In his annual address to the Alaska Legislature, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan harkened back to memories of Ted Stevens, Bob Bartlett and Ernest Gruening.<\/p>\n
For many Alaskans, it\u2019s the future, not the past, that contains the most reasons for worry and hope. In an exclusive interview with the Empire, Sullivan offered his thoughts on issues facing Juneau and the nation.<\/p>\n
This report was compiled from Sullivan\u2019s interview with the Empire, his address to the Alaska Legislature, and his meeting with the state\u2019s political reporters after the address.<\/p>\n
\nOn Juneau Access:<\/strong><\/p>\n This spring, the Alaska Department of Transportation will finish its environmental assessment process for the road out of Juneau. A decision on the project \u2014 whether to continue it immediately, cancel it or simply put it on hold \u2014 will be up to Gov. Bill Walker.<\/p>\n Sullivan declined to speak specifically about the project, saying only, \u201cI think infrastructure, roads and connections for the state are very important for the economy.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that he believes \u201cconnecting our roads throughout the state is really important\u201d in order to improve the state\u2019s economic fortunes.<\/p>\n On the heroin and opioid addiction problem in Juneau:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt can have a huge impact on you, and I\u2019ve seen that,\u201d he told lawmakers.<\/p>\n In the time since his last address to the Legislature, he received a visit from eight Juneau women who wanted to talk to him about opioid addiction.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was probably the most impactful meeting I\u2019ve had as a U.S. Senator in the past year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n On Jan. 28, Sullivan became one of 42 cosponsors of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, which would allow more grants to pay for treating people addicted to heroin or opioid painkillers.<\/p>\n \u201cThis opioid issue, to be honest, hit me like a ton of bricks,\u201d he told reporters.<\/p>\n On replacing U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia:<\/strong><\/p>\n In response to questions from lawmakers and reporters, Sullivan said he\u2019s not on the Senate\u2019s Judiciary Committee (which oversees confirmation hearings before the full Senate votes), \u201cbut I support what they\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n In late February, the chairman of that committee, Nebraska Republican Charles Grassley, said President Obama should wait until after the November election, and he will not hold a nomination hearing for anyone the president suggests to fill the spot left vacant by Scalia\u2019s death.<\/p>\n \u201cThe president clearly has the authority to put forward a replacement,\u201d Sullivan said, referring to the U.S. Constitution, but added that Congress also has the power \u201cto provide advice and consent or withhold it.\u201d<\/p>\n On the Republican presidential race:<\/strong><\/p>\n In Monday\u2019s press conference, and again with the Empire, Sullivan declined to say who he supports for the Republican presidential nomination. Sullivan received the support of several of the contenders during his 2014 campaign to defeat incumbent Sen. Mark Begich.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s always kind of a tough situation, where people have been supportive,\u201d he told reporters.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m planning on supporting whoever the nominee is,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n He said he does support Sen. Lisa Murkowski, his senior Senate counterpart from Alaska, in her drive for re-election this fall.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s one of the most important, powerful people in the country on energy issues that impact our state, and I think she\u2019s doing a very good job on that,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m supporting all the incumbent Republican senators.\u201d<\/p>\n On reauthorizing the federal Magnuson-Stevens fishery act:<\/strong><\/p>\n Last year, the House passed a bill introduced by Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, to renew the legislation that establishes management of the nation\u2019s federal-waters fisheries.<\/p>\n Sullivan said he views Alaska as a \u201csuperpower of seafood\u201d because it produces 60 percent of all American seafood.<\/p>\n Last week, the Senate had its first hearing on a reauthorization bill, and he believes the Senate\u2019s final work probably needs unanimous approval.<\/p>\n \u201cThe overall consensus (in Alaska) \u2014 and I don\u2019t want to speak for everyone \u2014 is first, do no harm,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n On icebreakers and Arctic issues:<\/strong><\/p>\n Sullivan said the first task for any legislator concerned about the Arctic is \u201cconvincing your colleagues that this is an important issue. We\u2019ve worked really hard on that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019re making significant progress on that front,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n With regard to backing for new Arctic icebreakers, he said getting federal agencies to agree on funding is a first step. \u201cThere\u2019s a little bit of pointing the finger between the Coast Guard and the Navy on this issue. That\u2019s unacceptable,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cIt\u2019s in the national interest of the United States of America.\u201d<\/p>\n On the 4\/25th Infantry Brigade in Anchorage:<\/strong><\/p>\n Last year, the U.S. Army announced it would withdraw approximately 3,000 soldiers from Alaska as it shrank the 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team of the 25th Infantry Division.<\/p>\n Last month, the Army announced it was forestalling the move for at least a year while it analyzed the effects of the decision.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s probably no other issue that I\u2019ve worked more on than that issue,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cEvery step, I was intimately involved with, and perfectly blunt.\u201d<\/p>\n As a member of the Senate\u2019s Armed Services Committee, Sullivan said he \u201cstarted using my perch \u2026 to aggressively make the case that this was a misguided strategic decision. \u2026 I\u2019ve probably raised it 100 times, and that\u2019s in public. You should see what I do in private,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019ll be over my dead body that the initial plans (to withdraw the unit) go forward.\u201d<\/p>\n On splitting the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals:<\/strong><\/p>\n It makes no sense, Sullivan said, for a single appeals court to oversee 20 percent of the U.S. population and 40 percent of its landmass.<\/p>\n \u201cThe outlier and radical position is to not split it,\u201d he said. \u201cWe think we have the arguments on our side, and we\u2019re going to really, really hammer this home.\u201d<\/p>\n On what Alaska should expect before President Obama leaves office:<\/strong><\/p>\n In her address to the Legislature, Sen. Murkowski warned lawmakers to expect unpleasant surprises from the Obama administration in its final months.<\/p>\n \u201cI completely share Sen. Murkowski\u2019s concerns,\u201d Sullivan said.<\/p>\n Asked for specifics, he said it is possible for the president to use the federal Antiquities Act and establish national monuments to protect various areas of the state from development.<\/p>\n \u201cANWR is always a target,\u201d Sullivan said of the oil-rich coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. \u201cI think it would be illegal, but that hasn\u2019t stopped them in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n Actions could also include the Chukchi or Beaufort seas, where oil and gas activity has been stopped.<\/p>\n \u201cOn a lot of their big announcements, the people who are supposed to represent the state get no heads up,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to try (to get advance notice), but to be honest, they\u2019ve tried to keep some of this under wraps until they spring it on us in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Contact reporter James Brooks at james.k.brooks@juneauempire.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In his annual address to the Alaska Legislature, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan harkened back to memories of Ted Stevens, Bob Bartlett and Ernest Gruening. For many Alaskans, it\u2019s the future, not the past, that contains the most reasons for worry and hope. In an exclusive interview with the Empire, Sullivan offered his thoughts on issues […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":426,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":4,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[230],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-2173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-state-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/426"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2173\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2173"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=2173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}