Video Clips
Quoted moments from Alaska public meetings, hearings, and press conferences.
Nick Begich
“DOJ recovered over $52 million across 9 cybersecurity False Claims Act settlements in fiscal year 2025. How many of those cases originated from whistleblowers versus proactive government audits?”House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight (Begich): Safeguarding Federal Research Funds · Jun 24, 2026
Jennifer Springman
“For every dollar that's obtained through deception or otherwise misused is a dollar that could have supported a meritorious proposal. The true victims are the researchers, students, and institutions that competed fairly for these limited resources only to see the funds diverted to individuals who obtained them through fraud.”House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight (Begich): Safeguarding Federal Research Funds · Jun 24, 2026
Jennifer Springman
“In past investigations, we found that universities were often aware of their faculty members' foreign funding and positions overseas, but did not disclose this information to NSF. For this reason, we have initiated proactive investigations into whether universities are disclosing this information to NSF as required.”House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight (Begich): Safeguarding Federal Research Funds · Jun 24, 2026
McCormick
“Last fiscal year, the Department of Justice recovered $6.8 billion through False Claims Act settlements and judgments, marking the highest single-year total in the law's 160-year history. Nearly 1,300 of those cases were brought not by the government authorities, or the auditors, but by whistleblowers who came forward on their own, accounting for more than $5.3 billion of that recovery.”House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight (Begich): Safeguarding Federal Research Funds · Jun 24, 2026
McCormick
“The Department of Justice recovered more than $52 million last fiscal year in cybersecurity-related False Claims Act settlements alone. And notably, most of those cases involved misrepresentation rather than an actual breach.”House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight (Begich): Safeguarding Federal Research Funds · Jun 24, 2026
Jennifer Springman
“Over the past 10 years, our investigations involving universities have resulted in 15 False Claims Act settlements, recovering nearly $9 million for NSF.”House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight (Begich): Safeguarding Federal Research Funds · Jun 24, 2026
David Portilla
“The recurring difficulty across chartering, payments licensing, and access to Federal Reserve services is the same. A framework organized around a bundled conception of banking has not fully adapted to a world in which the core banking functions have become increasingly unbundled. The remedy should not be to force new business models into ill-fitting categories.”House Financial Services: Future of Payments · Jun 24, 2026
Eileen O'Mara
“The US has FedNow, but it lacks a product layer on top. Exactly what payment companies like Stripe would build with the direct access that could drive significant adoption. Beyond missed opportunities for innovation, the current system also creates dependency risk.”House Financial Services: Future of Payments · Jun 24, 2026
David Portilla
“there is no federal preemption for payments outside of the National Bank Charter. And so right now when a firm that's focused on payments activity would like to operate nationally, their options are to operate under a multistate framework that is not fully interoperable or to apply for a national bank charter that is not really fit for purpose.”House Financial Services: Future of Payments · Jun 24, 2026
Eileen O'Mara
“typically it is what we call like T+3, 3 business days. Now, we're coming up to a holiday next week. I will be in on data work calls that will say, I leave me, uh, when will the money hit my account when there is a public holiday next Friday? I need to make payroll”House Financial Services: Future of Payments · Jun 24, 2026
David Portilla
“after the enactment of the Genius Act, the amount of institutional interest in forming and supporting and investing in permitted payment stablecoin issuers was remarkable. And in my mind, what that shows is the power of having purpose-fit legislation to foster investment and innovation. And so I think if there were to be further development in federal payments licensing and chartering, I think you would see similar interest from companies that were created in the United States and also are entering the United States from outside the United States.”House Financial Services: Future of Payments · Jun 24, 2026
Eileen O'Mara
“What we've seen in other jurisdictions like the EU and the UK that have already obviously implemented direct access, is a wave of innovation that's happened on the back of that. And I think, you know, if we were to move forward with something like the PACE Act, we would very quickly see, you know, innovative solutions and companies that want to build and serve the American people with solutions that are difficult to do today.”House Financial Services: Future of Payments · Jun 24, 2026
Paige Paridon
“we have encouraged— we would encourage the Fed to proceed slowly if it does, in fact, move to implement the payment account as it has proposed and to study this question of whether it would hasten a shift from insured depository institutions to uninsured and what the implications would be for that”House Financial Services: Future of Payments · Jun 24, 2026
Eileen O'Mara
“we are regulated to the highest standards in the EU under the Central Bank of Ireland, under the FCA in the UK, and are very familiar how to operate in a regulated payment way, and obviously to huge success. With that, we saw no degradation on banking business in those jurisdictions as we operated under those, um, those regulated entities.”House Financial Services: Future of Payments · Jun 24, 2026
Paige Paridon
“Institutions seeking novel charters seek access to the Federal Reserve payment infrastructure and the implicit imprimatur of federal oversight without accepting the full scope of those obligations. That is not a formula for innovation. It is a formula for regulatory arbitrage and for the gradual erosion of the safety and soundness standards that protect the American public.”House Financial Services: Future of Payments · Jun 24, 2026
Paige Paridon
“the payment account proposal represents a fundamental shift in policy that could accelerate deposit migration to uninsured institutions and introduce new risks into the financial system. For example, uninsured institutions are more susceptible to runs, especially during times of stress.”House Financial Services: Future of Payments · Jun 24, 2026
Eileen O'Mara
“A few years ago, one of our bank partners decided to step back from processing. Now, that made a really good rational business decision for them, but the result was that millions of American businesses faced potential disruption.”House Financial Services: Future of Payments · Jun 24, 2026
Eileen O'Mara
“We support bipartisan efforts like the PACE Act because it enables companies focused on payments to access FedRails directly, subject to appropriate rigorous regulation, so we can build a more resilient, innovative system for American businesses.”House Financial Services: Future of Payments · Jun 24, 2026
Eileen O'Mara
“it's incomprehensible that United States is the only G7 country without the faster payments regulation. So if we do not act now and take steps to pass this legislation like my PACE Act, we are at risk of falling behind at the cost of our working families and small businesses.”House Financial Services: Future of Payments · Jun 24, 2026
Paige Paridon
“it could potentially fundamentally shift deposits from insured institutions to uninsured institutions. The Fed itself has acknowledged that the institutions most likely to seek payment— a payment account are going to be uninsured institutions.”House Financial Services: Future of Payments · Jun 24, 2026
Eileen O'Mara
“The current regulation provides for companies that you're a bank or you're not a bank. What we're asking for is a payment charter that supports companies like Stripe to serve American businesses that are building on us and serving their communities. The skinny charter does not solve for this because it does not give us direct access to ACH.”House Financial Services: Future of Payments · Jun 24, 2026
David Portilla
“because there is no federal payments charter, there is no federal preemption for payment activity conducted outside of a national bank charter. Thus, a non-bank payments firm must instead navigate a patchwork of state licensing requirements.”House Financial Services: Future of Payments · Jun 24, 2026
Nick Begich
“Rabies is not a historical threat in northern and western Alaska. It's enzoonotic, meaning it is consistently present in the wildlife, and our communities live with the risk of an exposure event every single year.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 9, 2026
Brian Berube
“40 Of the roughly 450 residents of Marshall, Alaska, are actually undergoing post-exposure treatment after being exposed by a dog who had come in contact with a rabid fox. And this is not a once-off, this is a fairly common occurrence in our state.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 9, 2026
Hurd
“The Indian Tribal Regulatory Reform and Business Development Act of 2000 was enacted to help identify and remove federal barriers to investment barriers to business development, as well as barriers to wealth creation in Indian Country. Under current law, the Secretary of Commerce was directed to create a 21-member authority to carry out that work, with Interior serving as a supporting role.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 9, 2026
Rodney Butler
“having one department gather all of that information in one, essentially a resource for all agencies and all tribes to point to and say, these are the regulatory hurdles, and now we can, now that we know what they are, and we're all, again, in the canoe paddling in the same direction, we can now address these issues collectively.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 9, 2026
Brian Berube
“60% of diseases people get have origins in animals. Dogs themselves are known to transmit over 70 different illnesses between animals and people. So I think there's this obviously the physical health component of it, but I think when you talk about Alaska Native people in particular, dogs are very, very important members of their family, parts of society, part of their culture and everything.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 9, 2026
Rodney Butler
“consolidating the focus under the Department of Interior allows us to look, you know, cross-program and work within the the structure of the existing, I mean, you have the stack structure within Interior that's similar to the TTAC. And so the examples are there and it's working, working well.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 9, 2026
Rodney Butler
“clearly one of the key components is funding and resources, and my understanding is not until recently was there funding that was provided for one of the key provisions of that authority in the Economic Development Office”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 9, 2026
Brian Berube
“Our tribal health organizations, um, in western and northern Alaska, we provide rabies shots, but with no access to especially spay and neuter services, there's no way you can keep up. You know, a dog gets a rabies shot in the first year of its life, it needs one the following year, it needs one every 3 years after that. So there's no way for us to keep up with the risk from vaccinating the dog.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 9, 2026
Brian Berube
“Though these public health challenges are well known, current laws limit the ability of IHS and tribal health organizations to address them. Because IHS lacks explicit authority to provide or fund veterinary public health services, existing tribal rabies prevention programs are limited in scope and efficacy.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 9, 2026
Rodney Butler
“laws, regulations, and policies have built up often with good intentions, but have outlived their usefulness and have been repeatedly identified as a barrier to Indian entrepreneurship and business development.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 9, 2026
Rodney Butler
“NFOA supports locating this authority within the Department of Interior, The Interior Department houses the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, and the full suite of federal trust responsibilities to tribal nations. It has the institutional knowledge and the relationship to make this work.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 9, 2026
Nick Begich
“it directs Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Wildlife Services to study oral rabies vaccine delivery to Arctic wildlife, tackling the upstream source of the problem at its source. This is a prevention bill. It protects children, reduces downstream costs to the federal health system, and it honors tribal self-determination.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 9, 2026
Nick Begich
“The underlying cause is straightforward. IHS does not have explicit statutory authority to provide or fund the basic veterinary services—rabies vaccination, spay and neuter, parasite and disease prevention—that stop zoonotic disease before it reaches a person and prevent the bite that puts a child in an emergency room.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 9, 2026
Speaker C
“This committee should give members the opportunity to ask IHS questions about the current barriers to eliminating rabies. We should get to ask what would be needed to successfully implement the new authority in H.R. 8473.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 9, 2026
Hurd
“If our goal is tribal economic development, responsibility should rest with the department that works with tribal governments every single day. The Department of the Interior is the central federal agency for government-to-government relations with the tribes, promoting tribal economic development and administering federal programs throughout Indian Country.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 9, 2026
Rodney Butler
“There wasn't the resources, there wasn't the funding, and in 25 years, absolutely nothing happened. Doesn't mean that's not important. It's clearly— it shows the level of importance Commerce and to various administrations, but that was the main hurdle for it not moving forward. And so without resources, I mean, it's just an empty promise.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 9, 2026
Rodney Butler
“In 2000, in the year 2000, Congress passed the Indian Tribal Regulatory Reform and Business Development Act with a clear mandate to comprehensively review federal regulations that impede investment in business development on Indian lands and recommend their removal. The legislation established a 21-member authority with 12 seats reserved for tribal representatives, and it directed it to report to Congress within one year. That authority was never convened. 25 Years later, the mandate remains unfilled.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 9, 2026
Speaker C
“Chairman Hurd's H.R. 8954, The Tribal Regulatory Reform Regulatory Reform Act takes an important step to boost economic opportunities in Indian Country. It transfers all administrative responsibilities and jurisdiction of the Indian Tribal Regulatory Reform and Business Development Act from the Department of Commerce to the Interior.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 9, 2026
Speaker C
“when the Department of Commerce originally testified on this bill in— yes, it was 1999— the official stated, since the cost of the authority could be significant, I believe it is important to emphasize that the department cannot currently perform the work required.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 9, 2026
Hurd
“This legislation amends the Indian Tribal Regulatory Reform and Business Development Act of of 2000 to transfer administrative responsibility for the Act's regulatory reform authority from the Department of Commerce to the Department of the Interior.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 9, 2026
Hurd
“The lack of veterinary services in rural communities has disproportionately impacted tribal communities, particularly children. In some areas of the United States, communities experience 365 dog bites a year, or essentially one dog bite every day. That alarming number is an unacceptable standard that communities have faced for far too long. Currently, IHS does not have the authority to provide care or funding related to zoonotic disease prevention or veterinary care, despite this care being important to reducing the public's risk of disease transmission or injury.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 9, 2026
Brian Berube
“Furthermore, in Alaska, rabies remains an ongoing and ever-present public health issue. Rabies is enzoonotic— excuse me— in our fox populations in northern and western Alaska, meaning it is always present, and it poses a persistent and continual risk of transmission from wildlife to domestic animals and to people.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 9, 2026
Hurd
“H.R. 8473, Introduced by Representative Begich of Alaska, which would authorize HHS to utilize funds for public health veterinary services through direct service care or under Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act contracts and compacts. There's a correlation between unreliable veterinary services and high rates of rabies and zoonotic diseases. In a 5-year span between 2019 and 2024, 24,000 patients received ambulatory care from dog bites throughout IHS service areas.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 9, 2026
Doug Helton
“After 33 years of service, I retired alongside more than 1,000 other NOAA employees who left amid the Trump administration's effort to gut the agency. Together, we represented 27,000 years of experience— it's an irreplaceable loss that endangers Americans' health, safety, and the economy.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources (Begich): Leg Hrg on the following bills · May 20, 2025
Stauber
“NHERP established the ShakeAlert application, which provides earthquake early warnings to Americans living and working on the West Coast of the United States. NVIEWS monitors and warns communities near and around volcanoes when volcanic activity is imminent.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources (Begich): Leg Hrg on the following bills · May 20, 2025
Stauber
“in the waning days of his administration, President Biden announced a withdrawal of over 625 million acres on the Outer Continental Shelf. The Biden administration's offshore energy lockups, along with their onshore mineral withdrawals, have cost Americans thousands of good-paying, often union jobs”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources (Begich): Leg Hrg on the following bills · May 20, 2025