Wednesday, Congresswoman Aumua Amata, engaged Dr. Jonathon Gifford, Professor and Director, Center for Transportation Public-Private Policy, George Mason School of Public Policy, on the special needs and position of American Samoa in terms of current surface transportation infrastructure

Alaska Congressman Don Young today released the following statement in response to the Obama Administration’s massive expansion of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act through the release of a final rule redefining the “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS).

This evening, during the daily briefing, Mike Coffey, Maintenance and Operations Director for the Alaska Department of Tranpsortation and Public Facilites, could barely contain his enthusiasm as he shared with the Dalton Unified Incident Command that flood levels had dropped enought to start repair work immediately.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced an agreement with the Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska, resolving allegationsthat its zoning laws violated the Fair Housing Act and other civil rights laws by discriminating against people with disabilities.

In an effort to build on a positive working relationship that will expand a meaningful, responsible collaboration on transboundary resource issues, Lieutenant Governor Byron Mallott announced today that the Walker Administration will reach out to the provincial government of British Columbia, the Canadian mining industry and First Nation leaders during a visit to the region May 4–6, 2015

Appropriations for the Army Corps of Engineers, various Department of Energy programs, and a number of Alaskan projects requested by Congressman Don Young today passed the House of Representatives as part of H.R. 2028, the FY2016 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act. The bill, which passed 240 to 177, would provide $35.4 billion in FY16 spending – $29 billion for the Department of Energy and $5.6 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers

Alaskan Congressman Don Young today applauded the passage of H.R. 1987, the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015, in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The legislation authorizes U.S. Coast Guard funding and priorities for Fiscal Year 2015 and 2016, further advancing the critical mission of protecting our nation’s oceans and waterways.

Governor Bill Walker applauded the Alaska Legislature today for passing his Interior Energy Project bill, HB 105, which will allow the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority to pursue options other than trucking liquefied natural gas from the North Slope to provide low-cost energy to Interior residents

Ellie Mae® (NYSE: ELLI), a leading provider of innovative on-demand software solutions and services for the residential mortgage industry, announced that Denali Alaskan Federal Credit Union, one of Alaska’s oldest credit unions, is very satisfied with the systems workflow and ease of use of Encompass, Ellie Mae’s all-in-one mortgage management solution. The credit union has also achieved a higher completion rate of online mortgage applications since implementing Encompass last year

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today applauded action taken by the House to approve, by voice vote, energy efficiency legislation authored by Sens. Portman, R-Ohio, and Shaheen, D-N.H. The Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2015 would promote increased energy efficiency for grid enabled water heaters and in buildings and is now on its way to President Obama for his signature

The City of Homer has petitioned to the Alaska Supreme Court for review of the April 3, 2015 decision of the Superior Court invalidating assessments of condominium units in the Homer Natural Gas Distribution Special Assessment District in the case of Castner v. City of Homer. The City and Mr. Castner have agreed to terms of a stay of the Superior Court’s decision pending disposition of the City’s petition for review.

Alaskan Congressman Don Young and Representatives Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Cheri Bustos (D-IL) have teamed up to introduce bipartisan legislation to ensure veterans play a critical role in rebuilding America’s infrastructure. H.R. 1694, the Fairness to Veterans for Infrastructure Investment Act, levels the playing field in federal contracting for veteran-owned businesses by providing veterans access to existing preferences authorized for transportation projects.

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) will once again be conducting an annual telephone survey to collect information on residential heating practices in the borough area. The survey asks residents about the type of fuel they use, how often, and other questions. Similar surveys were conducted in Fairbanks last winter season and several prior winters as well

Building on the efforts of the 113th Congress to improve the primary federal housing program for American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians, today Alaskan Congressman Don Young and the House of Representatives passed legislation to reauthorize the Native American House Assistance and Self Determination Act (NAHASDA) and assist Native communities across the country in developing and implementing their own innovative housing assistance initiatives

Senator Lisa Murkowski today pressed U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell on the agency’s failure to address the needs of Southeast Alaska communities affected by federal forested lands in its 2016 budget request.