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Begich News

23 Sep 2014

House Introduces Vessel Discharge Legislation

The American Waterways Operators, a 350-member trade association representing the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry, hailed the House introduction of critical vessel discharge legislation yesterday, praising the leadership of sponsors Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee Chairman, and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), a senior member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. Bipartisan cosponsors include Reps. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), Bill Enyart (D-Ill.), Gene Green (D-Texas), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.), David Jolly (R-Fla.), Walter Jones (R-N.C.), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.), Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.), Cedric Richmond (D-La.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Don Young (R-Alaska). H.R.

20 Sep 2014

Vessel Discharge Legislation Awaits Congressional Nod

The American Waterways Operators, a 350-member trade association representing the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry, hailed the House introduction of critical vessel discharge legislation yesterday, praising the leadership of sponsors Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee Chairman, and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), a senior member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. Bipartisan cosponsors include Reps. Jim Cooper (D-TN), Bill Enyart (D-IL), Gene Green (D-TX), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), David Jolly (R-FL), Walter Jones (R-NC), Blaine Leutkemeyer (R-MO), Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Cedric Richmond (D-LA), Bennie Thompson (D-MS), and Don Young (R-AK). H.R.

07 Aug 2014

USCG Foundation to Honor Fellowmen in Alaska

The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education and welfare of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced today that it will honor the men and women who serve in Alaska at its biennial Alaska Awards Dinner at The Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage on Wednesday August 13th. Geraldo Rivera, world-class sailor and Fox News senior correspondent, and Sig Hansen, captain of the F/V Northwestern and star of the Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch," will join the Coast Guard Foundation to pay tribute to those who serve in this region – an area known for challenging weather and sea conditions. Admiral Paul F.

06 Aug 2014

AWO Praises Simplification of TWIC Process

Tom Allegretti, AWO President & CEO

Last week, the Transportation Security Administration began nationwide implementation of a program that reforms the burdensome process by which mariners and other transportation workers receive required Transportation Worker Identification Credentials (TWIC). The TWIC OneVisit program eliminates the requirement that workers make two trips to a TWIC enrollment center to pick up and then activate their TWIC. Under the new, streamlined process, a mariner can apply for a TWIC at an enrollment center and opt to receive the credential by mail.

23 Jun 2014

Coalition Asks Senate for Vessel Discharge Legislation

Tom Allegretti, AWO’s President & CEO

On June 20, a diverse coalition of 58 national and regional organizations representing a wide array of leading business, maritime and labor organizations signed on to a letter to Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Ranking Member John Thune (R-SD) urging that the committee mark up and approve S. 2094, a bill that would establish a uniform, science-based national framework for the regulation of ballast water and other vessel discharges. S. 2094, introduced on March 6 by Sens.

02 May 2014

US Senate Democrats Press For Speedier LNG Export Permits

The Obama administration must speed up approvals of liquefied natural gas exports to help boost global supplies and help U.S. allies, five Senate Democrats said on Friday. The lawmakers, all from natural gas-producing states, urged the Energy Department to place additional weight on national security matters in its review of LNG export applications. The Democrats said they wanted to show the White House that there is significant Democratic support for speeding up gas exports, even though Republicans typically lead the chorus. "Our allies have emphasized that a strong market signal from the United States that it is a willing future supplier of LNG…

14 Mar 2014

Industry Urges Senate for Vessel Discharge Legislation

On March 13, a diverse coalition of 59 national and regional organizations representing a wide array of business, maritime and labor interests signed on to a letter to Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee leadership, Chairman John Rockefeller (D-WV) and Ranking Member John Thune (R-SD), thanking them for cosponsoring S. 2094, a bill that would establish a uniform national framework for the regulation of ballast water and other vessel discharges, and urging swift Committee consideration and approval. S. 2094, introduced on March 6 by Sens. Mark Begich (D-AK) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), has 23 bipartisan co-sponsors, nearly one-quarter of the Senate.

07 Mar 2014

AWO Praises Vessel Discharge Legislation

Tom Allegretti, AWO President & CEO

The American Waterways Operators, the national trade association representing the tugboat, towboat and barge industry, praised yesterday’s Senate introduction of a bill calling for the enactment of a uniform national standard for the regulation of ballast water and other vessel discharges, legislation widely viewed as essential to ending the existing confusing, costly and ineffective patchwork of state and federal rules. AWO specifically called attention to the instrumental leadership of the bill’s lead sponsors, Sens.

18 Feb 2014

US Will Add a State Representative for the Arctic

John Kerry

In a press release announcing a new U.S. Secretary Kerry announced that the State Department will add a Special Representative for the Arctic Region, a high-level official of stature who will play a critical role in advancing American interests in the Arctic Region, particularly as it prepares efforts for the United States to Chair the Arctic Council in 2015. “President Obama and I are committed to elevating our attention and effort to keep up with the opportunities and consequences…

28 May 2013

Begich, Wicker, Schatz Introduce NOAA Corps Amendments Act

Mark Begich (Photo: http://www.begich.senate.gov)

U.S. Senators Mark Begich, Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) introduced legislation to strengthen the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Commissioned Officer Corps as a national asset and improve its ability to recruit and retain talented candidates like other uniformed services. Begich is chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard. Wicker and Schatz serve on the subcommittee as well. The NOAA Corps’ primary mission is to operate NOAA’s fleet of research ships and aircraft.

18 Feb 2013

Key Arctic Bills Introduced by Alaska Senator

Senator Mark Begich: Photo credit Press Office

New bills introduced by US Senator Mark Begich are aimed to strengthen Arctic science, health and diplomacy. "As we face an Arctic Ocean which is increasingly ice-free, our country has both an historic opportunity and enormous challenges,” U.S. Sen. Mark Begich said. Strengthening America’s understanding of changes underway in the Arctic, the impacts of Arctic warming on the health of northern residents and strengthening the nation’s international presence in the Arctic are the subjects of three bills recently introduced in the Senate by Begich .

18 Dec 2012

North America ECA: Alaska Senator Protests

U.S. Sen. Mark Begich urges US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take 'hybrid' approach to cruise ships in Alaskan waters. The senator is leading an effort with Hawaii’s senators urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to adopt a phased-in approach for cruise ships forced to meet stricter standards for air emissions under the North American Emission Control Area, or ECA. Under the ECA, cruise ships will be required to burn more expensive, cleaner-burning fuel in specific geographic areas in the U.S., including all of Alaska’s Inside Passage through the Gulf of Alaska and up to the major cruise ports of Whittier and Seward.

06 Aug 2012

Coast Guard Foundation Honors Alaska's Coast Guard Heroes

Non-Profit Organization’s Dinner and Tribute to Take Place on August Eighth. The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education, welfare and morale of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced today that its Alaska Awards Dinner in tribute to the United States Coast Guard will take place on Wednesday, August 8, 2012 at the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage, Alaska. Honoring the courageous efforts of the guardians who enforce maritime law, protect our homeland and preserve the environment in Alaska, awards will be presented for outstanding heroism demonstrated this year. The event’s keynote speaker is US Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Robert Papp. In addition, Lt.

29 Jul 2012

Ballast Water Regulations Uniformity Plea to US Senate

A coalition of maritime related interests writes to US Senate pledging support for uniform national standard for regulation of ballast water & other vessel discharges. The text of the letter addressed to The Hon. John D. "We are writing to express support for Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approval of S. 3332, the Vessel Incidental Discharges Act, bipartisan legislation that will help achieve the goal of a uniform national standard for the regulation of ballast water and other vessel discharges. Our coalition—which includes U.S. and international vessel owners and operators; labor unions; industries that rely on marine vessels to transport essential cargoes in domestic and international commerce…

25 Jun 2012

AWO: Senate Bill Would Protect Marine Environment

Bipartisan legislation introduced by Senator Mark Begich (D-AK) and nine co-sponsors would establish a strong, nationally consistent standard for ballast water and other vessel discharges, bringing good news for the marine environment and for maritime commerce, the American Waterways Operators (AWO) announced. S. 3332, the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act, would require the U.S. Coast Guard to implement the most environmentally protective ballast water discharge standard achievable by existing technology.

05 Aug 2010

Coast Guard Foundation Honors USCG in Alaska

The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education, welfare and morale of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced that its Biennial Alaska Awards Dinner in tribute to the United States Coast Guard will take place on Wednesday, August 11, 2010 in Anchorage, Alaska. Honoring the heroic efforts of the guardians who enforce maritime law, protect our homeland and preserve the environment, this year’s gala Co-Chairs are Morgen Crow, executive director of the Coast Village Region Fund and Janis Ivanoff, vice president and chief executive officer of Norton Sound Economic Development Association. Alaska Governor Sean Parnell as well as United States Senators…

21 Jul 2010

NOAA Fairweather Updates Arctic Charts

As Arctic ice recedes, countries are looking forward to faster, safer and more efficient sea routes across the top of the world. Responding to a request from the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, Alaska Maritime Pilots and the commercial shipping industry, NOAA sent one of its premier surveying vessels, NOAA Ship Fairweather, to detect navigational dangers in critical Arctic waters that have not been charted for more than 50 years. Fairweather, whose homeport is Ketchikan, Alaska, will spend July and August examining seafloor features, measuring ocean depths and supplying data for updating NOAA’s nautical charts spanning 350 square nautical miles in the Bering Straits around Cape Prince of Wales.

10 Dec 2009

UAF Arctic Research Vessel to be Built

Image courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks

More than three decades ago, marine scientists in the United States first identified the need for a research vessel capable of bringing scientists to Alaska’s icy northern waters. The University of Alaska Fairbanks has announced its intent to award a $123m contract that will meet that need. The university has selected Marinette Marine Corporation of Marinette, Wis. to build the 254-ft Alaska Region Research Vessel. When complete, the vessel will be one of the most advanced university research vessels in the world and will be capable of breaking ice up to 2.5 feet thick.

21 Aug 2009

USARC Calls for Arctic Oil Spill Research

The U.S. Arctic Research Commission believes that the U.S. needs a robust research program to address spill response in broken ice, as shipping moves into the Arctic Ocean and offshore oil drilling - in several Arctic nations - moves forward. Mead Treadwell, chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, prepared testimony for the August 20 field hearing in Anchorage of the U.S. Senate's Homeland Security Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Treadwell told the committee that, contrary to laws passed by Congress after the Exxon Valdez oil spill disaster in 1989, a significant national oil spill research program does not exist, nor is one planned to fit the special needs of the Arctic. It was anticipated that the U.S.