Begich answers questions about policy, being new U.S. senator

WASILLA — On a trip back to Alaska, Sen. Mark Begich stopped by the Frontiersman’s offices to answer questions about his first three months in office. He reflected on his time in Washington, his campaign promises and Alaska’s representation in the Capital.

Frontiersman: How are you adjusting to your time in Washington?

Sen. Begich: It’s like the session that never ends. It’s exciting. I think the relationship Sen. (Lisa) Murkowski and I have, if you notice we work together on a lot of legislation, has been a huge benefit. We’re making our pitches in our own caucuses. For Alaska, we haven’t had a democrat in office since 1980.

Frontiersman: What about your family?

Begich : I’m living in an apartment now. We’ve been looking for places when they come back. In the summer, we’ll make that final adjustment because Jacob is in first grade.

Actually, Jacob is excited to go there. He had a metal detector from the spy museum and wanded Sen. (Jay) Rockefeller. He put his hand up and said “Stop, I need to wand you for metal.”

I’m probably one of the few that has my kid wandering the Senate. I’m not bashful about it. I was going to have him come to a committee hearing, but he was having more fun wanding and being security outside my office. I tell people that’s how it works. Welcome to the family friendly environment we’re going to create here.

F: But it’s been a hectic three months?

B: You ask people who have been there for a long time, and they say they’ve never seen it like this. We’ve got so many big issues on the forefront now, and there are more to come down the list.

In a lot of ways, it’s become the perfect storm. First off, you have the new administration. They’re having to gear up with staffing and all that. Then you put on the table a couple wars. Then you put on an economic crisis and housing crisis. It just complies into many issues to deal with in the first three months.

One of the goals in the first three months — at least for me — has been to understand more of the process just to keep up to speed on these things. There’s been so much that has come down the pipe.

Even the senior members have never seen it like this. I described it in Juneau to the Legislature, it’s like the last day of the legislative session everyday.

F: When you were here last, we were talking about the cost of gasoline in Alaska versus the Lower 48. One of the statements you made was that one of the first things you would do would be to launch an investigation as to why we have a disparity despite the reduction in the gas tax. We haven’t heard anything about that yet.

B: I’ve only been a senator for three months. We’ve gone through three nominations for Secretary of Commerce. Now we finally have one who was confirmed about three weeks ago. But I do think that now that some of their folks are getting into play in order to get the administration into the equation.

One thing we’re going to have some discussion about when we get back is, I know the energy bill is being written up now.

But specifically on the price differential, I have to find out the right way to do it. I’m on the Commerce Committee; we finally got out subcommittee assignments three weeks ago. Now there’s a Commerce secretary. We do consumer issues there, and this is a consumer issue.

I have not had a conversation with the chairman yet about it, to be very frank with you. I’ve been there three months. It will be a discussion I will have with him in short order.

F: Can you narrow “short order” to a timeframe? This has been something that has been ongoing for almost a year.

B: I haven’t been there a year. There’s been two other U.S. senators there, a congressman there that haven’t done anything on it.

Next week, our offices are being moved. It’s not as functional for us right now. Just in the first three months, we’ve had over 20,000 inquiries from Alaskans for an office that’s half staffed.

I would hope that in the next three or four months, I would have that opportunity. What form will it be in? I’m not sure yet.

F: It’s just so suspect that the price differential started at the time the talks started about increasing the gas tax.

B: We’re hiring three more people because we know now when we are moving into the larger office space. That’s part of the equation.

Also, a lot of people couldn’t do many issues because of the budgetary issues, the economic stimulus bill, all that other activity. That just consumed every second of time. When we get back, I think things should be — I don’t want to say calmer — but more manageable for us. This is one of the issues we want to pursue.

Along with it is the issue around the pipeline too. Congress has jurisdiction over the pipeline. So there’s an interest on my part as to what’s happening. Does the federal government have a role or responsibility here? Is there anything we need to be prepared for as the state moves forward on whatever plan happens or doesn’t happen?

F: One of the pieces of the Fair Pay Act really is troublesome for a lot of businesses especially for those that have sites throughout the United States. Currently, there is no stipulation for the cost of living of the area you are living in. What a company pays an employee in Half Moon Bay, Calif., would be the same you have to pay an employee in Bogalusa, La.

B: It’s interesting you bring that up. I don’t think I’ve ever heard that from the people. There was no debate on cost differential based on geographical location. But I’m happy to take a look at that.

Press Secretary Julie Hasquet: I thought the act was more about equal pay for men and women?

B: It largely is, but there are some other things in there. It’s also about legal litigation, making sure the timetables of when you can go in for pay discrimination cases and how that would work. And I know that’s why both (Sen. Murkowski) and I both supported that bill. There were problems in the past. Part was to correct the legal timetables and allowing a little more flexibility in discovery and when that person could go forward and how long you have to wait.

F: You’re one of the co-sponsors of the Employee Free Choice Act. That act really opens up some dangerous loopholes for the business community. Getting rid of the secret ballot process is a very slippery slope for us to head down.

B: Here’s the issue, and I know Rep. Don Young and I support this, I recognize that there are changes that are going to occur. What you see today is not going to be the final product. A lot of business people have gotten exercised over a product that is not the end product.

The issue here for both labor and business is finality. The business wants a product that’s fair and final, so it doesn’t drag on for ever and ever. On the reverse, the labor organizations want the same thing. The don’t want to be dragged on when management uses techniques to delay the outcome. Both want finality. That’s the actually issue here.

I’ve done this before as mayor. There’s a lot of fear on both sides. I think there’s fears that become hyperventilated over what they should be. Being a sponsor on the legislation gives you leverage to be part of the process. Do I believe that people have the fundamental right to organize? Yes I do.

F: You may not agree with the interpretation, but it seems that the Act does eliminate the secret ballot. If this passes, does that mean we support electing our president that way, or our senators that way?

B: I’m going to try and repeat it again. What you see today is not the final. The issues of concern are the ones you just brought up. I believe that if we keep focus on the issue of finality as the goal, all those other pieces come into play. There’s a lot more work to do on this.

F: What do Defense Secretary Gates’ cuts to defense spending mean to missile defense at Fort Greely?

B: The budget he’s prepared stops the final completion of the program. It’s already operational. There’s about a third or so left. He’s also said he would have robust testing, which is good. That’s Kodiak. That’s a big plus for us.

There’s a bipartisan group on the Senate Armed Services Committee, that I sit on, as well as in the general Senate that is supportive of missile defense system. They haven’t proven to me that North Korea is not a threat. I think it is. Obviously we’ve seen some recent activity.

This defense system needs to be completed. We’re only a year and a half out from completing it. That’s the bad news why it got cut from the budget. The good news is the robust testing and not cutting it back. Even with the cuts, the budget holds the line of current funding.

F: What’s the progress on the volcano early warning system you’re trying to get passed?

B: What most people don’t know is it’s been an earmark ever single year. It’s not part of the weather service; it’s not part of the base budget. We have to add it every year. The bill has been put in place. The goal is to get it no longer as an ear mark but as part of the base budget.

Thank you Bobby Jindal and thank you Mount Redoubt happening at the right time and the right place. Oddly enough, politics will help us here a great deal. There will be some people who will say “I never thought about volcanoes.” Suddenly, it’s in the forefront for a variety of political reasons. If we were to have the eruption without that political statement, I’m not sure where we’d be on the radar screen.

What I’ve found in the last three months is that people know Alaska, but they don’t know much about it.

F: Do you care to comment about Sen. Stevens’ dismissal beyond your press releases?

B: The judge made a decision, and I think he had a lot of merit in the sense of how the case was handled. I like what he’s done on the second part, which is the special investigation to look at it to find where there were problems, and if there are folks that did something they shouldn’t have done, deal with it. The dismissal and the proactive investigation were good moves. I support both of those efforts.

Editor’s note: On Friday, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced Alaska will receive $7 million to improve volcano monitoring.