inform the development of Anchorage’s CWPP.
Looking ahead, we will be
hosting a Fall Wildfire Town Hall on:
📅 Wednesday, November 12, 2025
🕕 6:00 – 8:00 PM
📍 Wilda Marston Theater – Z.J. Loussac Library
This event will wrap up the
2025 fire season, provide updates ahead of 2026—including planned
hazard fuel mitigation projects—and present the CWPP Draft to the
community. The public comment period will be open November 12–30. We
recognize that not all community councils will meet during this time,
so we strongly encourage councils to help promote the survey this
month and the town hall in October. For accessibility, the town hall
will also be available on our YouTube
channel.
Staying Connected
While we will continue to
attend community council meetings in person when possible, we hope
the public finds our growing YouTube channel a valuable resource.
Monitoring our YouTube channel, AFD website, and Facebook &
Instagram pages are the best ways to stay informed.
As fire danger continues to
fluctuate during warm, dry days, fall is an ideal time to complete
Firewise work around your property. Please also note:
* Wood lots
remain open through October 31st, free to the public.
* For hours of
operation, visit the Solid Waste Services website.
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Governor Vetoes Legislation That Would Fund Reading
Incentive Grants and Career and Technical Programs
Anchorage, AK– Today,
Governor Mike Dunleavy vetoed Senate
Bill 113, which sought to modernize Alaska’s corporate income
tax law to include online sales from outside corporations. Senate
Bill 113 was a bipartisan compromise that would fund educational
opportunities in career and technical education and reading incentive
grants. Senator Bill
Wielechowski (D-Anchorage), who sponsored the legislation through
the Senate Rules Committee, expressed deep disappointment with the
veto, which would have brought in $25 to $65 million annually from
online corporations without impacting a single Alaskan.
“SB 113 was a common-sense,
bipartisan solution to help close our revenue gap without costing
Alaskans or Alaska businesses a penny,” said Sen. Wielechowski.
“The Governor had the opportunity to stand with Alaska families,
students, and communities – but instead, he chose to side with tech
corporations that profit from Alaskans and utilize our
infrastructure, while paying nothing back to our state.”
When Alaska’s corporate tax
laws were first written in 1970, they did not anticipate the modern
digital economy. As a result, major social media and streaming
companies can make significant profits from Alaskans without paying
corporate taxes here, even though they pay them in 36 other states.
The bill closed this
loophole by modernizing Alaska’s corporate tax structure to align
with reforms already adopted and widely accepted by other states.
These changes are standard nationwide, widely recognized as fair, and
have been shown not to increase consumer costs. In fact, by ensuring
companies are taxed only on the business they actually conduct in
Alaska, the measure would have made Alaska more attractive for data
centers and high-tech investment.
“Every Alaskan knows Alaska
is facing a revenue crisis, and that our education system needs
critical resources. This bill would have been a step towards closing
those gaps without taxing Alaskans while asking these corporations to
contribute to the state that they use for their business ventures,” Wielechowski
said. “The Governor’s veto sends the message that outside
corporations come before Alaska’s schools, Alaska’s workforce, and
Alaska’s future.”
Alaska
Gov. Dunleavy vetoes corporate tax bill intended to fund public
education programs. Alaska Beacon
That shift, already enacted
by 36 other states, would have required companies like Netflix and
Hulu, which do not have any in-state business presence, to pay
corporate taxes based on sales to Alaskans. That shift was expected
to generate between $25 million and $65 million per year for the
state treasury once fully implemented.
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Current Topics
Alaska
loses lawsuit that challenged the western boundary of the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge. Alaska Beacon
Judge Sharon Gleason ruled that laws
and regulations setting the western border of the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge are “ambiguous,” but federal regulators made a reasonable
decision when they declared the border to be the western bank of the
North Slope’s Staines River, rather than on the western bank of the
Canning River.
Arctic Issues
A
walk across Alaska's Arctic sea ice brings to life the losses that
appear in climate data. CU Boulder Today
As global temperatures
rise, hunters in Alaska, who rely on Arctic ice, are seeing changes.
CU expert Alexandra Jahn explains how these shifts are echoed in
satellite data and climate models.
U.S.
fighter jets monitor Russian aircraft in airspace near Alaska. KUAC
NORAD news release says the
agency detected and tracked two Russian Su-35 fighter jets and two
Tu-95 bombers as they entered the Alaskan Air Defense Identification
Zone.
Norway
opens world's northernmost permanent radiation monitoring. The Barents Observer
This is DSA's first
permanent air filter monitoring station at Svalbard aimed to look for
human-made isotopes, an important tool in case of nuclear accidents
or leakages of radioactivity that could blow over the high Arctic
regions.
Energy
Opinion:
The Alaska LNG project is digging itself deeper into quicksand. ADN
DOE
ends billions in clean-energy awards following Vought post. Axios
The announcement came hours
after White House budget chief Russ Vought posted
on X that
"Nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left's
climate agenda is being cancelled. The projects are in the
following states: CA, CO, CT, DE, HI, IL, MD, MA, MN, NH, NJ, NM, NY,
OR, VT, WA,". Those states also all voted for Kamala Harris
in 2024, have Democratic Senate delegations, and most have Democratic
governors.
Economy
Inching
closer to "skills cliff". Axios
Two main forces are at
work: The crackdown on immigration reduces the labor
supply. An aging population and shrinking native-born
workforce.
Education
Murkowski,
Sullivan join 10 US senators urging reversal of funding cuts for
Native students. Alaska Beacon
The letter, addressed to U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, argues that an estimated $36.1 million in grant
funding already allocated under the Higher Education Act should be
distributed to colleges and universities serving Native students
nationwide.
The
White House upped the cost of H1B visas. Alaska Schools could face
major consequences. KMXT
In an executive order
earlier this month, President Donald Trump announced he would raise
the price of H-1B work visas from about $5,000 to about $100,00 per
person per year.
Suit
challenging use of Alaska homeschool funds for private school tuition
moves forward. Alaska Public Media
The lawsuit centers on what
are known as correspondence school allotments, cash payments to
families who homeschool their kids in the state’s public
correspondence school system. They’re meant to pay for things like
lessons and supplies, and some parents use them to pay for private
school tuition.
Politics
Russia
dares NATO. Axios
On Thursday, U.S.
fighter jets intercepted Russian warplanes near Alaska's air defense
identification zone for the ninth time this year.
5
things for Alaskans to know as another federal shutdown nears. Alaska Public Media
Murkowski
is ‘inflection point’ in shutdown negotiations as government shutdown
looms. Alaska's
News Source
Government
shutdown draws closer as congressional leaders head to the White
House. ADN
On one side, Sen. Dan
Sullivan and Rep. Nick Begich have voted to push forward proposals to
prevent a government shutdown, proposals that ultimately died. On the
other side of the three-person delegation, Sen. Lisa Murkowski is
standing away from both Republicans and Democrats in not pushing
forward with any of the proposals.
1
big thing: "War from within". Axios
Opening the Quantico
gathering, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the military would
scrap "overbearing rules of engagement" and "untie the
hands of our warfighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt and kill the
enemies of our country." Trump then applied that
sentiment to the home front, urging troops who are harassed or
assaulted by protesters to "get out of that car and do whatever
the hell you want to do."
Adam
Crum quietly committed $50 million of CBR to outside investment firm
on his way out the door. Alaska Landmine
According to sources, state
officials have been exploring if it’s possible to get out of the
contract. But it’s tricky as the former Revenue commissioner signed a
legal contract with DigitalBridge. Sources confirm that the state has
encumbered $50 million from the CBR while they are dealing with the
issue. It’s not yet clear if any money from the CBR has been
transferred to DigitalBridge. The Department of Law has also been
engaged to work on the issue, per sources.
(My comment: I will be
following this story. If it’s true, this previous Revenue
commissioner, now candidate for Governor, should drop out of the
race. The ethics of his actions, if they are true, are highly
questionable.)
Health Care
COVID
virus still circulating in Alaska, while access to recommended
vaccines varies. Alaska Beacon
The virus that caused the
COVID-19 pandemic is still circulating, but some Alaskans seeking to
be vaccinated against the disease may have to wait for that service.
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