Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Hope you are feeling Influential and masterful this February 20th! Why, you may ask? Well, I figure feeling a bit presidential on Presidents’ Day might be a fitting way to celebrate the holiday! I have come to realize that our impacting people, situations, and issues for good and using skills we’ve mastered for positive change—this is the power we have. When we do this, we, in our own small way, are being presidential in our sphere of influence.
Presidents’ Day
And while we’re being presidential today, it’s also a fine time to reflect on the reason the Post Office, federal and state agencies (all but the legislature!), and some banks are closed today. Although the holiday spurs reflection on all our presidents since our nation’s founding, George Washington’s and Abraham Lincoln’s February birthdays are at its origin, and no wonder why. These two greatly impacted our USA, helping lay the foundation for our becoming the strong nation and world leader we are today. Rather than reviewing their accomplishments in office, I’d like to point out a few intriguing factoids that shed light on who they were outside of their presidency.
Did you know the first president was the very first mule breeder? George Washington is credited with creating the mule stock that powered agriculture in the South for generations. He also bred hunting dogs for speed and gave them names including Sweet Lips, Venus, Tippler, Drunkard and Madame Moose.
What about President Lincoln? Although Abe was tall and lanky and perhaps didn’t look particularly tough physically, he was. Lincoln’s feats in the ring as a young man earned him an “Outstanding American” honor in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. And the tall hat he wore? He sometimes kept important documents under it.
Scroll down to see more fun facts about these two and other presidents. I compiled the list to help remind us all (me included!) that presidents are ordinary people too—so that we as ordinary people can realize we have the capacity too to be a bit presidential, to impact our world for good with the unique skills we each have.
So we’ve talked about the holiday today but what about last week and this coming week in your state legislature?
Disabled Vet Bill Passed Senate
Last week, we passed the first bill of the session on the floor, SB 10 Disabled Vets: Hunting/Fishing/Trapping 20-0 which I co-sponsored. The bill, sponsored by Senator Kiehl, provides service-disabled veterans, along with active National Guard and reservists, a free trapping license to add to the free hunting/fishing license already available to them.
Food Security Priority
Last week was Food Security Week 2023. We enjoyed visits from the Alaska Farm Bureau and others intent on increasing food production and processing in Alaska. With 95+% of our food coming from the lower 48, we’ve got work to do to become more food independent. It will take a comprehensive approach for the long haul; it will take coordinated efforts, including infrastructure (Power 3 generation, slaughter facilities, processing facilities, roads, etc.) to fully make use of existing ag lands, open up new areas to ag, and get products to market. Farmers have indicated that to scale up, they will also need an export market in order to make their upfront investment economically feasible.
On Wednesday, I was appointed to the Alaska Food Strategy Task Force along with Senator Click Bishop, and Representatives George Rauscher and Donna Mears. This Task Force will continue the work begun by the Food Security and Independence Task Force convened by Governor Dunleavy which will sunset shortly. We are also glad to see we now have a new Director of the Division of Agriculture, Bryan Scoresby, of Palmer. Thanks to all the excellent applicants for this position. I hope these individuals will consider presenting to the Food & Farm Caucus as well as provide input to the new Task Force. Increasing food security is certainly going to be a joint effort! Read more about this topic by scrolling down in this newsletter.
Senate Law Finance Subcommittee
Senate Finance Subcommittees are underway. My subcommittee assignment is the Department of Law. Thursday we had an overview. An adequate number of prosecutors are important to ensure our communities are safe, so that is a focus area for me. It looks like the governor’s proposal for $10 million for statehood defense (whether the work is performed by the Department of Law, the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Fish & Game, or the Department of Environmental Conservation) is an item some in the Senate Majority don’t support. I do support it.
Statehood Defense is Necessary
Here’s why.
The Tenth Amendment of our US Constitution says that the federal government only has those powers delegated in the Constitution. Those powers are laid out in Article I, Section 8. If the power isn’t listed, it belongs to the states or to the people. (With the 27 powers delegated to Congress come implied powers too, as stated at the end of Article I, Section 8: “To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers”.)
The 27 powers are limited and pertain to raising and maintaining armed forces, declaring war, instituting taxes, establishing post offices, regulating commerce, constituting tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court, coining and borrowing money, punishing counterfeit, punishing piracy and felonies on the high seas, and issuing patents. I have included the full text of Article I, Section 8 for you (scroll down to see).
When you think of the myriad of laws passed by Congress over 247 years, how many of them don’t fall under one of these powers? For instance, what grants Congress the authority to make laws pertaining to education and our public schools? To establish the Environmental Protection Agency and impose its regulations within our state’s borders? To require other federal permits in order for us to develop our resources? To stop us from building a road? The list goes on.
Washington, D.C.’s overreach is clear. I adamantly support taking legal and other actions whether land surveys, wildlife counts, water test, etc. to push back from the federal government’s encroachment on our state’s rights. I also support pursuing an Article V constitutional convention for the purpose of restoring the balance between the states and the federal government. The federal government will not on its own relinquish the power it has taken unconstitutionally from the states. We don’t yet have the 34 states required in Article V to call a convention, but we can at this point work to regain Alaska’s rightful powers through our departments and the courts.
Support for Willow Project
Speaking of this overreach when it comes to resource development in Alaska, we expect movement of HJR 6 and SJR 7 this week supporting the Willow project on the North Slope. The Biden administration is under pressure to delay or stop the project. Your legislature will be sending a message to Congress that there is bipartisan support for this responsible project which will increase domestic oil production in Alaska, will bring $9 billion in private sector investment to our state, and will provide 2500 jobs during the construction phase.
Coffee Chat Saturday, February 25
Our Coffee Chat this month is this weekend, Saturday February 25, 10:00 to 11:30 am at Sophia’s Café on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway between Trunk and 49th State Street. Come with your ideas, concern, and questions!
And, as always, I look forward to meeting more of you in the following months locally when I’m back in district as well as here in Juneau when any of you come for a visit. My responsibility to you is always front and center, whether I am on the Senate floor, drafting policy, in a meeting, out and about in our community, or communicating with you. I will strive to be available in multiple ways to hear from you and what concerns you most. I am on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at AKShelleyHughes. You can also email me at [email protected] or call my office (907)465-3743 (Session) or (907)376-3725 (Interim) to get in touch.
As I state on my Facebook Senator page, mention in live broadcasts, and tell many of you in one-on-one conversations, with the volume of contacts I receive daily (multiple hundreds), my staff and I work hard to read and listen to everything so I can understand what you, our district, and the rest of the state is thinking. If you would like to ensure you receive my feedback on your issue and ideas, please call my office 907-465-3743 to set up a phone call with me or come by one of my constituent meetings so we can connect in-person. Hearing your input continues to be a top priority to me!
Keep Scrolling, My Friends!
Lots of great info awaits you below [in this week’s newsletter] – not only articles and photos but hot tips, staff and office contact information, the senate floor chart, public testimony opportunities, bill tracking instructions, bills I’ve filed, and more. Be sure to click on “view entire message” at the bottom, so you don’t miss out on information that may be relevant to you and your interests!
Working on your behalf,
