Opinion: 117th Congress featured big wins for Bering Strait region

Earlier this month, the 117th Congress formally adjourned, marking the close of a remarkably productive legislative stretch for Alaska.

As we reflect on the last two years, I want to thank every tribe, village, organization and Alaskan who welcomed me in your community, visited with me in DC, or reached out to my office. Because of our work together and our partnership as Alaskans, the last Congress one of the most productive for our state in recent memory, and the bipartisan bills we advanced during it will produce lasting benefits for the Bering Straits region.

Most significant is the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which I played a lead role on. In just over a year, roughly $3 billion from it has already been announced for Alaska. Those dollars are helping us build, expand, and modernize everything from our roads, bridges, ports and airports to our water, broadband, energy systems. In doing so, they’re creating jobs, boosting our economy, and transforming lives.

Infrastructure funding for the Bering Straits region includes $250 million for the expansion of the Port of Nome and modification of the required cost share to reduce costs to the community. Numerous local airports, including in Nome and Kotzebue, have received new funding for needed improvements and upgrades.

In addition to the infrastructure bill, the budget bills we passed included hundreds of millions of dollars in standard allocations for Alaska. Working with leaders across the state, we also leveraged my position as a senior appropriator to deliver direct funding for nearly 200 projects across the state—without adding to federal spending levels.

I worked with local leaders to secure direct funding to the Norton Sound Health Corporation for construction on a childcare facility, for patient housing and affordable housing for low-income employees, and for potable water distribution and wastewater collection systems. We also directed funding for Teller to move homes out of the flood zone and construct affordable housing in safe locations, and support for the Bering Sea Fisheries Research Foundation to monitor commercial fisheries in the Bering Sea.

More than ever, in the wake of significant events like Typhoon Merbok, there is a need for coastal communities to be more resilient in the face of extreme weather events associated with climate change. Within NOAA we directed the agency to create programs to address storm damage prevention and reduction and coastal erosion, with a 10 percent cost share for disadvantaged communities.

Working with Elim, we were able to authorize a subsistence harbor for the village through the National Defense Authorization Act. We also passed Postal Service reform to help USPS be on more sustainable footing, supported veterans through the passage of the PACT Act, and supported the establishment of a Tribal Liaison position within the VA.

Visiting with Bertha Koweluk and her staff last year, I heard about the need to renovate the Bering Sea Women’s Shelter and was able to provide direct support for that. I was also able to support Nome Community Center in order to provide housing and public health services for those experiencing homelessness through the Housing First Project in Nome. These investments will have an impact for generations to come.

Finally, we took great care to address some of most acute sources of pain and suffering in our state. I helped reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act and inserted a pilot program that will allow tribes to partner with the state on community safety. To address public safety in rural Alaska, I provided direct funding for trooper housing. We continued to prioritize the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women and children, devoted real resources to reducing homelessness, and improved access to mental and behavioral health services.

While we still have a hole in our hearts from the loss of Congressman Don Young, we honored his legacy by passing many of the bills he was working on, including three land conveyances that will help improve Alaska Native medical access around the state.

As the 118th Congress begins, I’m proud about what our congressional delegation accomplished over the last two years, and grateful for the opportunity to continue serving the state and people I love. Rest assured that for as long as I have the honor of being your Senator, I will do everything I can to deliver for you and for Alaska.