Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, D-Anchorage, talks to a colleague on the floor of the Alaska Senate, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon
Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, D-Anchorage, talks to a colleague on the floor of the Alaska Senate, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska public school students would be required to learn hands-only CPR under a proposal advancing through the state legislature.
In a 19-0 vote on Wednesday, the Alaska Senate approved Senate Bill 20, which requires the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development to “adopt curricula to instruct public school students on hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation.”
Sen. Robert Yundt, R-Wasilla, was absent from the vote.
Existing state law says that each state school district is “encouraged” to teach CPR; the new bill, if approved by the House and Gov. Mike Dunleavy, would change CPR to a requirement.
The department said in a fiscal note that it will be able to implement the new requirement at no additional cost to the state.
“It’s time for Alaska to align with the growing national standard that ensures students learn these life-saving CPR techniques,” said Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, D-Anchorage and the sponsor of the bill.
Heart diseases are the No. 2 cause of death in Alaska, according to the latest available state statistics. CPR can be used to keep someone’s blood flowing if they experience sudden cardiac arrest. That can triple a victim’s chances of survival, Gray-Jackson said, noting that CPR has even been used in the Capitol on occasion.
SB 20 advances to the House for further consideration. A companion measure, House Bill 92, is in the House Education Committee and has not yet been heard.
Independent Alaska governor candidate Jessica Faircloth is seen in a photo distributed by the candidate on Feb. 5, 2026. (Handout photo)
By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon
Independent Alaska governor candidate Jessica Faircloth is seen in a photo distributed by the candidate on Feb. 5, 2026. (Handout photo)
The first independent candidate in Alaska’s 2026 gubernatorial election is a single mother of five who says she’s frustrated with the condition of Alaska’s fisheries, its economy and the Permanent Fund dividend.
Jessica Faircloth filed her letter of intent in January, making her the 15th person to sign up for this year’s gubernatorial race. A 16th candidate announced his candidacy this week.
She’s from Kasilof, a rural community on the Kenai Peninsula.
Faircloth hasn’t held public office before, but she decided to run after one of her oldest children surprised her with the happy news that she’ll be a grandmother soon.
“I was overjoyed,” she said, “but then I started thinking. My kids are the fourth generation of my family to live in (our) house, and they didn’t get to grow up in the same Alaska I did.”
She recalls digging for clams, always having moose and caribou in the freezer — and then, there were the king salmon.
“We caught so many kings when I was a kid, we turned them loose if they were too small, or they didn’t fight hard enough, or we caught them too early in the day, or they were a little pink,” she said.
“I realized three of my five children have caught a king salmon, and only one of them was over 50 pounds, and they don’t remember digging clams,” she said.
As she was contemplating the future her first grandchild might experience, she said: “It’s like a light bulb went on, and I started to see that Alaska is not being managed for Alaskans.”
The Permanent Fund dividend needs to be guaranteed in the Alaska Constitution, she said.
Faircloth noted that some oil and gas companies have been able to use writeoffs and exemptions to reduce their taxes to zero.
“If you look at our oil and gas, the tax structure allows zero tax years … and our Legislature hasn’t done anything to fix them,” she said.
Fisheries are big in her mind, too.
“The whole West Coast doesn’t have any salmon. I don’t have any king salmon. I love them more than anything in the world,” she said.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s the PFD, our state budgeting — none of it, none of it, is being managed to benefit Alaskans. It’s benefiting outside corporate interests, mainly, and I am absolutely morally and ethically appalled and pissed off,” Faircloth said.
Faircloth was one of more than 19,000 Alaskans registered as members of the Alaskan Independence Party when it dissolved last year. Now, she’s registered as “undeclared” and campaigning independently of any party.
“I’m one of those people that doesn’t just sit back and complain … that’s the mentality I grew up with. You either do something or you stop complaining,” she said.
Independent Alaska candidate for governor Jessica Faircloth is seen with a king salmon in this undated photo provided by the candidate. Preserving salmon runs is a major priority for the candidate. (Campaign handout photo)
She supports a constitutional dividend, something Republicans in the Alaska Legislature tend to champion. She also wants to see more support for public school teachers, a position typically held by legislative Democrats.
“There’s no pension. There’s no benefits. It’s underfunded,” she said of the state’s public school system.
“I just — I’m watching my teacher friends, especially some of the younger ones, and they are so discouraged,” Faircloth said.
She’s a fan of the “Stop Alaskan Trawler Bycatch” Facebook page and supports anti-trawl appointees to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and other fishery regulators.
“I understand that the governor actually has very little power (on fisheries), but the power that the governor does have is who they appoint as commissioners and on boards, and that is where the strength of Alaskan government comes from,” she said.
Eight years ago, she voted for current Gov. Mike Dunleavy, but she’s soured on him.
“I really believed, you know, that he was going to be able to get the dividend in the Constitution. And I just expected great things from him. And after eight years, I’m kind of let down,” she said.
Dunleavy is term-limited and unable to run for a third term, a fact that has encouraged a large number of candidates to enter the race.
So far, there are three Democrats, 12 Republicans and Faircloth.
The four candidates who receive the most votes in the August primary election will advance to the November general election.
“I’ve been a broke-ass single mom with a backbone and the ability to budget, and that is what our state needs right now,” she said. “Somebody to walk in there and say, ‘OK, listen, you’re not doing your job, and we’re all in this together. So I need everyone to step up and to do what they’re supposed to.’ I just think that Alaska should be managed for Alaskans first. And that’s not being done.”
Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, speaks Friday, April 26, 2024, on the floor of the Alaska House of Representatives. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
By: Corinne Smith, Alaska Beacon
Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, speaks Friday, April 26, 2024, on the floor of the Alaska House of Representatives. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska lawmakers advanced a bill on Friday that would create new state felony charges for the crime of using artificial intelligence to generate child sexual abuse material.
The House Judiciary Committee unanimously passed House Bill 47, sponsored by Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer on Friday. CSAM, formerly referred to as child pornography, is any material that visually depicts sexually explicit or obscene conduct involving a child under the age of 18.
Vance told lawmakers that AI-generated CSAM is a growing problem that is already affecting Alaska communities. “AI-generated CSAM poses serious risk to children by enabling perpetrators to produce highly realistic virtual images of child abuse,” Vance said in a presentation to lawmakers ahead of the vote. “These images are often indistinguishable from real ones, complicating identification by experts and overwhelming law enforcement’s ability to identify real victims.”
Additionally, she said AI-generated images can be used as blackmail. “These realistic, synthetic images create new avenues for predators to exploit minors and their families through extortion and financial coercion, significantly escalating harm and trauma,” she said.
Vance said she introduced the legislation after an Army soldier stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson was arrested for creating AI-generated CSAM in 2024.
Vance said the case revealed to her that Alaska law does not have a statute addressing AI-generated CSAM. “But that soldier was prosecuted under federal law, not state law,” Vance said. “Currently, Alaska must rely on federal prosecutions due to our lack of a statute addressing this issue.”
She said she has heard from constituents that the state’s lack of AI-specific CSAM laws is a concern.
“I also had some mothers in Homer contact me probably about a year and a half ago now that their 13-year-old daughters had been subject to the use of AI,” Vance added. “They went to law enforcement, and Homer Police Department said, ‘Alaska statutes do not address AI-generated use of images.’ And so this hit really close to home for me.”
Homer Police Department officials said they investigated the case and the Kenai District Attorney’s Office charged two middle school boys with exploitation of a minor after they created AI-generated nude images of classmates.
While there is no Alaska state law specifically addressing AI-generated CSAM, there are statutes that prohibit the viewing, possession or distribution of CSAM.
“Basically, any depiction of photograph, audio, video recording, drawing, anything like that, if it depicts children being involved in certain sexual simulations or exploitation, then that’s considered exploitation of a minor,” said Lt. Ryan Browning with the Homer Police Department. “We felt like that was enough to meet the probable cause for the statute.”
Statewide, the Alaska Department of Public Safety works with local and federal law enforcement agencies to investigate each CSAM case reported, said Austin McDaniel, director of communications for the agency.
McDaniel said the department does not have data available on the number of recent cases involving AI generated materials. By email, he said the department has received reports of AI-generated CSAM, but he said those reports are not “prevalent.”
He said a team of more than ten investigators work in a unit within the Alaska Bureau of Investigation focused solely on CSAM-related crimes.
“All that they do is child sexual abuse material investigations, or CSAM investigations, and they certainly and unfortunately, stay busy throughout the year,” he said. He noted a “vast number” of cases are reported to the Anchorage Police Department.
State public safety officials received 330 reports of alleged CSAM or child exploitation related crimes in 2024, the most recent year of publicly available data. “We go through and investigate those instances, refer charges to state prosecutors, or work very closely with our federal partners when it might be better to pursue federal charges against somebody versus state charges,” McDaniel said.
Sexual violence is prevalent across Alaska — and 51% of reported victims were minors in 2024. McDaniel noted the most common age of victims of sexual offenses is 13 years old.
“So between our CSAM investigations or child sexual abuse investigations, you know, we are certainly kept very busy,” he said. “And we are working across the state, around the clock to investigate those instances and to hold anyone that victimizes Alaska’s kids accountable for their actions.”
Angela Kemp, deputy attorney general for the criminal division of the Alaska Department of Law, said currently the state has to prove that an actual child was used to create the sexual abuse material to prosecute the case. She said investigators use digital forensic tools to determine if the material is AI-generated, or whether there is a child victim.
“For cases where we cannot prove an actual child was used, law enforcement works with our federal partners to determine whether the conduct can be prosecuted under federal law,” she said.
Vance said if the legislation is passed, it would criminalize all possession of AI-generated CSAM. “It’s hard to distinguish if there was a real victim involved, or if it is all generated through AI technology, this bill would allow them to say all of it is prosecutable,” she said.
The bill would also enact new sentencing guidelines for AI-generated CSAM, and depending on the charges and prior felony convictions, offenders could face two to 99 years in prison.
The bill has been referred to the House Rules Committee, which will determine whether it will go to the full House of Representatives for a vote. If passed, the bill would need to be considered and approved by the Senate to become law.
The Anchorage Daily News office in Midtown Anchorage is seen on Sept. 16, 2024. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
This article was updated at 7:35 p.m. Wednesday with comment from the plaintiff.
Two of Alaska’s largest news organizations and two top reporters did not commit defamation when they described a former state employee’s statements about rape, a state judge ruled on Tuesday in Anchorage.
Jeremy Cubas, a former aide to Gov. Mike Dunleavy, sued Alaska Public Media, the Anchorage Daily News, Nat Herz and Curtis Gilbert last year. American Public Media, a national organization, was also named in the suit.
Cubas resigned in 2023, shortly before the publication of an article that described comments he made in two podcast episodes. He filed suit almost two years later, seeking more than $5 million in damages and lost wages.
Cubas specifically challenged two parts of the article — a paraphrase that said Cubas “said it’s fine for a man to force himself on his wife” and the statement that Cubas “made comments about rape.”
In a 22-page order, Judge Christina Rankin said the second statement “is an accurate quote of Cubas’ own statement” in the podcast.
“Defendants used accurate, direct quotes from Cubas in the article. Therefore, Cubas can prove no set of facts that Statement Two is unfairly abridged, mischaracterized, distorted, or littered with slight inaccuracies,” Rankin said.
For the first statement, which was a paraphrase rather than a direct quote, Rankin concluded that it is “a fair abridgement” of Cubas’ words.
Cubas had argued that his belief that it is impossible to rape one’s wife — something he said during the two podcast episodes — is not the same as saying it is fine to “force yourself” on one’s wife.
Cubas’ core argument, Rankin concluded, was that the wording of the paraphrase was such that it implied Cubas believed it was OK for a spouse to “violently rape one’s own wife.”
“However, it is the alleged defamatory statement itself that the Court needs to review for truth, not the plaintiff’s inflamed version of the statements,” Rankin wrote.
She concluded that given the context given in the article, a reasonable reader would not share Cubas’ perceived implication but would instead “believe what defendants assert he said.”
Because Rankin concluded that the article is accurate, she did not take up Cubas’ other arguments, which included the idea that Cubas was not a public figure and that the reporters had malice against him.
“The court recognizes that this was good, solid journalism,” said Ed Ulman, president and CEO of Alaska Public Media. “The opinion lays things out thoroughly, but in the end it was simple. Truth is a defense in a libel case.”
By text message, Cubas said he will have more to say later.
“This case is in no way over. I’m working on the appeal,” he said.
NOTN- A bill introduced in the Alaska Senate would repeal the state’s voter-approved 90-day limit on regular legislative sessions, arguing the restriction has failed to improve efficiency and has instead led to longer, more costly extended and special sessions.
“This bill repeals a law that was in place, it was a citizen’s initiative.” Said Senator Cathy Giessel, “This table certainly, understands more than anyone the complexity of the issues we face, and adjourning mandatorily by 90 days is unrealistic.”
Senate Bill 34 would eliminate a statute that shortened regular legislative sessions from up to 121 days to 90 days. The bill does not establish a new session length, allowing the Legislature’s flexibility to meet for the full duration allowed under the Alaska Constitution.
In a sponsor statement, the bill argues that the 90-day limit has proven “impractical”.
Since the measure took effect, lawmakers have completed their work within 90 days only a handful of times.
“The Alaska Legislature has completed its work within that timeframe on only three occasions.” The statement reads, “Two of these instances occurred in the early years of the measure’s adoption, and the third took place during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. However, these instances were exceptions, not the norm, and have highlighted the inherent flaws of the 90-day restriction.”
In most years, the Legislature has exceeded the 90-day limit and continued work through extended sessions or special sessions, sometimes well beyond the original constitutional limit of 121 days.
The statement says 90 day sessions have not reduced costs or improved productivity. Instead, it argues the deadline has contributed to rushed decision-making, repeated extensions and added expenses associated with convening additional sessions.
SB 34 does not automatically lengthen legislative sessions, but would remove the legal restriction.
“And with that the legislature can adjourn anytime it wants if it gets its business done.” Said Senator Lyman Hoffman.
Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins is seen on Jan. 17, 2026, in Sitka, Alaska, in this photo provided by Kreiss-Tomkins. (Handout photo)
By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon
Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins is seen on Jan. 17, 2026, in Sitka, Alaska, in this photo provided by Kreiss-Tomkins. (Campaign handout photo)Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins is seen on Jan. 17, 2026, in Sitka, Alaska, in this photo provided by Kreiss-Tomkins. (Handout photo)
Former state legislator Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a Democrat from Sitka, is running for governor, he said Tuesday.
Kreiss-Tomkins, frequently known as “JKT,” served in the Alaska House of Representatives between 2013 and 2023. He becomes the 16th candidate and third Democrat to enter this year’s gubernatorial election.
Incumbent Gov. Mike Dunleavy is term-limited and unable to run for a third term.
In Alaska, the top four vote-getters, regardless of political party, advance from the August primary to the November general election. In November, Alaskans use ranked-choice voting to name their preferences.
Kreiss-Tomkins said he’s running because Alaska has big problems and he’s interested in solving them.
“I really enjoy working with people from diverse backgrounds and different viewpoints and perspectives to try to forge compromise and get things done,” he said.
While in the Legislature, Kreiss-Tomkins was a member of the bipartisan, bicameral fiscal working group that in 2021 drafted a plan intended to bring the state’s finances in line over the long term.
Though that plan was never enacted, its components resemble the fiscal plan introduced this year by Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
“We’re in a perpetual budget uncertainty,” Kreiss-Tomkins said, identifying the state’s fiscal situation as his No. 1 issue.
Since oil prices plunged in 2015, legislators and governors have struggled to balance Alaska’s budget on an annual basis, occasionally bringing the state to the brink of a government shutdown.
“We’re living and dying by the price of oil, and we have a structural budget deficit, so the state’s finances are not especially in order, and that is, I think, probably the highest-order problem,” Kreiss-Tomkins said.
He said Dunleavy hasn’t been able to work across party lines and hasn’t been successful with the Legislature. Kreiss-Tomkins contrasted that with his own experience as a member of a Democratic-independent-Republican coalition majority in the state House.
“I feel like we need that same spirit in the executive branch, and if we could have a governor and an executive with that approach and mindset … there’s a tremendous amount of good that we can get done for Alaska,” he said.
Kreiss-Tomkins said the campaign season will show how he differs from the other two Democrats in the race: former state Sen. Tom Begich, and current state Sen. Matt Claman.
When it comes to the number of other candidates in the race, Kreiss-Tomkins said it’s not a bad thing for Alaskans to have so many choices.
“Seeing so many people willing to run sort of reflects the importance of the election and the gravity of the problems facing Alaska,” he said, adding that he expects “some winnowing of the field as time goes on.”
Cars are driven on Fourth Avenue in downtown Anchorage on Oct. 7, 2024. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska’s population rose slightly between 2024 and 2025 and is now at its highest level since 2017, the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development announced Wednesday.
Alaska had an estimated 738,737 people as of July 1, 2025, the department said in its annual state population estimate.
The rise comes despite a revision that erased thousands of international immigrants that the U.S. Census mistakenly believed had moved to Alaska.
Last year, relying on Census figures showing that thousands of people had migrated to Alaska from other countries, the department estimated Alaska’s population at more than 741,000 people.
Since then, and after prodding from Alaska state demographer David Howell, the Census Bureau retroactively lowered the number of international migrants that came to Alaska, and this year’s state population estimate is significantly lower than the one published last year.
“We think (that) is more accurate given that people crossing the southern border aren’t very often making their way to Alaska,” Howell said.
With the extra residents removed and a new baseline in place, the state’s population grew on a year-over-year basis because the number of births in the state exceeded the number of Alaskans who died.
That natural increase — births minus deaths — of 3,389 people was greater than the number of people who moved out of the state.
Between 2024 and 2025, 1,740 more people moved out of Alaska than moved here. It was the 13th consecutive year of negative net migration in Alaska, extending the longest streak of negative net migration since 1945.
Overall, the state’s population grew by 0.22%. That was less than the nation as a whole (0.5%). Compared with the other 49 states and the District of Columbia, Alaska’s population growth ranked 40th.
South Carolina (1.5%), Idaho (1.4%) and North Carolina (1.3%) had the highest growth rates among states. Vermont (-0.29%), Hawaii (-0.15%) and West Virginia (-0.07%) had the lowest and were among five states that posted population declines.
The U.S. Census Bureau has slightly different figures than the state — it estimated a 0.1% population gain between 2024 and 2025 — but the Alaska Department of Labor conducts surveys of military bases and group homes that the Census Bureau does not, Howell said. For that reason, he believes the state’s estimate is more accurate than the Census Bureau’s.
Overall, Howell said, Alaska seemed to simply extend existing population trends between 2024 and 2025.
“We’re continuing to see losses in the working-age population. … We’re really starting to see declines in the school-age population. It was growing slightly at the beginning of this decade, but at this point, there’s about 1,000 more 17-year-olds than there are 4-year olds. And so we’re just going through aging,” he said.
Alaska’s median age is 37.1, one and a half years older than it was at the start of the decade. Haines, the state’s oldest community, has a median age above 50.
As the state ages, the number of new births is dropping and the number of deaths is rising.
Howell and the Department of Labor and Workforce Development are predicting that the state’s population will start dropping steadily by the year 2050.
The number of births in the latest population estimate is the lowest since the trans-Alaska oil pipeline was built. The number of deaths dropped slightly last year, but Howell said there may be a morbid reason for that: The COVID-19 pandemic peaked in Alaska in 2021-2022 and may have killed elderly Alaskans who would have died later.
This year’s state population estimate retroactively updated the population change between 2021-2022, turning it from a small gain into a decline.
On a borough and city level, existing trends continued in the latest forecast. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough continues to be the fastest-growing large area of the state, the population of Anchorage is relatively flat, the Interior’s population is growing slightly and Southeast Alaska’s population is falling.
U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, speaks on Jan. 4, 2024, at a town hall meeting on the possible Albertsons-Kroger grocery merger. The meeting was held at the Teamsters Local 959 headquarters in Anchorage. Peltola said on Tuesday she has not decided whether to support her party's likely candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, speaks on Jan. 4, 2024, at a town hall meeting on the possible Albertsons-Kroger grocery merger. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
AP-Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola said Monday that she would challenge Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in this year’s midterm elections, vowing to shake up the establishment to make life more affordable for Alaskans.
“Life is difficult here, and we know that we have to take care of each other,” Peltola said in a video announcement.
Peltola, who is Yup’ik, was the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress. She won special and regular elections in 2022, defeating a field that included Republican former Gov. Sarah Palin. In 2024, she lost to Republican Nick Begich, who had also run in 2022.
Peltola focused on local concerns in her announcement, saying Alaska’s future depends on fixing the “rigged system in D.C. that’s shutting down Alaska, while politicians feather their own nests.”
She said the salmon and migratory birds that once filled the freezers of Alaska Native subsistence hunters are now harder to find, forcing families who live far from the state’s limited road system to rely on grocery stores for pricey staples, driven up by high transportation costs.
“It’s not just that politicians in D.C. don’t care that we’re paying $17 for a gallon of milk in rural Alaska,” she said. “They don’t even believe us. They’re more focused on their stock portfolios than our bank accounts.”
Although Democrats are hopeful about picking up seats in this year’s midterms, Alaska could prove to be difficult political terrain. Sullivan, a former state attorney general and natural resources commissioner, defeated the state’s last Democratic senator in 2014.
The Republican National Committee said Peltola became “a rubber stamp for the far-left the second she got to Washington.”
“Alaskans saw through her empty promises then showed her the door, and she’ll lose to Dan Sullivan who fights for Alaskans every day,” RNC spokesperson Nick Poche said in a statement.
While serving in Washington, Sullivan has been involved in military and resource development issues, and he was endorsed by then-President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
“Senator Sullivan has spent years delivering real results for Alaska: historic investments in our state’s health care, major funding for our Coast Guard, helping protect those who can’t protect themselves and policies that are finally unleashing Alaska’s energy potential,” his campaign spokesperson, Nate Adams, said in an email to The Associated Press.
“His opponent,” Adams said, “served a term and a half in Congress where she didn’t pass a single bill. Alaskans deserve a senator with a proven record of getting things done, and the contrast couldn’t be clearer in this race.”
Peltola has long touted her ability to work across party lines, such as supporting the large Willow oil project on Alaska’s North Slope. She angered some Democrats in 2024 when she refused to endorse then-Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race won by Trump.
Peltola said Alaska’s Republican congressional delegation used to ignore partisanship and do what was right for the state, such as backing public media and disaster relief, and even invoked Republican former Sen. Ted Stevens.
“It’s about time Alaskans teach the rest of the country what Alaska First and, really, America First looks like,” Peltola said.
Alaska has open primaries and ranked choice voting in general elections. The top four vote-getters in the August primary regardless of party affiliation will advance to the November general election.
Rep. Nick Begich, R-Alaska, speaks during the commissioning ceremony for the Coast Guard icebreaker Storis on Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025, in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 230-196 on Thursday to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies for three years and reverse massive cost increases that went into effect with the new year.
The reversal must still be approved by the U.S. Senate and President Donald Trump before becoming effective.
Alaska’s lone member of the House, Republican Rep. Nick Begich III, voted against the extension, as did 195 other Republicans.
Seventeen Republicans voted for the extension of subsidies that were enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency, joining all of the chamber’s Democrats.
The House’s Republican leaders opposed the extension, but a handful of Republicans signed a petition in December to force a vote.
Begich did not sign that petition, and on Wednesday, he joined other Republicans in an unsuccessful procedural vote intended to block Thursday’s decision.
In a written statement explaining his vote on Thursday, Begich said extending subsidies would not fix the problems he sees with the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. “The health insurance system created by Democrats under Obamacare has proven completely unaffordable for the American healthcare customer,” the statement said. “An extension of Obamacare COVID subsidies does not fix what is broken.”
He said he would like to see reforms to the Affordable Care Act, without which he said the extension “has no credible pathway forward in the Senate.”
In December, Begich voted in favor of a Republican-proposed alternative to the extension. That alternative, which focuses on drug costs, would not stop or reverse the new cost increases and has thus far been rejected by the Senate.
The Congressional Budget Office reported that the alternative would reduce health insurance premiums for insured Americans but would also reduce the number of Americans who are insured.
“I remain committed to working on reforms that lower costs, expand access, and improve outcomes for all Americans,” Begich said in his statement. “Temporary extensions without meaningful reform are not the solution. Real reform that puts patients first is.”
In December, Alaska’s two U.S. Senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan — both Republicans — joined Senate Democrats in an unsuccessful attempt to advance a condition-free extension similar to the one passed by the House on Thursday.
That was a change in position for Sullivan, who had previously opposed extensions that were not coupled with changes to the Affordable Care Act.
Begich and Sullivan are each up for election this fall. Sullivan does not have a Democratic Party-backed opponent yet, but former U.S. House Rep. Mary Peltola is widely expected to enter the race this month.
Begich is being opposed by Anchorage pastor Matt Schultz. Alaska Democratic Party Chair Eric Croft said by email that Thursday’s vote will be a campaign issue in the fall.
“After allowing lifesaving ACA tax credits to expire on December 31, Nick Begich doubled down on his betrayal of Alaska families and blocked the extension of these credits,” he wrote. “We cannot afford these health care price hikes, and we won’t forget about Nick Begich’s betrayal this November.”
The tundra surrounding Bethel, Alaska turns red and gold in the fall. October 10, 2023. (Photo by Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
A national support line for Native survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault has begun work to launch an Alaska-specific service.
Strong Hearts Native Helpline is a Native-led nonprofit that offers 24-hour, seven-day-a-week support for anonymous and confidential calls from people who have experienced domestic violence or sexual assault.
The line is staffed by Native advocates, but Strong Hearts Deputy Executive Officer Rachel Carr-Shunk said there are not yet any Alaska Native people answering phone calls.
That is set to change soon.
“Even though we’re a Native organization and all of our advocates are American Indian, we do recognize that there is a difference for our Alaska Native relatives who experience violence in that context, whether they live in a rural village or they just live in Alaska, which is a different experience,” she said.
Carr-Shunk expects the organization to launch the Alaska-specific line within the next calendar year, after building partnerships in the state.
“When Alaska Native survivors reach out, we want them to trust that they’re going to have someone who understands their experience as an Alaska Native person, or who understands that identity,” she said.
To that end, the organization has hired Anchorage-based Minnie Sneddy, who is originally from Hooper Bay. Sneddy is tasked with explaining Alaska’s regional differences and specific needs to the organization, as well as helping create a database of Alaska resources.
Sneddy has years of experience in behavioral health work and said that her career and life experience have shown her the lack of resources for people who face domestic violence and sexual assault — and how many of those people need mental health support.
“The years I lived in Hooper Bay, and here in Anchorage and Alaska, there’s so many (people) that need help and want help, but they feel like if they do come forward and get help, they get in trouble — not only with their families, but with OCS, Office of Children’s Services,” she said. “I feel like Strong Hearts Native Helpline can help at least allow a person to be heard, because the majority of time, people want to be heard. Everyone just wants to feel seen and be heard.”
Sneddy said she is reaching out to resources that already exist in the state, and Strong Hearts is working with the Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center to build out its state-specific service.
“We don’t have a voice, really, in the villages,” Sneddy said, adding that when abuse happens: “There’s no help for an individual. And if a woman decides to do something about it, she’s seen as a bad person.”
The Strong Hearts Native Helpline is available now for Alaskans, even though there are not yet Alaska Native advocates on the other end of the line. A full list of Alaska shelters and victim’s services providers can be found in the state directory at law.alaska.gov.
