Sen. Murkowski eNewsletter 05/02/2008

On Saturday, I attended the Native Youth Olympics in Anchorage. The annual event brings together hundreds of athletes from across the state competing in traditional Alaska Native games. The events are based on skills passed down through generations that test and fine tune hunting and survival skills. The games have received state and national recognition and are a unique part of our state’s culture.

For more information about the games download this year’s handbook (http://www.citci.com//uploaded_documents/2008%20nyo%20handbook.pdf), which gives details about each specific event from the seal hop to the one foot high kick. To see a slide show of photos from this year’s event visit

I attended a gathering in honor of Alaska’s veterans in Wasilla. The event was organized by Veteran’s Aviation Outreach, Vietnam Veterans of America- Alaska Chapter and Alaska Veterans Foundation. It was inspiring to attend an event organized by veterans for veterans, bringing our Alaska veterans community together providing fellowship and support.

At the event, over a dozen Alaska Veterans from WWII to Operation Iraqi Freedom were honored with Alaska Veterans Service Medals. The award is sponsored by the Alaska Veterans Foundation and is a stunning medal made in America by Americans for Americans who served honorably in the Armed Forces of the United States. Each Medal is registered by number in the order it is issued. Veterans do not have to be from Alaska, but must be IN Alaska to receive the medal. The medal is presented in a ceremony as a token of esteem from the citizens of our state who enjoy the Liberty and Freedom, the service and sacrifices of our veterans provide us all. For an application visit (pdf that I emailed you) or call the Alaska Veteran Foundation 907-222-6945.

I recently introduced the Infant Immunization Improvement Act of 2008. The Infant Immunization Improvement Act, cosponsored by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), aims to increase infant immunization rates, provide funds for coordination of immunizations at Women, Infant and Children (WIC) clinics and authorizes and funds age appropriate immunization outreach and awareness campaigns. The legislation also would establish a sense of the Senate for integrating immunization systems with health information technology.

This legislation is particularly important to Alaska, which in 2007 was ranked 48th in the nation for immunization coverage.

Senator Stevens and I joined the Senate Republican Leadership in introducing broad-ranging legislation that aims to drive down record high oil and gas prices by increasing domestic energy supplies.

The American Energy Production Act of 2008 addresses America’s soaring gasoline prices by focusing on solutions that will increase domestic oil and gas production now and in the future. The bill contains a provision to open Alaska’s Arctic Coastal Plain to environmentally-sensitive oil and gas development, including no more than 2,000 acres of physical disturbance to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The legislation also provides for increased oil and gas development on the Outer Continental Shelf, provides for federal revenue sharing with states for permit leasing and encourages environmentally sensitive coal to liquid development. The bill will produce up to 24 billion barrels of new oil in America.

Our country has the resources to produce more oil and gas. We just need the policies that will allow us to develop those resources. We have the technology to not only safeguard the environment while developing resources, but also to safeguard Americans’ bank accounts at a time when they are struggling to meet rising energy costs.

I visited with Anchorage-area students who had volunteered their time to participate in a Global Youth Service Day project at Loussac Library. Global Youth Service Day is an annual public awareness and education campaign that highlights valuable contributions young people make to their communities. Across the nation youth from the United States and around the world carry out community service projects in areas ranging from hunger to literacy to the environment.

The benefits of our youth’s contributions to the community cannot be overestimated. Their efforts not only help to immediately improve the community, but also manifest themselves in countless ways over time. I am proud of our young people for taking the initiative to improve the world around them and to contribute to society. Their volunteer efforts will yield great dividends, both for them as individuals and also for our community as a whole.

Earlier this month, Senator Stevens and I won final passage of a resolution designating April 25, 2008 as Global Youth Service Day.

I am pleased with Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne’s ruling allowing firearms on lands administered by the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The ruling came in response to a letter to Secretary Kempthorne signed by 50 Senators – including myself and Senator Stevens.

I am encouraged that Secretary Kempthorne has taken a step toward streamlining gun laws in accordance with state laws. In Alaska, carrying firearms isn’t just a right – it is often a necessity. If individual states allow guns on their lands, it makes no sense for the federal government to require them to render their firearm inoperable when they cross into a national park or wildlife refuge. Under the current law, firearms transported on lands administered by the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must be rendered inoperable – though there are a few exceptions for remote areas.