With conservative lawmakers and interest groups blasting the Republican health care overhaul effort, the House speaker is making a hard sell for his bill.
Federal Government
After public testimony, House committee rejects proposal to cut school bond reimbursements
On Tuesday, the House Finance Committee changed course on a proposal to cut school bond debt reimbursements. The proposal would have left municipalities from Fairbanks to Wrangell with significant funding deficits.
Commercial long-line seasons to open on time
Commercial longliners in Alaska can go fishing March 11 after all. The National Marine Fisheries Service announced March 3 that the start date for halibut and black cod fishing will be March 11. March 11 is the halibut fishing start date approved by the International Pacific Halibut Commission back in January. The National Marine Fisheries Service typically…
Trump takes in ‘all things Alaska’ with visit from Murkowski and Sullivan
U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan brought their case for developing Alaska’s resources to the Oval Office on Wednesday, March 8. Murkowski said they and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke met with President Donald Trump for nearly an hour.
U.S. senators make budget plea for Coast Guard
Both of Alaska’s U.S. senators wrote the White House budget director Wednesday asking him to spare the Coast Guard from the budget ax.
Amid buzz on health bill, Murkowski keeps quiet
Two U.S. House committees are due to take up the new Republican health care bill Wednesday, to replace the Affordable Care Act. When the bill gets to the Senate, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, could turn out to be a swing vote.
Trump supports GOP health care plan, but it isn’t everything he wants
The president’s endorsement could be crucial in replacing the Affordable Care Act, but the Republican proposal leaves out provisions Trump has advocated for, like selling policies across state lines.
Dakota Access Pipeline court challenge denied, oil could flow as soon as next week
A federal judge denied a request from the Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River tribes to halt construction on the final piece of the pipeline in North Dakota.
ACA replacement bill has skimpier tax credits for Alaskans
Republicans in the U.S. House on Monday released their plan to replace former President Obama’s signature health care law. The new plan would phase out the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medicaid. The House proposal offers tax credits to help people buy insurance if they don’t get it through their jobs. But those tax credits are far less generous to Alaskans than the subsidies in existing law.
WikiLeaks releases what it calls CIA trove of cyber-espionage documents
The release includes thousands of pages of user manuals, support guides and other documents that appear to describe CIA hacking efforts. WikiLeaks says it is choosing not to release the code itself.