I brought up the flooding that had affected Crooked Creek and Red Devil, which are both Alaska Native villages in Western Alaska.

I would like to do that, because I do think it is important.

We need to have our own contingency plan because we don't have the availability of the neighbors around us.

We have many small communities that feel that perhaps they have been discriminated or the treatment is just not on a level playing field.

Most of our small villages don't qualify for the assistance under the program because they don't meet the cost-benefit criteria.

I think we worry around here about picking the winners and losers, rather than thinking about the comprehensive energy policy that you talk about.

Natural gas is clean burning and abundant. It's well understood. It's scalable.

When I look at the deeply troubling situation in North Africa and the Middle East, I don't see a future where we can afford to play politics with energy at the national level.

I think it is important that you do make that statement, do make that commitment because I think in our work here in the committee, again, we look to you for scientifically rigorous and impartial data.

I want to ask about developments in NGTL's gas to liquids.

we really do have to have an energy policy that is comprehensive.

There is also a piece where some of this activity occurs in major urban areas, where we don't necessarily have the culturally appropriate services in those areas for Alaska Native and American Indian women.

We have seen a couple of major cases in Alaska involving Alaska Native women coming, perhaps, for health care to Anchorage and ending up in the hands of commercial sex traffickers.

And I appreciate that you are giving that considered attention to some of the unique obstacles that we face.

we are seeing these increased rates in Alaska where young girls are literally being hunted.

We have struggled for so long in our State to try to improve these statistics...

But that is something that you are tracking?

I think we did a focus group last year on this issue, focusing on Alaska Native and American Indian women and commercial sex trafficking and found a lack of research and understanding of the issue.

I think we all know in our heart it is not good, it is not a healthy situation.

I appreciate the fact that full reimbursement will be applied.

I appreciate that you are working with some challenges there that are perhaps a little bit unique.

Any act of violence against any woman is simply unacceptable.

The bill sets up a revolving loan program to help overcome the costs of high-risk geothermal exploration wells.

If we could only get to a place like that, it would give us so much more hope as an Arctic nation.

This bill closes most of the remaining gaps the nation's strategy for helping geothermal energy expand.