In the News/Op-eds
NEW YORK TIMES: White House Moves to Reassure Allies With South China Sea Patrol, but Quietly
by Helene Cooper and Jane Perlez
WASHINGTON - For months, lawmakers and national security hawks have urged President Obama to stand up to China's land reclamation of disputed islands in the South China Sea. But now that the Obama administration finally has, the White House does not want to talk about it. In sending a guided missile destroyer late Monday into waters China considers its territory, the Obama administration sought to exercise what officials called the right to freedom of navigation in international waters. The m… Continue Reading
08.31.15
Sullivan brings Washington to vets
An idea that started in Alaska to provide better care by the Veterans Administration for vets known as the Veterans Access, Choice & Accountability Act seems to have backfired for Alaskan vets according to freshman U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R) Alaska. "Ultimately this was about bringing Washington D.C. to Alaska," Sullivan told the Dispatch in an interview before the Kenai hearing. "To have some of the senior VA officials here in Alaska. The Secretary of the VA was here two weeks ago and to… Continue Reading
08.27.15
President must experience 'real' Alaska through its people
by Sen. Dan Sullivan
Alaska has benefited from many Presidential visits, and it's always good to have the national spotlight shine on us. President Ronald Reagan's visits were particularly memorable, given his keen appreciation for Alaska's vast natural resources and understanding of the federal government's history of locking up those resources by taking Alaska lands. "It's absolutely ridiculous," President Reagan said in a 1979 campaign stop, bemoaning federal land-grabs. "It's gotten to the point where a tourist… Continue Reading
08.27.15
Fixing Alaska's model VA system: Used to reform national veterans' care, state system now needs help
by Fairbanks Daily News-Miner Editorial Board
News-Miner opinion: A year and a half ago, the national Veterans Affairs health system was in disarray. At clinics across the Lower 48, veterans waited for care for weeks and months, in some cases dying before receiving treatment. But the Alaska system was a different story. Thanks to reforms pushed by the state's congressional delegation, the Last Frontier's veterans had shorter waits and better access to care. So Congress developed a national system akin to Alaska's - only to have its rollout … Continue Reading
08.17.15
Sullivan: Russian moves highlight Arctic concerns
by Becky Bohrer
JUNEAU, Alaska - U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan said the Russians are looking to militarize the Arctic, making it all the more important for the U.S. to have a broad Arctic strategy that includes having sufficient troops based in Alaska. Sullivan said Monday that's why he has been critical of proposed troop reductions in Alaska as part of a cost-saving plan announced by the Army this summer. His office said Sullivan got included in the Senate version of a defense spending bill a provision to r… Continue Reading
06.01.15
Alaska, Washington state must work together
by Sen. Dan Sullivan
As an American, a U.S. senator and an Alaskan, I'm deeply concerned with the security of our nation and the economic wellbeing of my state, much of which depends on continuing the historic and mutually beneficial relationship between Alaska and Washington state. That relationship is strained and put at risk when officials in Washington use Alaska's economy as a platform to engage in political opportunism. I'm referring specifically to Seattle Mayor Ed Murray's recent actions to attempt to bloc… Continue Reading
05.26.15
Alaska Sen. Sullivan to join Sen. McCain on trip to Vietnam
by Associated Press
PHOENIX - Sen. John McCain is leading a U.S. Senate delegation that will visit Vietnam and Singapore this week. The Arizona Republican is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and his office says the trip is being made at a critical time for U.S. interests in the Asia-Pacific region. McCain's office says Sens. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Joni Ernst of Iowa and Dan Sullivan of Alaska also are making the trip, while Sens. Cory Gardner of Colorado and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii will… Continue Reading
05.11.15
OP-ED: ‘Rebalance’ to Asia calls for 3-pronged strategy
by Sen. Dan Sullivan
Almost two decades ago, I was a Marine Corps infantry officer aboard an amphibious assault ship with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit deployed in the South China Sea. The ship I was on, the USS Belleau Wood, received orders to transit the Taiwan Strait during what later became known as the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, precipitated by Chinese military action and missile launches in the run up to Taiwan's 1996 presidential elections. We were part of a show of substantial U.S. military force in th… Continue Reading
04.26.15
Standing tall against sex trafficking: Sen. Dan Sullivan crafted worthy amendment to bill targeting sex trade
by Fairbanks Daily News-Miner Editorial Board
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner editorial: Sex trafficking is a difficult issue to confront. It's hard to think about people being placed in such a position, much less talk about it and develop effective strategies to combat it. Therefore, it's heartening the U.S. Senate, in a rare show of bipartisanship, came together this week to pass legislation aimed at protecting victims of sex trafficking and making punishing the perpetrators of such crimes more effective. Kudos especially to Sen. Dan Sullivan,… Continue Reading
04.22.15
Sen. Dan Sullivan explains his views on the Iran deal and why
by Sen. Dan Sullivan
Last week in an op-ed about the Iranian nuclear deal, Juneau resident Richard Moniak raised questions about an earlier column I wrote in this paper, and about the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's recent passage of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, which I co-sponsored. If the act passes in both the House and the Senate, it will allow Congress to have an up-or-down vote on an eventual nuclear arms agreement with Iran - one of the most significant national security issues facing A… Continue Reading
04.22.15
Sen. Dan Sullivan: Team of Apache helicopters likely moving to Fairbanks
by Casey Grove
ANCHORAGE - Twenty-four AH-64 Apache attack helicopters and their crews likely are headed to Fort Wainwright, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan said Tuesday. Roughly 400 personnel also will be headed to the Army post in Fairbanks, Sullivan said in a written statement. The plan is "pre-decisional" and pending environmental impact statements and approval by the secretary of the Army, said Sullivan's press secretary, Mike Anderson. According to Defense News, at defensenews.com, the Army's assistant … Continue Reading
04.08.15
New waters rule would greatly expand EPA role
by Sen. Dan Sullivan
Alaskans and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy generally don't agree on much. But recently, when talking to a reporter about water, she hit on a consensus, albeit unintentionally: "Water is personal," she said. Indeed it is. And Alaskans know just how personal. We are a state that understands and loves its water. We boast 43,000 miles of coastline, and millions of lakes. More than 43 percent of our state's surface area is composed of wetlands - which accounts for 6… Continue Reading
03.24.15
Sullivan talks states' rights, AKLNG
by Katie Moritz
With polarizing issues facing the Alaska Legislature, there couldn't have been a more interesting time for the state's freshman U.S. senator to make a stop at the Capitol. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, made it clear in his first-ever address to lawmakers that his intention is to push against President Barack Obama's mandates while working to get things done for the state. Needless to say, his speech was a hit with the Republican House and Senate majorities. Sullivan, a former Alaska attorney ge… Continue Reading
03.24.15
Wall Street Journal OpEd: Obama’s Alaska Wilderness Head Fake
by Senator Dan Sullivan
President Obama's plan to designate 12 million acres as wilderness in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge did not fool Alaskans. The announcement in January revealed his goal of starving the trans-Alaska pipeline by stranding tens of billions of barrels of American oil permanently under the Arctic tundra, and turning the state into a giant national park. Given the huge importance the oil industry plays in employing Alaskans and funding state services, the president's plan will wreak havoc on t… Continue Reading
03.23.15
Sullivan talks federal regs, military presence
by Molly Dischner
JUNEAU - U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan on Monday said fighting federal overreach and pushing for a continued military presence in Alaska are among his priorities. Sullivan made his comments in addressing a joint session of the state Legislature. Such addresses are tradition among Alaska's U.S. senators, and this was the first for Sullivan, a Republican who won election last November. Sullivan said his efforts to limit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency include support for a bill that provides f… Continue Reading
03.21.15
Congress should have a say in US-Iran nuclear weapons deal
by Sen. Dan Sullivan
As I traveled throughout our great state last year, I heard repeatedly how worried Alaskans were about national security. From the growth and brutality of ISIS and a resurgent Russia waging war in the heart of Europe, to a steady march by Iran to obtain nuclear weapons, Alaskans recognized the unprecedented challenges threatening our country. They sensed what former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger recently put into words during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing: "The United States ha… Continue Reading
02.03.15
Let's win assault on Alaska together
by Senator Dan Sullivan
Most of us remember where we were when we first learned of some momentous event that seemed briefly to freeze history in time. Like many Alaskans, I'll never forget where I was on 9/11. Many of us will never forget where we were when we learned that Sen. Ted Stevens was in the plane crash that took his life, or when Gov. Wally Hickel passed on. And I will never forget where I was when I heard that President Barack Obama was once again going to attempt to lock up millions of acres of Alaska la… Continue Reading
01.06.15
Dan Sullivan sworn in as Alaska's new senator
Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan was sworn in at the start of the new Congress on Tuesday, becoming Alaska's junior senator. An Alaska contingent that included Gov. Bill Walker and state lawmakers were in Washington, D.C., for the event. Sullivan said he was honored and humbled by the turnout. He said the joke was that the "Alaskainvasion" - which he numbered at more than 200 people - brought with it the snow that blanketed the area Tuesday. Sullivan, a former state attorney general and Natur… Continue Reading
