Alaska poised for progress in 2014

The New Year is a time to reflect on the year past and look forward to the promise of the year ahead.

Marking five years representing Alaskans in the U.S. Senate, it would be easy to dismiss last year as unproductive and focus on what’s wrong with our country. I refuse to do that.

I’ve always been an optimist. I often tell my 11-year-old son, Jacob, that persistence and an upbeat attitude is how you move forward. Despite the naysayers, much progress has been achieved over the last five years, including the especially frustrating past year.

Tired of business as usual, the Senate majority late last year changed procedural rules to streamline our process. Some were unhappy with these changes, but look what happened. We finally approved appointments to key government positions, including those at the Pentagon critical for our national security. We passed the National Defense Authorization Bill, which authorizes the budget for the military. And for the first time since 1987, a divided House and Senate passed a fiscally responsible bipartisan budget. I opposed the original Democratic version because it raised taxes too much — an additional $1 trillion over 10 years.

But I joined an overwhelming majority in both the House and Senate, including my two colleagues in Alaska’s congressional delegation, in supporting the compromise version. It reduces the deficit by another $23 billion and replaces many of the across-the-board cuts with more surgical reductions.

I often reflect on what our country faced when I entered the Senate in 2009. America was in the depths of a recession with double-digit unemployment, a plummeting stock market, two of our major auto companies on the verge of bankruptcy and new housing starts at record lows.

Today, America is getting back on track. The stock market has surpassed record levels of 16,000, joblessness is under 7 percent and our nation’s auto companies are back on their feet with sales at their highest levels in seven years. Housing starts and consumer confidence are approaching six-year highs, with bankruptcies down and retail spending up.

The annual federal budget deficit has dropped from today’s $680 billion to a projected $378 billion by Fiscal 2015 — the largest sustained decline as a percentage of GDP since World War II.

In Alaska, the economic turnaround is equally dramatic. Five years ago, oil flow through our pipeline continued to drop and many wondered where our next projects would be.

Nearly 10,000 Alaska-based troops were in harm’s way in unpopular wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and military brass were questioning their presence in the Interior. Veterans were frustrated getting their benefits close to home.

Today, our resource development industries are poised for a bonanza. We convinced the Obama administration to permit oil and gas development in Alaska’s Arctic, setting the stage for Shell to return this summer.

Development in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska is on the horizon from both Conoco’s CD-5 development and Greater Moose’s Tooth, adding thousands of barrels of oil into our pipeline and hundreds of new jobs.

By cutting through federal red tape, the Greens Creek and Red Dog mines have expansions underway and exploration for new projects remains strong, adding thousands of good jobs to Alaska’s economy.

The vital mission of Alaska’s military is more solid than ever now that we’ve protected Eielson Air Force Base from closure.

Alaska’s veterans now have access to health care regardless where they live, thanks to the Veterans Care Closer to Home program and partnerships with rural health providers we pushed the VA to adopt.

We can continue our economic progress by investing in improving our public schools, especially by strengthening career-ready programs that prepare young Alaskans to be highly skilled workers in the global economy.

This progress sets the stage for a bright Alaska future. As the world focuses on opportunities in the Pacific, Alaska couldn’t be better positioned.

The generation that built Alaska during the early days of Statehood did it with a can-do attitude and persistence in the face of enormous challenge. Today’s Alaskans should do no less.

Mark Begich is a Democrat representing Alaska in the U.S. Senate. He was elected in 2008.