{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://donyoung.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398810", "Alaska Delegation Slams President Obamas Latest Executive Order", "2016-12-09", "2016", "2016-12", "Republican", "House", "AK", "Don Young", "Y000033", "donyoung.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today the Alaska Congressional Delegation spoke out against an Executive Order by President Obama creating a \u201cNorthern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area\u201d for over 112,000 square miles off Alaska\u2019s western coast, in addition to withdrawing 40,300 square miles of federal waters from oil and natural gas leasing.\r\n\u201cThank God the Obama Administration only has 42 days left in office; we will be working to undo this action come January 20th,\u201d\u00a0said Congressman Don Young.\u00a0\u201cThis is just another example of federal agencies attempting to exert their authority over the Alaskan and American people. Not only does this leave me extremely worried about future economic activity in the region, including fisheries, I see it as a backdoor attempt to limit certain activities north of the Bering Strait \u2013 like future resource development.\u00a0We\u2019ve already seen a costly and overly prescriptive regulatory regime for the Arctic, and this action leaves the door wide open for even more roadblocks and hurdles.\u00a0Even worse,\u00a0I\u2019ve already heard from many in the Alaska Native community that this came as a complete surprise \u2013 a\u00a0total contradiction to the President\u2019s own policy on consultation. As President Obama attempts to solidify his legacy as an extreme environmentalist, it\u2019s clear he has very little respect for the Alaskan people and our economic future.\u201d\u201cThis is the first time we have ever seen the term \u2018climate resilience area\u2019 in Alaska or anywhere else,\u201d Senator Lisa Murkowski said. \u201cWe have no idea what that designation is supposed to mean, what legal authority it is supposed to rest on, what the limitations for it will be, or what it will mean for subsistence, shipping, fishing, and other activities in western and northern Alaska. To me, this sure sounds like a euphemism for a marine monument, because it locks up over 112,000 square miles of Alaska waters and seems destined to impact a wide range of communities, tribes, and industries in our state. While I strongly support meaningful consultation with tribes, this opens the door to a whole host of unknowns, and could easily be misapplied to block even the most responsible Arctic subsistence, activities, and development.\u201d \u00a0\r\n\r\n\u201cOnce again, the Obama administration has used unilateral action to hurt Alaskans. This executive order, drafted behind closed doors,\u00a0unilaterally closes fishing grounds, removes oil and gas leasing, and creates hurdles to shipping, all with the stroke of a pen\u2014without any consultation with the State, Alaska\u2019s Congressional delegation, or public notice, consultation, or comment,\u201d said Senator Dan Sullivan. \u201cI will work closely with Senator Lisa Murkowski, Congressman Don Young, and the incoming administration to repair the damage done by eight years of the Obama Administration and to restore the ability of Alaskans to determine their economic future and the ways their lands and water will be managed.\u201d\r\n\r\nMore information on this announcement can be found by clicking here.\r\n  \r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://donyoung.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398810"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.024619909003377, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}