Video Clips
Quoted moments from Alaska public meetings, hearings, and press conferences.
JD Vance
“today We're taking another major step towards making that promise of energy dominance a reality, which is why I am especially excited to announce the Alaska Rail Belt Transmission Project, which is going to devote $400 million to building out your state's power grid. And we got it because of Dan.”Vice President JD Vance Holds Midterm Rally In Fairbanks, Alaska · Oct 5, 2026
JD Vance
“But thanks to Dan Sullivan, thanks to Nick Begich, and thanks to President Donald J. Trump, Alaska is finally rebuilding energy again.”Vice President JD Vance Holds Midterm Rally In Fairbanks, Alaska · Oct 5, 2026
JD Vance
“That's why he has fought tirelessly to open up ANWR and advance drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve.”Vice President JD Vance Holds Midterm Rally In Fairbanks, Alaska · Oct 5, 2026
JD Vance
“With this project, ladies and gentlemen, the Trump administration will help develop more than 200 miles of new transmission line, lowering costs and strengthening grid reliability for 75% of the population of this state. It's amazing.”Vice President JD Vance Holds Midterm Rally In Fairbanks, Alaska · Oct 5, 2026
Leticia Fernández
“Representative Randall's legislation would amend the Tribe Settlement Act. It would give the tribe the authority to withdraw and manage their trust fund account under a secretarial approved plan, just like other federally recognized tribes can.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs: Legislative Hearing · Sep 17, 2026
Sarah Obed
“Geese House played an important part in the Native oral tradition of the Upper Kantiishna region in the past and is still a considerable interest to the Native residents today. And so this bill, if— when passed, will convey those lands back to Doyon.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs: Legislative Hearing · Sep 17, 2026
Annette Bryan
“This bill doesn't automatically transfer the fund, approve a management plan, request new funding, or expand entitlements. The tribe would still have to satisfy the same federal review and approval standards that apply to other federally recognized tribes.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs: Legislative Hearing · Sep 17, 2026
Nick Begich
“48 years ago, Doyon Limited selected the Geese House site a sacred rock formation at the heart of Interior Alaska, for conveyance under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Doyon shareholders identified this place as one of only a handful of physically defined cultural sites important enough to select by name. They have been waiting ever since.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs: Legislative Hearing · Sep 17, 2026
Annette Bryan
“It's the way that the funds are invested so that the federal— the way that the interest rate is set up in the trust fund, it's not gaining any interest anymore.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs: Legislative Hearing · Sep 17, 2026
Sarah Obed
“When we went out there 2 years ago, we went by helicopter. It's nowhere near the front portion of the Denali National Park.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs: Legislative Hearing · Sep 17, 2026
Sarah Obed
“HR 8674 would complete a long-pending ANCSA conveyance by directing the Secretary of Interior to convey this historic Geese House site. These lands selected by Doyon in 1978 subject to certain restrictions on alienation and use and development consistent with ensuring the protection of these important cultural sites under Doyon's ownership and management.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs: Legislative Hearing · Sep 17, 2026
Annette Bryan
“The non-tribal parties to the settlement, have been informed of the tribe's approach to the permanent trust fund and support this legislation. I ask that their letters of support be included in this hearing record.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs: Legislative Hearing · Sep 17, 2026
Sarah Obed
“It feels wonderful. And I'm really grateful to the committee for holding this here sharing, and for this bill's introduction. Thank you, Mr. Begich. And I'm really looking forward to its passage and to its conveyance.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs: Legislative Hearing · Sep 17, 2026
Sarah Obed
“I'm here on behalf of Doyon Ltd., our board of directors, and our over 20,000 shareholders and employees, and this testimony is a statement of support for H.R. 8674, The Geese House Conveyance Act.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs: Legislative Hearing · Sep 17, 2026
Sarah Obed
“It's called Geese House site because there are story, origin stories about the site that might be found across many cultures, including the raven painting the loon.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs: Legislative Hearing · Sep 17, 2026
Annette Bryan
“Well, self-determination means that the tribe runs programs for itself. And we have amazing capacity. I just want to take a moment to, you know, recognize that our CFO is a Puyallup tribal member. We have attorneys on staff who are Puyallup tribal members.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs: Legislative Hearing · Sep 17, 2026
Annette Bryan
“I urge the committee to support HR 7269, and I'd be pleased to answer any questions.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs: Legislative Hearing · Sep 17, 2026
Annette Bryan
“The tribe actually funds those now. So, we need to manage it in-house. We have really good qualified eligible tribal members who are doing an amazing job. One example is they took the children's trust that we had, in an old trust, and it was earning like the federal interest rate. We moved it to a Goldman Sachs account and are managing that trust, and it's making money for our children.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs: Legislative Hearing · Sep 17, 2026
Nick Begich
“I urge my colleagues to support 8674 and finally return Geese House to the people who have called it sacred for generations.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs: Legislative Hearing · Sep 17, 2026
Annette Bryan
“Today, the income generated by the Federally Invested Trust Fund has declined so significantly that much of it's consumed by the board's operating costs. Too little reaches tribal members. Maintaining a separate administrative structure also duplicates the work of the tribe's experienced and well-trained government staff. In fact, the tribe has absorbed many of the programs that the fund used to pay for.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs: Legislative Hearing · Sep 17, 2026
Annette Bryan
“So we want to take this $22 million and manage it in a way with keeping the core principle intact and still going through the Indian Trust Management Act, guidelines and using the interest then to provide programs.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs: Legislative Hearing · Sep 17, 2026
Nick Begich
“H.R. 8674 Bars mining, bars transfer to anyone but the federal government, and bars any development that would diminish the Geese Houses site's cultural significance.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs: Legislative Hearing · Sep 17, 2026
Annette Bryan
“With this trust sitting the way that it's currently being invested, it's really not functional. It's not doing anything. We're grateful for it, and it, it has served a purpose in the past, but right now we don't even pay the salary for the trust board to function. So we really need to bring this in-house.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs: Legislative Hearing · Sep 17, 2026
Leticia Fernández
“your testimony where you describe that your members of your tribe had not been able to visit the site for decades, yet this is the place of such cultural significance, a place where your ancestors must be buried”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs: Legislative Hearing · Sep 17, 2026
Leticia Fernández
“When Congress passed the Puyallup Tribe Settlement Act in 1989, it intended to provide vital services to their community and correct injustices the tribe experienced after the lands were taken or illegally sold. However, the settlement didn't provide a clear mechanism for the tribe to assume management over the settlement fund.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs: Legislative Hearing · Sep 17, 2026
Jeff Gruby
“A basin adjudication would be very disruptive. It would take decades to complete, result in waste of resources for everyone in the Coachella Valley, and build a contentious relationship among our neighbors.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries: Legislative Hearing · Sep 16, 2026
Jeff Gruby
“It quantifies Agua Caliente's water right of 20,000 acre-feet per year with a priority date no later than the executive orders establishing the reservation.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries: Legislative Hearing · Sep 16, 2026
Jeff Gruby
“H.R. 5935 Establishes a $500 million water settlement trust fund for Agua Caliente allocated as follows: $300 million for tribal water infrastructure and conservation projects, $100 million for water supply projects by the water districts and support water levels under the reservation in the valley, $50 million for water management funds supporting the tribe's larger role as water manager and purveyor of water, and $50 million for operation, maintenance, replacement costs for the water projects funded by the settlement.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries: Legislative Hearing · Sep 16, 2026
Jeff Gruby
“On behalf of the Agua Caliente, I respectfully request that this Congress pass the Agua Caliente Water Rights Settlement Act as soon as possible.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries: Legislative Hearing · Sep 16, 2026
Mark Makaro
“These amendments are not controversial. They have been developed collaboratively with the Rancho California Water District, Eastern Municipal Water District, and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries: Legislative Hearing · Sep 16, 2026
Christopher Moquino
“No additional funding is required. We are asking that the timeline associated with settlement be eliminated so that completion of the project would succeed and move forward.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries: Legislative Hearing · Sep 16, 2026
Mark Makaro
“H.R. 8546 Contains two changes that are truly technical amendments to our original water settlement legislation. It does not reopen our settlement, it does not alter the negotiated balance amongst the parties, it does not expand our water rights, and it does not require additional appropriations.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries: Legislative Hearing · Sep 16, 2026
Christopher Moquino
“The bill permits the extension of the subsection dates if the Pueblos, the state, the city, the county, and the United States acting through the secretary mutually agree it is reasonably necessary. This narrow technical amendment does not reopen the settlement alter substantial— substantive rights or impose new costs on the United States.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries: Legislative Hearing · Sep 16, 2026
Brian Babin
“Earthquakes are one of the most destructive natural disasters facing our nation. According to a USGS-FEMA report, earthquakes caused nearly $15 billion in damages in 2023. This bill reauthorizes a program that has protected American lives for nearly 5 decades while modernizing our earthquake early warning system and enhancing coordination across federal, state, and our local partners.”House Science, Space, and Technology (Begich): Full Committee Markup · Jul 21, 2026
Brian Babin
“The four bipartisan bills before us strengthen our research enterprise and improve public safety, support domestic energy development, and reinforce American leadership in critical and emerging technologies.”House Science, Space, and Technology (Begich): Full Committee Markup · Jul 21, 2026
Brian Babin
“The ayes have it, and the bill as amended is ordered favorably reported without objection.”House Science, Space, and Technology (Begich): Full Committee Markup · Jul 21, 2026
Nick Begich
“The bill also prioritizes projects on or near Indian land, which puts ultra-rural communities in geothermal-rich corridors squarely in scope.”House Science, Space, and Technology (Begich): Full Committee Markup · Jul 21, 2026
Nick Begich
“A successful demonstration near Unalaska or Akutan, both adjacent to active volcano systems, could change the energy economies of entire regions. Less diesel dependence, less supply chain vulnerability, and less energy poverty in some of the most remote areas of North America.”House Science, Space, and Technology (Begich): Full Committee Markup · Jul 21, 2026
Zoe Lofgren
“the program does not have funds authorized. I actually disagree with that, but I understand that the majority does operate within the constraints imposed by its majority. And so in the spirit of comedy, I'm offering this amendment with the notation that the— you, Mr. Chairman, and the majority have offered to work with us so that NIST will have resources to carry out the activities authorized under this bill.”House Science, Space, and Technology (Begich): Full Committee Markup · Jul 21, 2026
Nick Begich
“This bill brings tribal governments into that structure directly, adding them to the advisory committee to USGS's coordination responsibilities and to early warning system planning.”House Science, Space, and Technology (Begich): Full Committee Markup · Jul 21, 2026
Nick Begich
“This bill locks in the funding to finish that system with at least $30 million a year dedicated to it through fiscal year 2030. The bill also pushes ShakeAlert expansion forward and requires coordination with the FCC so earthquake alerts reach people quickly.”House Science, Space, and Technology (Begich): Full Committee Markup · Jul 21, 2026
Nick Begich
“The Geopower Act takes that on directly. It sets up a milestone-based geothermal demonstration program at the Department of Energy aimed at next-generation geothermal systems in low permeability and impermeable reservoirs.— the kind of geology that falls outside the traditional hydrothermal zones we've relied on out in the West. Financing is tied to technical and financial milestones rather than upfront grants, which protects taxpayers.”House Science, Space, and Technology (Begich): Full Committee Markup · Jul 21, 2026
Nick Begich
“Alaska is the most earthquake-prone state in the country, seeing a magnitude 7.0 almost every year and a magnitude 8.0 roughly every 13 years. For us, that's just the reality of living in Alaska. NEHRP brings together USGS, FEMA, NIST, and the National Science Foundation so that monitoring, mapping, engineering research, and building codes function as one system rather than separate efforts.”House Science, Space, and Technology (Begich): Full Committee Markup · Jul 21, 2026
Brian Babin
“The ayes have it, and the bill as amended is ordered favorably reported without objection to the motion to reconsider as laid on the table.”House Science, Space, and Technology (Begich): Full Committee Markup · Jul 21, 2026
Brian Babin
“The ayes have it, and the bill as amended is ordered favorably reported.”House Science, Space, and Technology (Begich): Full Committee Markup · Jul 21, 2026
Brian Babin
“According to the U.S.-China Business Council, citing French Association for Standardization data, the number of Chinese-held secretariat positions within the International Organization for Standardization increased 58% between 2011 and 2021, while American-held positions have remained flat. If we are not in the room, others will write the rules that shape the future of these technologies.”House Science, Space, and Technology (Begich): Full Committee Markup · Jul 21, 2026
Rory Day-Stirrat
“Since its establishment in 2019, Earth MRI has provided $78.6 million directly to state geological surveys. 46 States and Puerto Rico have been involved in Earth MRI.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources (Begich): Legislative Hearing on the following bill · Jul 21, 2026
Emily Domenech
“where we see a lot of the questions about eligibility come from projects like broadband projects, like water resources projects, from things that bring online small energy projects or production in, frankly, the energy storage space sometimes can be smaller-scale projects. So my hope is that, you know, when I came in as executive director, I really wanted to ensure we were listing a project in every single one of our 19 sectors. We're at 13 right now.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources (Begich): Legislative Hearing on the following bill · Jul 21, 2026