Accomplishments - Senator Mark Begich :: As Independent As Alaska | Senator Mark Begich

Delivering for Alaska

Yakutat

FY2012 Appropriations Package Included $143 Million For Essential Air Service, With A $13 Million Boost, Bolstering Service To 44 Rural Alaska Communities. Reported the Anchorage Daily News in November 2011, “Both Murkowski and Begich pointed to money for rural air service. The ‘Essential Air Service’ program received a $13 million boost, for a total of $143 million. A portion of that money has gone to subsidize flights into 44 Alaska communities airlines say could be too expensive to serve otherwise, from Yakutat in the Southeast Peninsula to Atka in the Aleutians.” [Anchorage Daily News, 11/1/11]

Willow

Sunshine Community Health Center Received $500,000 Through Recovery Act To Build A Health Care Clinic Serving Low Income Patients In Northern Mat-Su. The Anchorage Daily News reported, “Sunshine clinic gets recovery act funds, Sunshine Community Health Center recently received a $350,000 grant and $150,000 loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help the group build a health care clinic. Sunshine runs two health centers in the Upper Susitna Valley, one in the Talkeetna area and a branch clinic in Willow. The nonprofit health care group plans to build a $2.8 million clinic in Willow to meet increasing demand there. Sunshine provides medical and dental care to people in northern Mat-Su regardless of their ability to pay.” [Anchorage Daily News, 6/9/10]

Seward

Sikuliaq, Stationed In Seward, Received $140 Million Through The Recovery Act. The Fairbanks Newsminer reported, “UAF Professor Emeritus and ship co-sponsor Robert Elsner wrote the first proposal for what would become the Sikuliaq in 1973…This time, $140 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the economic stimulus, helped foot the bill.” The Seward Phoenix Log reported,“Though technically owned by the National Science Foundation, the vessel is operated by the University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Fisheries and Ocean Science, Seward provides it a home port. Sikuliaq (see-KOO-lee-ack,” replaces the R/V Alpha Helix which docked in Seward for 25 years until it was sold in 2007. ” [Fairbanks Newsminer 10/13/12; Seward Phoenix Log, 7/17/14]

Seldovia

Seldovia Tribe Health Clinic Received $2.2 Million In Recovery Act Funds To Expand Services For Community. Reported the Homer Tribune in December 2009, “The Seldovia Village Tribe Health Center received an early and fairly unique Christmas present this year. The gift – courtesy of the Obama Administration – included $2.2 million in stimulus funding that SVT plans to use to reconfigure a warehouse alongside the clinic. The money should create about 24 new construction jobs for Homer, said Sarah Richardson, SVT public relations and marketing person. ‘We wanted to offer more holistic health to the community, and needed a space for health education, groups, consultations, physical therapy and administration,’ Richardson explained. The SVT is a community health center that serves a broad spectrum of people. It’s a place to go, regardless of one’s ability to pay, and relies on grants for much of its funding. ‘A lot of places applied for this grant. Our team did a good job of putting that grant application together,’ Richardson said. ‘This will be wonderful for the community of Homer, because it opens many new services and gives them a lot more health options.’” [Homer Tribune, 12/16/09]

SVT Clinic Served Residents Of Homer, Seldovia, Port Graham, Nanwalek And Surrounding Area. Reported the Homer Tribune in December 2009, “The SVT serves the community of Homer on a sliding scale. It is the tribal medical entity for Seldovia, Port Graham and Nanwalek, as well as other Alaska Natives from around the state who live in these communities.” [Homer Tribune, 12/16/09]

Salcha

Begich Pushed The EPA To Approve The $190 Million Tanana River Bridge Project Near Salcha. The Fairbanks Daily News Miner reported, “A key federal environmental regulator has cleared a permit for the Alaska Railroad’s plans to bridge the Tanana River near Salcha. The decision appears to ready the Alaska Railroad to start the almost $190 million project this summer…Sen. Mark Begich had recently sent McLerran, the EPA regional administrator, a letter of support for the project.” [Fairbanks Daily News Miner, 1/16/13]

Alaska Dispatch: Tanana River Bridge Will Provide The Army And Air Force Access To Year Round Military Training Range. The Alaska Dispatch News reported, “For now, the $187 million bridge connects a gravel road near the Richardson Highway with the vast Tanana Flats south of the Tanana River, where there are no roads. It will be used by the Army and Air Force for year-round access to a million-acre training range.” [Alaska Dispatch News, 8/5/14]

Port MacKenzie

Mat-Su Borough Port Mackenzie Received $3 Million In Recovery Funds To Triple The Size Of Its Barge Dock – Estimated To Create 1,000 Jobs. “The Mat-Su Borough’s Port MacKenzie will nearly triple the size of its barge dock next year, thanks to $3 million in federal money received through the federal economic stimulus funding package. Borough economic development director David Hanson said the borough received word in late September it had won out over other projects competing for funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration. The administration’s Web site lists the borough project and 68 others receiving $104.8 million total in federal funding. By each community’s estimate, the 69 projects will create 22,823 jobs and spur private investment. Hanson estimated the borough project will create 1,000 jobs. The number is based on several factors, including jobs that consultants believe will be created to serve companies and workers at the port.” [Anchorage Daily News, 10/20/09]

Kodiak

Kodiak School Board Used Almost $1 Million In Recovery Act Funds To Purchase Technology Equipment And Computer Upgrades. “The Kodiak Island Borough School Board (KIBSD) approved a purchase Monday afternoon that will standardize technology equipment for instructional spaces, certificated teachers and administrators district wide. The $1,260,570.29 purchase gives the district 279 13″ MacBook Pros; 272 13″ MacBooks; 622 iPads; 88 MacMinis; nine Apple servers; six Mac Pro Desktops; extended warranties for all; five computer lab carts, project management and network design support and professional development for faculty and staff. […] Of the $1.2 million technology purchase, $273,027.91 comes from the fiscal year 2010 general budget. The rest of the funding comes from multiple sources: The State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (stimulus money under the Recovery Act) makes up $574,444.78; Title 1 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) money provides $179,887.24; Title 1A provides $96,714; Special Education ARRA provides $42,436.48 and Title 1C-funding for migrant education, or students of fishing and logging families - provides $94,288.70.” [Kodiak Daily Mirror, 5/4/10]

King Salmon

GCI’s TERRA SW Project Was Awarded $88 Million Through The Recovery Act. GCI wrote, “The [TERRA] project was financed with federal broadband stimulus funding provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service. GCI is an Alaska-based integrated communications provider and the second largest wireless provider in Alaska. Services include local and long-distance telephony, wireless, video, Internet and data communications throughout the state. TERRA-Southwest [is a] a $88 million terrestrial broadband “middle mile” project constructed by GCI’s wholly owned subsidiary United Utilities Inc.” [GCI TERRA, 1/18/12]

GCI’s TERRA-SW Project Will Bring Broadband To 9,000 Alaska Households And 750 Businesses In Southwest Alaska. GCI announces, “When complete, TERRA-SW will make broadband available to more than 9,000 rural Alaskan households and nearly 750 businesses in the covered communities. The project will also serve numerous public, non-profit, private community institutions and entities such as regional healthcare providers, school districts and other regional and Alaska Native organizations. TERRA-SW will provide middle-mile terrestrial broadband service to 65 remote, rural communities in Bristol Bay and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (Y-K Delta), including Bethel, Dillingham and King Salmon.” [USDA, 9/9/11]

Hoonah

Hoonah Received $6.3 Million Through The Recovery Act To Expand Broadband Services. The Juneau Empire reported, “Spacenet has just beefed-up its StarBand Internet service there with at least 70 additional dish units for broadband, an extension of around 30 already there. This equipment and installation comes free as part of a grant from the Rural Utility Service under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The $6.3 million spent from the grant is to provide broadband to Alaskan rural areas. These additions help complete 10 percent of Alaska’s allotted 4,000 units through the grant.” [Juneau Empire, 6/26/11]

Headline: Spacenet Bring Hoonah More Broadband Thanks To Grant [Juneau Empire, 6/26/11]

Haines

Recovery Act Provided $1.3 Million In Funding For Upgrades At Haines Medical Clinic, Including New Extended-Stay Room And Three Offices. Reported the Chilkat Valley News in Nocember 2012, “Improvements under way at the Haines medical clinic will make space for an extended-stay room, as well as add three offices. Marcia Scott, administrator for the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium clinic, said work also will add air conditioning. On warm days, the building is uncomfortably hot, she said. ‘It’s hot everywhere in this building. In the lab sometimes it’s so hot we almost have to stop running lab tests. In the front office, it’s miserable,’ Scott said. Electrical equipment, personnel and a boiler located under the pharmacy all factor in, she said. The $1.3 million project, funded by a grant through the American Recovery and Reconstruction Act, will add 750 square feet to the north side of the building that will house the new offices and a new X-ray room. The former X-ray room will be remodeled into a hospital-like room for long-term patients.” [Chilkat Valley News, 11/8/12]

Haines School District Used $240,000 Of Recovery Act Funding To Increase Staff, Improve Computer-Based Reading Program, Improve Math Curriculum, Purchase Equipment For High School Engineering Course On Alternative Energy. Reported the Chilkat Valley News in November 2011, “In June the school board approved a spending plan for approximately $240,000 in federal stimulus funds. It included $119,000 to increase staff, training and additional equipment for “enrichment and intervention,” primarily involving the computer-based reading program “Fast ForWord”; $47,000 to improve math curriculum and instruction; $13,000 for equipment for a high school engineering course developed around an alternative energy demonstration system; $15,000 for new musical instruments; $21,000 for laptops and other computers, and $13,000 for curriculum mapping software and training.” [Chilkat Valley News, 8/19/10]

Gustavus

Recovery Act Provided $7.7 Million For New Dock Allowing Ferry Service To Gustavus. “The Alaska Marine Highway System’s ferries will soon be providing service to Gustavus, following the completion of a new dock this year. The $7.7 million dock and causeway was funded by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, commonly known as the stimulus bill. It was the first stimulus-funded project in Alaska when work began in June, 2009. The project makes it possible for ferries to dock in Gustavus, something they couldn’t do with the 40-year old dock it replaces. The new ferry service to Gustavus will be the first new community the system has served since in started going into Prince William Sound’s Chenega Bay in the 1980s, ferry managers said.” [Peninsula Clarion, 9/2/10]

Dillingham

Cordova

Copper Valley Wireless Received $3.4 Million Through The Recovery Act To Extend Middle-Mile Connectivity From Naked Island To Cordova And Add Service For More Than 800 Households. Alaska Business Magazine reported, “In all, $150 million will be invested in 12 projects through funding made available by Congress in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act…In Alaska, Copper Valley Wireless, Inc. will receive funds for fund the Cordova Microwave Project. In all a $1,747,796 loan and $1,747,795 grant will be used to extend middle-mile connectivity from Naked Island to Cordova. Households, businesses and community facilities are currently not served by broadband, except through satellite. In addition to over 800 households, Broadband will be made available to the Cordova schools, Prince William Sound Community College, the Coast Guard, medical center, Native Village of Eyak, the police department, State Troopers and to the public health nurse.” [Alaska Business Magazine, 3/23/10]

Atka

Akutan

Knik Construction Co. Inc. Received $28.6 Million In Recovery Act Funds For Akutan Boat Harbor And Two Rock Breakwaters. “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it has awarded a $31.9 million contract to Knik Construction Co. Inc. of Anchorage to build a boat harbor at Akutan in the Aleutians. The project involves constructing two rock breakwaters totaling about 1,500 feet in length and dredging 960,000 cubic yards of material to create an entrance channel and mooring basin, the Corps said. The project should be done by September 2012, the agency said. Akutan, 35 miles east of Unalaska, is a top commercial fishing port. The project is being paid for with $28.6 million of federal stimulus funding and $3.27 from the Aleutians East Borough, the Corps said.” [Anchorage Daily News, 3/20/10]

Admiralty Island

Begich Successfully Lobbied Forest Service To Allow Regional Office In Alaska To Make Final Call On Exploratory Drilling Proposal At Greens Creek. Reported Greenwire in March 2012, “While those bills have stalled, Begich applauded the Forest Service’s decision to approve the Greens Creek exploratory drilling. Begich successfully lobbied Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell to allow the agency’s regional office in Alaska to make the final call on the exploratory drilling proposal (E&ENews PM, March 1). ‘Locating additional resources extends the life of the mine,’ he said in a statement. ‘This is a good sign for mining in Southeast Alaska and a recognition by the Forest Service that enhancement of existing mining operations … help to create and keep good paying jobs in the region.’” [Greenwire, 3/5/12]

Greens Creek Mining Company Provided 330 Full-Time Mining Jobs For Southeast Alaska. According to a September 2013 press release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Forest Service, “One of the largest private employers in Southeast Alaska, GCM is responsible for approximately 330 permanent, full-time jobs and has been operating in ANM since 1989. The mining company has estimated that, without the expansion, it would have to close operations in 2019, before it is able to mine its known reserves.” [USDA – Forest Service press release, 9/6/13]

Colville River

Begich Successfully Pressed Regulators To Approve Colville River Bridge To Allow ConocoPhillips To Move Forward On NPR-A Drilling. Reported Hearst in February 2014, “Begich has cast himself as a ‘different Democrat’ from day one — departing from the national party on gun control as well as energy policy. Begich pressed regulators to allow ConocoPhillips to build a bridge over Alaska’s Colville River, despite environmental objections, so the company could access its drilling lease in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. That milestone in late 2011 paved the way for production expected to start late next year.” [Hearst, 2/13/14]

Juneau

Begich, Murkowski Called For EPA To Drop Push For Reexamination Of Kensington Mine Tailings Facility. Reported Greenwire in July 2009, “Alaska’s U.S. senators are pressing U.S. EPA to allow the permitting of the Kensington gold mine that the agency maintains needs re-examination. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R) and Mark Begich (D) said EPA’s insistence of additional study of Couer d’Alene Mines’ proposed Lower Slate Lake disposal site is contrary to a recent Supreme Court decision that validated the mine’s Clean Water Act permit. . . . The Kensington mine’s tailings facility would allow the mine to start production next year. The mine is expected to produce 125,000 ounces of gold a year.” [Greenwire, 7/24/09]

U.S. Coast Guard Announced New 3,000 Sq. Ft. Building, 405 Ft. Floating Pier, Two New Fast Response Vessels In Ketchikan By 2015, And A Third In Juneau By 2020. “In a recent letter to U.S. Senator Mark Begich, the US Coast Guard announced it is moving ahead with plans to replace its patrol fleet and upgrade facilities, including its Ketchikan base. Captain G.G. Bonner writes that the plan is to replace an aging patrol fleet in Sector Juneau that is nearing the end of its service life, and improve operational safety. In Ketchikan the Coast Guard will build a 405-foot floating pier and a new 3,000-square-foot support building. In a news release sent out today (Wednesday), Begich writes that he’s pleased with the news. He says the Coast Guard plays an important role in Alaska, and the projects will not only create jobs, they will help ensure Southeast has adequate protection. The Coast Guard also says it will homeport two Fast Response Vessels in Ketchikan by 2015, and add a third in Juneau by 2020.” [KRBD, 6/12/13]

Headline: Environment and Energy Daily: “MINING: Senators push Army Corps to issue Alaska gold mine permit.” [Environment and Energy Daily, 8/5/09]

August 2009: Army Corps Announced It Would Permit Construction Of Kensington Mine. Reported the Associated Press in August 2009, “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Friday allowed Coeur Alaska to construct a mine tailings storage facility in Lower Slate Lake at the Kensington gold mine north of Juneau.” [Associated Press, 8/14/09]

Begich Successfully Pushed Committee Amendment To Postal Reform Act To Protect Douglas And Auke Bay Post Offices From Closure. Reported the Juneau Empire in February 2014, “The Douglas and Auke Bay post offices won’t be closing their doors anytime soon, and any future efforts to shutter the pair now will have to clear a significant public process. The saving action happened more than 3,700 miles from the Douglas location in the nation’s capital when Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, backed an amendment to the Postal Reform Act of 2014 that added the two locations to a list of protected rural post offices. ‘We have been successful in protecting rural post offices in Alaska,’ Begich said on a conference call with reporters Thursday.” [Juneau Empire, 2/7/14]

Bethel

Begich: Recovery Act Funded Vital Alaska Projects, Including Medical Facilities For Nome And Wrangell, New City Hall In Bethel. Reported the Daily Sitka Sentinel in October 2010, “Begich also defended Obama’s stimulus bill, which he said was funding vital projects around the state, like new medical facilities in Nome and Wrangell and a new city hall in Bethel built with 100-percent local hire. ‘People who say the recovery act didn’t do anything are mistaken,’ Begich said, referring to the stimulus bills’ formal name: the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Federal stimulus funding also allowed school districts, including Sitka’s, to avoid layoffs.” [Daily Sitka Sentinel, 10/19/10]

Wrangell

Copper River area

Begich Praised Influx Of $41M In Federal Funding For Rural Broadband Upgrades In Alaska. Reported the Alaska Dispatch in March 2014, “Alaska telecoms will receive federal funding to enhance service in rural Alaska. General Communications Inc. and Copper Valley Telecom were named winning bidders for Universal Service Fund support for work to upgrade to either 3G or 4G service in several locations, including Barrow, Nome, Hooper Bay, Kotzebue, Mountain Village, Unalaska and the Copper River area. The money is part of the FCC Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I Auction, and will go toward providing 3G or better service and expanded broadband access. The Federal Communications Commission announced $49 million in funds for five companies Feb. 28. ‘This is a great day for rural Alaska,’ said Sen. Mark Begich, a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, in a formal statement. ‘Today’s FCC auction results mean that Alaska companies will now be able to provide sorely needed telecommunication services across our vast state. From Eek, to Nunam Iqua, to Unalaska, several rural communities will soon be better connected.’ GCI submitted 51 winning bids for a total of $41.4 million. According to its filings, the work the company is planning will reach 37,253 people. Copper Valley submitted 11 winning bids worth $152,400, for work that will reach 127 people.” [Alaska Dispatch, 3/6/14]

Anchorage

Alaska Set To Shed Less Than 400 Soldiers In Nationwide Troop Reduction – Troops Reduced By 80,000 Nationally. Reported KTUU in January 2014, “Anchorage’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, however, will shed an estimated 780 soldiers. Including other changes at U.S. Army Alaska facilities, there will be approximately 370 fewer soldiers in the state by September 2015 when the federal fiscal year ends. The Army-directed effort to reduce and reorganize its active force to 490,000 soldiers stems from a congressional mandate under the Budget Control Act of 2011. The overall reduction amounts to a loss of 80,000 Army soldiers across the country.” [KTUU, 1/8/14]

Begich Secured $97 Million For The Construction Of The JBER Brigade Combat Team Barracks. The Anchorage Daily News reported, “Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, announced more riches may be coming to Alaska in the Defense Department spending bill. Awaiting the president’s signature, it includes hundreds of millions of dollars for Alaska bases. Highlights include: $97 million for the Brigade Combat Team (Light) Complex.” [Anchorage Daily News, 12/16/11]

Unalaska

Recovery Act Supplied $11 Million To Finish Two Breakwaters In Unalaska Harbor. Alaska Business Magazine reported, “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District, awarded a $12.5 million contract on Sept. 21 to Pacific Pile and Marine of Seattle to construct and install floating breakwaters to complete the Carl E. Moses Harbor in Unalaska. Federal funds totaling $11 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) allowed the Corps to award the final contract for this project which was begun in 2008. The City of Unalaska, as the local sponsor, contributed to the project…The two concrete floating breakwaters, one 476-feet long and the other 804-feet long, will enclose a new harbor begun two years ago with a Corps contract to construct a rubblemound breakwater and launch ramp and dredge an entrance channel and moorage basin.” [Alaska Business Magazine, 9/23/10]

Clear Air Force Station

Military Appropriations Bill Increased Funding At Alaska Bases From $20 Million To More Than $200 Million For Projects Including Aviation Hangar & Battalion Complex At Ft. Wainwright, Engineering Facility At Greely, Radar Upgrade At Clear. Reported the Fairbanks News-Miner in June 2013, “A military appropriations bill that includes more than $200 million in Interior construction projects was forwarded by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday. The bill represents a steep spending increase for Alaska installations, which received only about $20 million in this year’s spending package. Projects in the newly passed bill for the coming fiscal year include a $58 million aviation storage hangar and $45 million aviation battalion complex at Fort Wainwright, an $82 million missile field mechanical engineering building at Fort Greely and a $17.2 million radar upgrade at Clear Air Force Station.” [Fairbanks News-Miner, 6/22/13]

Mountain Village

Kotzebue

Begich Helped Red Dog Mine Obtain New Permits. Reported the Anchorage Daily News in January 2014, “He said supports a number of mines and proposed mines in Alaska. He said he helped Red Dog, the big zinc and lead mine near Kotzebue, obtain new permits recently and visited that mine Friday.” [Anchorage Daily News, 1/19/14]

Hooper Bay

Fort Greely

Begich Urged Obama To Continue Development Of Alaska-Based Missile Defense System To Protect Against Potential North Korean Aggression. Reported the Associated Press in March 2009, “On missile defense, Begich said he urged Obama to continue the ground-based missile defense system being built at Fort Greely, 100 miles southeast of Fairbanks. The system is designed to protect against missile attacks from countries such as North Korea, which is reportedly testing missiles capable of reaching Alaska. Begich, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said any proposal to reduce spending on missile defense must be supported by military-focused justifications. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said that North Korea and Iran remain “vexing challenges” and have ballistic missile programs of noteworthy range.” [Associated Press, 3/13/09]

Barrow

Bristol Bay

Eleven Senators, Led By Begich, Wrote To FDA To Protest Agency’s Process For Evaluating The Safety Of Genetically Modified Salmon. Reported the Washington Post in September 2010, “Eleven senators, mostly from coastal states, urged the Food and Drug Administration Tuesday to stop moving forward with the approval process for a genetically modified Atlantic salmon. Led by Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), the senators complained to FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg that the agency is using the wrong process for evaluating the safety of the modified fish and that the public is being left out.” [Washington Post, 9/29/10]

Fairbanks

Begich Successfully Added Committee Amendment To Defense Bill To Call For One-Year Moratorium On Any Changes To Force Structure At Eielson. Reported KTUU in May 2012, “For months now, Alaska’s congressional delegation has been working to stop the Air Force from moving a squadron of F-16 fighter jets from Fairbanks to Anchorage. Now Alaska lawmakers have added a delay tactic to their efforts. This week a Senate committee approved an amendment to a defense budget bill that calls for a one-year moratorium on any changes to the force structure at Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks. The amendment was proposed by Sen. Mark Begich. Since February Begich, along with the rest of Alaska’s delegation — Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Rep. Don Young — have teamed up with leaders in the Fairbanks North Star Borough to fight an Air Force plan that will shift some 18 fighter jets and about 500 military and civilian workers to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage.” [KTUU, 5/24/12]

Begich Placed Hold On Promotion Of Air Force General To Demand Answers On Proposal To Move F-16 Squadron From Eielson. Reported the Fairbanks News-Miner in April 2012, “Frustrated by a lack of answers about the proposed move of an Eielson Air Force base squadron, Sen. Mark Begich has stalled the promotion of an Air Force lieutenant general until he gets more information. The Alaska Democrat notified Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Senate leaders of the move on Thursday. He’s asked that the Senate Armed Services Committee halt the nomination process for Lt. Gen. Herbert J. Carlisle, who is being considered for promotion to four-star general and as Commander of Pacific Air Forces.” [Fairbanks News-Miner, 4/20/12]

Fort Wainwright Received $36 Million For A Warm Storage Heater And $39 Million For An Unmanned Aircraft Hangar From Defense Contracts. “All of the 2014 construction work is planned for Fort Wainwright, Alaska District Construction-Operations Division Chief Pat Coullahan said at the presentation. A warm storage hangar is the largest project on the docket at $36 million. Contracts are yet to be awarded for all seven of the projects, he said. A $39 million unmanned aircraft hangar is in the works for Fort Wainwright in 2015 as well.” [Alaska Journal of Commerce, 12/4/13]

Fairbanks International Airport Expected To Receive $3.5 Million In Recovery Act Funds For Enhanced Safety Equipment and Upgrades. “The State Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is receiving $3.5 million for enhanced safety equipment and upgrades at Fairbanks International Airport.” [Alaska Business Magazine, 8/13/09]

Ketchikan

Begich Welcomed Coast Guard Announcement That Ketchikan Base Would Be Upgraded, Patrol Fleet Replaced. Reported KRBD in June 2013, “In a recent letter to U.S. Senator Mark Begich, the US Coast Guard announced it is moving ahead with plans to replace its patrol fleet and upgrade facilities, including its Ketchikan base. Captain G.G. Bonner writes that the plan is to replace an aging patrol fleet in Sector Juneau that is nearing the end of its service life, and improve operational safety. In Ketchikan the Coast Guard will build a 405-foot floating pier and a new 3,000-square-foot support building. In a news release sent out today (Wednesday), Begich writes that he’s pleased with the news. He says the Coast Guard plays an important role in Alaska, and the projects will not only create jobs, they will help ensure Southeast has adequate protection. The Coast Guard also says it will homeport two Fast Response Vessels in Ketchikan by 2015, and add a third in Juneau by 2020.” [KRBD, 6/12/13]

Nome

Begich Coauthored Coast Guard Reauthorization Legislation. Reported the Arctic Sounder in December 2012, “Nearly a year after a U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker helped deliver essential fuel to the community of Nome in the dead of winter, drawing attention to the need for more resources dedicated to Arctic response, the Coast Guard Reauthorization Act is set to pass. U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, who co-authored the bill, said in a release that the bill includes funding for projects and equipment that will ensure that Alaska doesn’t fall behind. ‘My colleagues are becoming increasingly aware that the United States must compete with other nations in the Arctic in order to remain competitive in our global economy,’ Begich said.” [Arctic Sounder, 12/14/12]

Begich Announced $152 Million In Recovery Act Funds For New Nome Hospital, One Of Two “Shovel-Ready” Projects Selected By The Indian Health Service. “Nome will get a new hospital, and Alaska will emerge as one of the earliest beneficiaries of the national economic stimulus bill, according to federal officials. The Norton Sound Regional Hospital, already in the planning phase, is now due to receive $152 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Alaska Sen. Mark Begich announced Tuesday. The hospital is one of two ‘shovel-ready’ projects nationwide selected for stimulus-bill funding by the Indian Health Service, agency officials told Begich. The second is a hospital in South Dakota. ‘This is exactly the kind of project the stimulus was designed for,’ Begich said in a press statement.” [Anchorage Daily News, 2/24/09]

Nome Hospital Provided Health Care For 10,000 Residents. “Nome will get a new hospital, and Alaska will emerge as one of the earliest beneficiaries of the national economic stimulus bill, according to federal officials. […] The 144,000-square-foot project is designed to replace a 50-year-old hospital operated by Norton Sound Health Corporation, a tribally owned nonprofit that currently provides health care for 10,000 people in the Bering Strait region.” [Anchorage Daily News, 2/24/09]

Beringview Housing Units In Nome Received $3 Million From The Recovery Act For A Weatherization Upgrade. The Nome Nugget reported, “Residents of the Beringview housing units in Nome should be a little bit warmer next winter thanks to federal stimulus funds. The Alaska Housing Finance Corp. is to receive more than $3 million through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Among the projects to be funded is the weatherization of 33 units in the Beringview complex.” [Nome Nugget, 4/2/09]