Governor Dunleavy: Press Conference: Port of Alaska

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for being here. I'm Terry Emmettum, Director of the Don Young Port of Alaska. We're here today to share an important milestone for the Port of Alaska and a solution that has been years in the making. The timing couldn't be better.

Behind us, construction on the Port of Alaska Modernization Program is underway. Every pile being driven into Cook Inlet represents another step toward building the safe, resilient port that will serve Alaska for generations. The Port of Alaska is the gateway that keeps Alaska connected, supply chains across our state with goods and resources families and businesses rely on every day. Today's announcement helps ensure that our focus remains where it belongs— building the future of this port and delivering for the people of Alaska. Today's announcement is also a testament to what can be accomplished when when people come together around a common goal.

This has truly been a collaborative effort involving partners at the federal, state, and local levels, all committed to finding a path forward for Alaska's most important piece of transportation infrastructure. I'd like to thank Governor Dunleavy, Mayor LaFrance, Senator Sullivan, Attorney General Blanch, and their teams for the dedication and persistence that helped bring us to this point. Your leadership and partnership have made a real difference. Thank you all for being here. It is now my pleasure to introduce Attorney General Todd Blanch.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Good morning, everybody. It's great to be here. So, look, this settlement settles a long-running dispute between this great city of Anchorage and the United States government realize that the, the case— this case was originally filed in 2014 and the litigation is still ongoing.

The litigation that was filed in 2014 started out of a 2003 effort to revitalize this port, and this is just not any port. This is by far the most important infrastructure in this great state of Alaska. It's not just important to the Alaskans, which brings them food, brings them equipment, brings them everything they need to survive, but it's also important to, to our military. So if, if, if just a mile and a half from here, maybe less, is a military base that keeps us, that keeps us safe, virtually all of the gas that is used to fly our fighter jets to protect our borders come out of this port. And so the idea that we were in active litigation for what amounts to over a decade, so 12 years, is something that needed to be fixed.

And so I'm thrilled that we were able to do it. I got a call recently from Senator Sullivan. I spoke at length with Senator Murkowski. I've spoken with several folks from both their offices, as has my team. And what became clear to us is that this was a fight that didn't need to happen.

This was a litigation, this was a dispute that didn't need to happen. There was no dispute about the facts. This wasn't about whether something happened or didn't happen. There's no doubt that this was a project that was not done successfully or appropriately. This was just a question about how to divvy up and who needed to owe the money or not owe the money about all the mistakes that were made.

So the settlement that we agreed to today, that we entered into, ends what's been a 12-year dispute. It's my pleasure— when President Trump took office a year and a half ago, he made clear that he wanted money going back to the states. He wanted to vitalize the economies of our states, and that very much includes one of our most important states of Alaska. So So I want to thank the folks behind me. The governor was actively involved in the negotiations, the mayor as well, in the past several days and weeks to get this settlement done.

And it's a great result for not only the folks in Alaska, but it's a great result for every single person in the United States of America. So thank you very much. I'm going to turn it over to the mayor now. Thank you.

Thank you, Attorney General Bland. And good morning, everyone. Thank you all for joining us here today. This is truly an exciting moment for the Don Young Port of Alaska, for our municipality, and for Alaskans across our state. The landmark settlement agreement between the municipality and U.S. Maritime Administration puts an end to a more than a decade-long dispute.

And it's the largest settlement in the municipality's history. Every single dollar of this funding will go directly toward construction costs for the Port of Alaska modernization program. This is a massive victory, and it comes at a moment of tremendous progress. Just last week, we celebrated a major step in the construction of a new Terminal 1. Standing together to sign one of the massive steel piles that construction crews are driving into Cook Inlet.

Today we're putting to rest a legal saga that stretches back to 2013. We are finally closing a difficult chapter of the past and we are moving forward. It is impossible to overstate the importance of this port to our state. The Don Young Port of Alaska is our most critical infrastructure asset, serving as a lifeline that supplies 90% of Alaskans. When we strengthen this port, we secure the supply chain for communities from Unalaska to Utqiagvik.

To put the magnitude of this settlement into perspective for our residents, every federal or state dollar that we secure for construction reduces the impact of future shipping surcharges by about $2.50 down the line. When you add this $193— when you add this $191.3 million settlement to the $25 million from the state and the $61.5 million in federal grants secured under my administration, The impact is massive. We are effectively protecting Alaskans from as much as $694 million in future surcharges on food, goods, and everyday supplies. A settlement of this scale requires extraordinary persistence, advocacy, and partnership. I want to extend my gratitude to Senator Sullivan and Governor Dunleavy, Steve Cox, and the rest of the team who made today possible.

Together, we are turning the page, building momentum, and truly bringing our port into the future. I will now turn it over to Senator Sullivan. Thank you, Madam Mayor. And this is another really good news day for the Port of Anchorage, the Port of Alaska, I want to congratulate everybody. I want to welcome Attorney General Lynch to Alaska.

I'm sorry I'm not there to be able to celebrate with you guys, but just a quick statement from my perspective. As the mayor said, this has just been a really important team effort from the city, the beauty, the State Assembly, the state legislature, um, I mean the Anchorage Assembly, the feds, the unions that have built this, the Teamsters a week ago for their great work. I want to shout out people working the docks every day for our fellow Alaskans. And, um, you know, as the mayor said, we had a really important announcement just a week ago for Terminal 1. That's with a lot of the federal dollars.

We've been able to secure hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal government on this critical project. But as I mentioned in my remarks last week when we were all down at Terminal 1, I was very much in the mindset that it's time to settle the litigation. As the mayor, as the attorney general said, this has been going on for more than a decade. We have won, and the federal government shouldn't just be dragging its feet. Enough is enough.

And so what I've been doing in my position as your senator is engaging. We've been engaging for years on this, but to really kind of up the tempo on engaging with the top people in our federal government that was the Maritime Administration Director, the mayor, and Administrator Steve Carmel, who— that was the direct litigation against the city. Secretary of Transportation Duffy, Attorney General Blanch, as he mentioned. And my message to all of them was, hey guys, come on, let's settle this. Work hard, but enough is enough.

And I mentioned in my remarks just down at the port last week that I was going to continue to work that. So to their credit and to the governor's and to the mayor's, everybody came together and got what looks like from my perspective, a fair settlement. And to the attorney general's point, hey, we just needed to do this. This was the right thing to do. And I really appreciate the leadership from the Trump administration listening to me, working with all of us to say, let's do this.

Because as the mayor just said, and I think we all know now, this is important to Anchorage, it's important to Alaska, and it's really important to America. I like to say we are a resource-rich but infrastructure-poor state. We have enormous resources, but we have less road miles than Connecticut, and we're 120 times bigger than Connecticut. The Port of Alaska is the backbone of our state's economy. And, um, as the mayor said, what this is going to do, what this settlement is going to do, it is going to dramatically help us bring down costs on everything from food and fuel that Alaskans need.

But This is also a national security asset during a dangerous time for our nation. Alaska is once again rising to be the most strategic place in America, the most strategic place in the world. And this port, which is one of 18, uh, Department of Defense strategic ports that are listed by the Department of Defense is critical and is going to even be more critical as we undertake this massive buildup of JABAR. Some of you know we are doing a $7 billion recapitalization of JABAR starting now. This year's National Defense Authorization Act has $2.6 billion for JABAR's recapitalization.

It will make Jaber the most strategic Air Force base on the planet Earth. That's 4,000 jobs, private sector jobs, just to build a recapitalization of this important Air Force base, which is right at the back gates of the port. So all of this comes together to help our country, to help our state, and to help our city. So rather than continuing costly litigation, I again want to thank the Secretary of Transportation, the Attorney General, the Marriott administrator. They saw what needed to happen.

Needed to pick a fair number for Anchorage, fair number for Alaska, settle this, and let's move on and work together. That's what's happening today. It's a super exciting day. And Attorney General Mr. Blythe, thank you again, sir, for coming to Alaska. Thank you again for playing a key role in the settlement.

And I look forward to continuing to cooperate on federal investments for the port, federal investments for our military, federal investments for infrastructure. All of these things are going to help reduce costs and make our country and state much stronger. Thank you again, Madam Mayor.

Thank you, and I just want to thank everybody in the room that had a part in this. This is a team effort, it's not one person. I want to thank the Trump administration.

In discussions with the Trump administration, had a great dinner last night with the Attorney General, but also others in the administration with regard to Alaska's importance to the country and to the world. This is another example of decisions being made that make sense to people, make sense for Alaska. You know, just a couple weeks ago, the international airport was rated number 1 in the nation for cargo handling. We beat Memphis and Nashville. So we're 3rd in the world now, solid 3rd.

And the airport, if it keeps growing, might even surpass Shanghai at some point in the near future. But Alaska needs this infrastructure. We are a state that has to import and export. Our exports are up. This is going to help with that.

Our imports are needed. For example, when we had COVID several years ago, if you remember COVID, a lot of the shipping was in question whether it's going to come to Alaska or not because of what happened. It just proves how important this port is. And this port has been a longstanding issue in terms of it being repaired and upgraded. And so I want to thank the municipality of Anchorage, the mayor, I really want to thank also Steve Cox, my general counsel.

Steve used a lot of his good relationships with the Trump administration to be able to explain really what was happening here with the port and why the port actually and the city of Anchorage and the state of Alaska need this settlement to happen. And so again, this all happens when you have decent relationships with folks, especially in this administration that we currently have now. I think the mayor and our office worked really well together in this. Steve was instrumental, but again, I want to thank the Department of Justice, the Attorney General, and anyone that had a hand in this. So we're going to have a lot of funding to be able to fix this port, upgrade this port, and really do away with a lot of worries as to whether this port is going to be able to handle the cargo that we need for the state of Alaska.

So I just want to thank everybody for that.

Thank you, Governor, and thank you everybody for being here. Today is a great day It's a great day for Alaska, and I think it's a great day for the United States. Port of Alaska is simply too important to remain tied up in litigation, as we've heard already. It is, as the senator said, is the backbone of Alaska's economy. It supports our military, it supports resource development, and it keeps food and fuel and essential supplies moving throughout the state.

Every year spent in costly litigation was another year spent not fully focusing on the future of this extraordinary asset. Today's settlement, I really do think, changes that. It brings finality to a dispute that really has lasted, as the Attorney General said, really since 2003, while providing meaningful resources to help rebuild this critical piece of infrastructure. And so we think of it as a win-win-win. Normally you look for a win-win.

This is a win-win-win. It's a win for Anchorage, It's a win for Alaska, and because the port serves a vital national security interest, it's a win for our country. What I'll remember most about this process is that it showed, as Terry was saying, government can still work the way the public hopes it will. The United States and the Municipality of Anchorage, with the help of the state, all came together, all came to the table with different responsibilities, different perspectives, but in the end, everybody recognized that there was a better path forward than additional litigation. And I hope this settlement is remembered not just for the $180 million involved, but as an example of what can happen when governments choose partnership over perpetual litigation.

And on a personal note, it was a privilege to help with these discussions. Governor Dunleavy asked me to assist in facilitating the negotiations, and I'm grateful for his confidence. I want to thank Mayor LaFrance for welcoming that assistance. For letting me be part of the team, for her commitment to reaching a practical, durable resolution. I want to thank Attorney General Todd Blanch, Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, and the outstanding team, some of my alums, at the Department of Justice, in the Civil Division especially, along with the exceptional lawyers in the municipality.

These are amongst the finest public servants and attorneys that I've ever had a privilege of working with. They were smart, they were principled, they were creative, and relentlessly focused on finding a solution that served the public while faithfully representing their clients. I'm proud to have played a small part in this effort. I congratulate everyone who helped make today possible, and now we can get back to the important work of building the future of the Port of Alaska.

Thank you, Mr. Cox. Thank you, Mayor LaFrance, Attorney General Todd Blanch, Governor Dunleavy, and I believe we are now going to open it up to questions.

Um, Zach Hughes with the Anchorage Daily News. I'm not sure if there's somebody who's best equipped to answer on the specifics of the settlement, but I'm curious how you arrived at $180 million and Um, if you could just jog our memories about the original MARAD settlement from a few years ago and what that was, uh, that, that full number and how we got to $180 million from there.

I can certainly talk about generally about the how we got to the $180 million. Um, we needed to find a number that worked, and so like any settlement, there was— there's a big delta between what, what the United States government said we owed and what— what Anchorage thought we owed. And we lawyers got together, said we're going to find a way to fix it. And this is a number that we came up with that I think both sides feel is fair and equitable. Remember, this is a case about whether, whether the United States government could deliver a defective product.

Okay. And we delivered a defective product. Right. So this is the work that we did was not done to code. It wasn't right.

We created a lot of there were a lot of mistakes made. And then we said, we didn't promise you a perfect product. And so that's what this litigation was over. That's not something, as everybody has said, that's not something that I believe, and I know President Trump agrees with this too, he's a construction man, that can't be something that works. So why it's 180, it's a good hard negotiation between the Department of the United States government and this city.

And it was to get to a deal that worked for both. And so why it happened today as opposed to 6 years ago, you have to talk to somebody else about that. But that, there's really no, um, nothing more about it than that, that we had really good-willed people on both sides that wanted to do what was best for this port and for, for this state.

Uh, Will Courtney, Alaska's News Source. Can you really kind of quantify what $180 million, or now $190 million, looks like for this project? What does that look like in in substantial terms?

Yeah, I think the focus right now is how we can apply those funds to offset any kind of increase in surcharge. So currently there's a per-ton charge that comes across the dock. So these funds will be earmarked towards lowering those costs for the consumers and the user groups in Alaska. A quick follow-up. When are these funds expected to be delivered?

I'm not sure. Sure. Soon. Yeah, it's a very fair question. I think it's not— it's not— there's no delay.

I'm not sure what that means exactly on timing. We've agreed to the settlement, and then there's a process where the funds will be delivered according to, you know, the various equities and levers that need to be pushed on either side. Sure. Is that going to be months, years? I still don't know the answer.

I just don't know. But I mean, well, I do know it's now, right? Whether now is over the next several weeks or there's a rollout that lasts into August, but it's not a question of, you know, the United States government has the funds, so it'll be paid.

Just curious, because this has been such a long-running process, if there is one moment broke the logjam on this litigation and where it's at, if it was a phone call, if it was relationships from previous colleagues, if it was the 2024 election. I mean, what was the—. Got the ball rolling that got us here to today? Um, all of the above, to be honest with you. Um, it was the election, it was a change of administration in Washington.

Um, it was a discussion with the mayor to work together on the port. That we've talked about for some time. It was also Steve Cox leveraging his relationships and understanding on how to discuss deals. So I would say it was all the above, but again, those pieces were all necessary for this to happen. Without a Trump administration, it was doubtful this would happen.

Without somebody to be able to leverage relationships and talk in DC like Steve could, I doubt it would happen. And quite frankly, if the mayor and I didn't want to work together, it probably wouldn't have happened. And so I think credit goes around to folks here in the room. But it was mostly—. I'm going to jump in on that question too, because I think one of the other things that we've tried to do with— doesn't matter, Trump administration, Biden administration, Obama administration— is we bring people to Alaska, right?

We just don't talk about these issues in D.C. We talk about them a lot. But a big part of my job is to get commitments when people go through their confirmation to come up to Alaska to see exactly what we're working on. So in the last year, I had Secretary Duffy come to Alaska and come to this port, the Secretary of Transportation. Just a month ago, we had Steve Carmel. When he went through his Senate confirmation, I said he's the administrator of the MARAD administration.

That is the entity that, uh, the city of Alaska sued— there's a city of Anchorage sued. We brought him up to Alaska. We had him tour the port. We now have the Attorney General, um, of the United States coming to see the port. So it's not just phone calls, and trust me, I've made a lot of phone calls saying enough is enough, let's do it.

But I really think an important element of this the Transcom commander for the US military, this port plays a critical role in, is to get people up to our state to see our state and to go, wait a minute, look how important this port is, and we're gonna rope-a-dope Anchorage for another 10 years? I don't think so. So it's a combo of, you know, making phone calls, putting pressure on people to do the right thing, but also getting them to Alaska. And I think that's another key element of this.

All right, that's all we have time for. Thanks, everyone. Thank you. Thanks, guys, for what you do. Thanks for what you do.

Thanks for what you do. Thanks for what you do. Thanks for what you do.