Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, has declined comment on his vote to cut $280 million in federal grants to the state – instead focusing on energy dominance, including advancing the Alaska liquid natural gas project.
Sullivan was asked by The Cordova Times on Sept. 26 to comment on criticism of his vote to eliminate $280 million in grants through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to Alaska communities.
“Every administration has its own funding priorities,” said Devyn Shea, Sullivan’s press secretary.
Shea focused on Sullivan’s support of President Donald Trump’s energy agenda, including resource development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) and Cook Inlet.
Shea had no comment on the Alaska Democratic Party statement contending that the $280 million in federal grants for Alaska housing and water and sewage systems, as well as flood protection, were canceled due to Sullivan voting to eliminate those funds from the GOP budget bill.
“The Biden administration’s agenda centered on killing America’s and Alaska’s oil and gas sector and using taxpayer dollars to fund projects that sacrificed reliability and affordability,” Shea said. “In contrast, a top Trump administration priority is ‘Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential’ – encapsulated in the president’s day one executive order in order to achieve American energy dominance, a centerpiece of which is advancing the Alaska LNG project.”
Shea said Sullivan supports Trump’s energy agenda and has worked relentlessly to include energy provisions in the budget reconciliation bill, including historic provisions mandating responsible development in ANWR, NPR-A, and Cook Inlet.
“The bill also substantially increases Alaska’s share of future revenues from these federal lands to 70% and helps accelerate the Alaska LNG project – a project that will power much of the state with clean-burning natural gas to generate billions of dollars in new revenues for the state, and create thousands of jobs for hard-working Alaskans,” he said.
Shea added that Sullivan has been working with the EPA on the $100 million recently awarded to the Denali Commission for aging bulk fuel infrastructure.
Sullivan will continue to collaborate with the administration and the Denali Commission to secure funds for projects that expand and update infrastructure in rural Alaska, he said.
