This will be one of the unique times that people will claw back money that might be obligated for a project that someone might be doing a summer construction project on.

Do you have a list of protocols that you utilize to determine, kind of, the prioritization of how you do assessments?

There is no question the relationship between Alaska and Washington, when it comes to our industry, is long and has a great future, also.

Let me--when it was originally set up, or when elements were set up, how did--or how did we remind--I guess, for the record here--the connection to the communities, how did we deal with the economic issues of the communities?

As a member of the former metropolitan transportation planning effort in the City of Anchorage, obligations of monies are critical for our summer construction season. And what I am hearing is goodbye on some of those.

the reality is the vision is there but there is not a funding mechanism yet, and the President is not recommending one.

And that means making sure the stakeholders are at the table, right?

So again, I want to make sure I am clear on this. Even if today a community, a state, a city signed a contract, obligates to fund--let us just say obligates because that may not engage.

I'm assuming you would--that getting that kind of data would be helpful in analyzing the future. Correct?

last week I had the privilege to travel to the Army's National Training Center to see the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team from Alaska train. I was amazed at what our soldiers do to prepare for the defense of our country. Despite their…

The Suez Canal is an important trade route and any interruption to current commercial transit through the Suez could have an impact on global resupply.

The Air Force supports the purchase and use of commercial space capabilities and services to the maximum practical extent.

I think that is unacceptable, especially with reservists who have a different scenario in what they have to get prepared for to get ready to be on the front lines.

There is cost in real dollars that have to come from somewhere, right?

I am sure you don't want to see fuel in our lines coming from Iran, which we do have, or fuel coming from countries that may not have the most stable governments.

Last thing, I would not want to let Senator Shaheen walk away with the tanker concept alone.

Sometimes we get a little excited about ideas, but we forget that there is a check that has to be written by somebody.

We have to be serious about a long-term energy plan that has a diversified energy resource from a national security perspective as its first priority.

Energy resource problems are prominent in our region, particularly in States where meeting growing domestic demand for electricity has become more challenging.

U.S. consumption boosts economic stability in these countries, as this is a fundamental exercise of international commerce providing economic benefit to a lengthy supply and consumer chain.

I am extremely concerned with the national security implications of relying on foreign sources for fossil fuels when we have significant reserves in the United States, specifically in the State of Alaska.

It seems like we should probably have a more robust discussion about energy needs because you hit it on the head.

I have supported multiple efforts on this floor to reduce and manage the budget in the overall scheme of how we move down to sustainability regarding the finances of this country. But this is one bill where you have to take into account…

We are looking just for fairness, we are not looking for anything special.

We're one of the few countries that haven't signed onto this treaty. We're hanging out with Syria, Iran, and Libya.