Washington, D.C. – Alaskan Congressman Don Young today successfully defended the Denali Commission from attacks in the House of Representatives that would have effectively ended the program by removing its funding from H.R. 4923, the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act of 2015. The attack in question, an amendment offered by Representative Steve Chabot (R-OH), failed by a vote of 176 to 243 following an impassioned floor speech by Congressman Young and a letter to his colleagues in opposition of the amendment.

“This amendment would have decimated a regional commission created by Congress to deliver the services of the federal government in the most cost effective manner possible,” said Congressman Don Young. “This small independent federal agency is making dramatic progress in the nation’s least developed areas. What many outsiders fail to understand is that the Denali Commission operates in the most geographically diverse and challenging area in America, twice the size of Texas. In fact, this area would encompass both the Delta Regional Authority and the Appalachian Commission. I continue to believe the Denali Commission is a model for effective and innovative government.”

The Denali Commission, created by Congress sixteen years ago, is an independent federal agency that delivers federal government services in a cost effective manner while working to find both immediate and long-term solutions to the inequities between rural Alaska and the rest of America. 

“Since its inception, the Commission has focused on implementing critical energy infrastructure projects in the most remote, expensive, and impoverished, communities in our nation,” said Congressman Young. “The Commission has improved the living conditions of rural Alaska by providing power generation and transmission facilities, modern communication systems, water and sewer systems and other infrastructure needs.  The Denali Commission also provides job training and other economic development services in rural communities, many of which face unemployment numbers beyond 50 percent.  To date, more than 240 Alaska Native Villages and over 100 communities have been served by the Denali Commission and as a result have seen reduced energy costs and increased access to health services.”

The amendment to defund the Denali Commission comes nearly two years after unfounded allegations in a 2012 annual report by its Inspector General that recommended the agency not be reauthorized.   

Congressman Young Defending the Denali Commission from Attacks on the House Floor

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