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November 27, 2009
Anchorage
Hmong Alaska New Year Celebration
New Year Speech
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November 23, 2009
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Happy Thanksgiving
During the President's visit, Sen. Begich poses with military personnel at Elmendorf Air Force Base after thanking them for their service.
It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is upon us. This year has gone by so quickly. The Senate is geared up for good debate and discussion after the Thanksgiving holiday on the health care legislation currently on the Senate floor. This weekend's cloture vote just moved it to the floor; it was not a vote on the overall legislation. You'll see and hear in the coming days and weeks that I still have concerns about the legislation and will continue to talk to my colleagues and work on amendments that make health care more affordable and accessible for Alaskans and all Americans.
We also celebrated Veterans Day earlier this month, and I was pleased to be able to be in Alaska to attend events at home. The day after Veterans Day, President Obama made a brief refueling stop at Elmendorf Air Force Base. He gave a great speech to the thousands of troops and families assembled about the importance of the military and his commitment to giving our service men and women what they need to be successful. I share the president's commitment to that and will continue to work on legislation that helps our military, their families, and our veterans.
I'll close with a sincere Happy Thanksgiving wish to you and yours. We all have much to be thankful for. Have a wonderful holiday.
Sincerely,
Senator Mark Begich
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Landmark Veterans Legislation Passes Senate
Continuing his advocacy and support for military veterans and their families, Sen. Begich was pleased to support passage of overdue legislation which thoroughly overhauls many issues related to veteran's health care. The Caregiver and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2009 (S.1963), passed the Senate last week 98 to 0. The comprehensive bill increases the quality and quantity of care provided to veterans and the levels of support provided to caregivers of injured veterans. This includes providing benefits for caregivers of wounded veterans, enhancing outreach to homeless veterans and those in rural areas, and expanded health care for female veterans."The passage of this legislation is justice served," Begich said. "Veterans of this country have bravely fought to defend our freedom and we have come up short in providing for them. These new and improved services will help ensure that we recognize veterans for their sacrifices and provide them with care that they earned long ago." Sen. Begich spoke on the floor of the senate twice in support of this legislation. You can view his speeches here and here.
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Begich Greets President at Elmendorf Air Force Base
Senator Begich greeted President Obama at Elmendorf Air Force Base on November 12. During his first trip to the state on his way to Asia, the President delivered a speech to thousands of Alaska military men and women, their families, veterans and others. View more photos here.
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Health Care and Insurance Reform
Now that Sen. Begich has voted to open debate on legislation to reform America's health insurance industry, he is focused on several proposals to improve the bill to ensure that Alaskans can get quality, affordable health care. Among his ideas is a permanent fix to Medicare, so that doctors receive adequate reimbursement for their services. Currently, many Alaskans can't find doctors who will treat them under Medicare and Begich is co-sponsoring legislation (S.1776) to fix that. Another proposal he wants to advance is support for mid-sized hospitals too large to qualify for major federal support, such as those in Soldotna, Juneau and Sitka. Sen. Begich wants to extend a current federal program for those hospital and others. The senator also is committed to improving care for Alaska active duty military and veterans. Sen. Begich favors improvements to the TRICARE network so more civilian doctors will provide service. With 133,000 Alaskans without health insurance and costs rising daily, Sen. Begich is working for health reform that works for Alaskans.
In early November, Sen. Begich spoke on the Senate floor about the "Nuka Model of Care" developed by the Southcentral Foundation of Anchorage. A highly successful program, Sen. Begich discussed how an Alaska grown program provides an example for the country. View the speech here.
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Veterans Day 2009
On Veterans Day, Sen. Begich joined Alaskans at Elmendorf Air Force Base to recognize those who have served our country. Pictured with Sen. Begich from left to right are Gov. Sean Parnell and Mrs. Parnell, Lt. Gov. Craig Campbell and Mrs. Campbell, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
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Begich Asks Interior Dept. to Allow Development
Working to further oil and gas development off Alaska's coast and the construction of an Alaska natural gas pipeline, Sen. Begich told two of the Obama administration's top energy and environment officials of the importance these projects will have in improving the nation's energy security and energy supply. Meeting in his office with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Carol Browner, special assistant to the president at the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change, Sen. Begich urged approval of outer continental shelf (OCS) leasing in Alaska's Chukchi Sea and said construction of an Alaska gasline project can create more American jobs than any single project on the horizon. As the joblessness continues to grow in the U.S., he said Alaska energy development can help kick-start the economy. On the gasline, Sen. Begich told the administration officials that he welcomed the President's personal attention to the project, which can create the equivalent of 6,000 fulltime, year-round jobs while supplying the nation a safe and environmentally friendly source of energy for decades. Sen. Begich also asked for Salazar's assistance in solving a long-standing problem delaying development of oil and gas leases in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
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Veterans Day Speech
Sen. Mark Begich recognized Veterans Day a day early with a speech on the Senate floor. His remarks recognized the service of Alaskas military men and women, and Alaskas veterans noting that Alaska carries the proud distinction of being home to 70,000 veterans. Sen. Begich also recognized Alaskas heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving their country since Sept. 11, 2001.
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Begich Thanks Postal Service for Letters to Santa
After hearing from hundreds of Alaskans, the Alaska Congressional Delegation and other Santa fans from around the world, the U.S. Postal Service announced last week it will permit a program to continue in Alaska this year that allows volunteers to answer "Dear Santa" letters that come from across the country each year to the post office at North Pole, Alaska. The USPS had earlier said the program would be discontinued due to safety concerns over the identities of children, but has now decided to go forward with the program with stricter guidelines in place. Sen. Begich's Alaska staff met with Postal Service officials and Sen. Begich joined Rep. Don Young in a letter asking the USPS to reconsider plans to stop the program. The Postal Service also said the North Pole post office will still be able to hand cancel small batches of cards and letters with the "North Pole" stamp, but large quantities of mail will be sent to Anchorage for processing on high speed equipment and the postmark will still read North Pole.
You can read the letter from Sen. Begich and Rep. Young here.
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