JUNEAU, ALASKA—U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), in his annual address today to a joint session of the Alaska Legislature in Juneau, laid out a vision for the “Alaska Comeback,” highlighting the state’s resilience and its historic opportunities to grow after several years of federal policies that targeted Alaska’s economy and jobs. Sen. Sullivan detailed progress being made toward long-sought goals, including an energy renaissance on the North Slope, advancing the Alaska LNG project, and strengthening Alaska’s central role in national defense through a historic military and Coast Guard build-up. He also emphasized major wins for Alaskans delivered by the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, outlined efforts to confront the fentanyl crisis and improve public safety, highlighted continued work to support Alaska’s fishermen and coastal communities, and underscored a historic federal investment to transform Alaska’s health care system to better reflect the realities of delivering care in the nation’s most rural, high-cost state.

Below is a full transcript of Sen. Sullivan’s address as delivered.

I. Introduction

Good morning, everybody. I am so honored to be back in front of the Alaska Legislature. Mr. President, thank you, sir. Speaker Edgmon. Members of the House and the Senate, thank you for allowing me to come here each year to speak with you. It is truly an honor.

I want to begin by thanking all my staff who are here. I have a great, hard-working team and I couldn’t do it without them. Of course, as I do every year, I want to thank the most important person here for me—the love of my life—my wife, Julie. As you guys all know, being in the arena of public service can be tough on families. My wife epitomizes the grace, dignity, beauty, and strength that Alaskans admire and respect. There is no way I could do this job for our great state without my amazing wife.

I really want to thank you guys. Every year, you give my wife a standing ovation. I don’t know what you think about me, but you give her a standing ovation. That is very special, and I appreciate it. You can tell it’s heartfelt.

I also want to give a shout-out to one of the senators who just escorted me, Lyman Hoffman, who is marking 40 years of service—the longest-serving senator in our state’s history. He has been a great friend and mentor, and, let’s admit it—I’m sure you know this—I would say a little bit of a drill sergeant. When Lyman Hoffman says, “Get it done,” I just say, “Roger that, sir,” and try to get it done for Lyman. I want to do a round of applause for him as well. My speech is off to a good start. That’s two standing ovations in 60 seconds.

And, finally, I want to congratulate the President of the Senate, President Gary Stevens, as the longest-serving Senate President in Alaska history! Mr. President, we appreciate your steady leadership throughout your entire career.

We also have some old friends in the chamber. One of your old friends, Josiah Patkotak, who’s a good friend of mine. He served this chamber super well and now he’s doing a great job as the Mayor of the North Slope Borough. Thank you, Josiah, for coming here today.

I also want to thank all of you for your service to our state, for the meetings we’ve had over the last two days. I thought they were very constructive. Thank you for your time. Thank you for all you’ve done.

There is nothing more important than building a vibrant future for Alaska, for our kids and our grandkids.

You know, the critical way to do this is through partnerships. Progress comes when Alaskans work together, across regions, across ideology, to solve hard problems. We’ve done it before. We’ll do it again.

Which brings me to the theme of my remarks this morning, and that is the Alaska comeback.

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