Viewpoints: Letters / Opinions
Alaskans benefit from having “one of each”
By Veronica Slajer
November 01, 2014
Saturday PM
As a member of Alaska’s effective bipartisan congressional delegation, Senator Mark Begich deserves reelection. By having a senator in each party, Alaska is protected and positioned to gain from the shifting priorities of changing majorities. This year Roll Call rated the Alaska delegation the ‘pound for pound’ most influential in the country, and that benefits all Alaskans.
To understand the advantages of a bipartisan delegation, we need to note two important factors about the current Congress. First, it is highly partisan with members going out of their way to oppose anything supported by the other party. Second, committee chairmen (always of the majority party) hold de facto veto power over bills through their control of committee agendas.
No matter which party controls the senate, our state is well served by having advocates in DC who can ensure that the leadership of each party’s congressional caucus knows and understands Alaska’s issues and positions. Though the Republicans are currently favored to gain narrow control of the U.S. Senate this year (which would give Senator Murkowski the chairmanship of the powerful Energy and Natural Resources Committee, a post previously held by her father), the Senate election map will be reversed in 2016 with the Democrats having good prospects for regaining the Senate should they lose it in 2014.
Thus, any state with a single party delegation will likely be left out of the Senate majority for two of the next four years, during which time their senators would be dependent on the goodwill of their political opponents to move legislation.
Our current bipartisan Senate delegation has ideal committee assignments, growing seniority, and a seat at the table on all of the issues most important to Alaskans. Reelecting Senator Begich is the only way of ensuring that Alaska’s voice is heard within the Senate majority regardless of who controls the Senate.
Veronica Slajer
Anchorage, Alaska
About: Veronica Slajer is the President of the North Star Group, a community and public policy consulting firm. Ms. Slajer has worked on matters affecting rural communities and natural resource policy for more than thirty years. She was raised in Ketchikan and currently splits her time between Anchorage and Washington, D.C.
Received October 31, 2014
- Published November 01, 2014
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