Lobbyist funding divides reps

May 3, 2005

DARRELL L. BREESE/Frontiersman reporter

WASILLA - A bill introduced by Wasilla representative Vic Kohring sparked a difference of opinion between him and Palmer representative Carl Gatto.

House Bill 32 will send $1.2 million to the lobbying group Arctic Power, to promote the opening of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The bill passed both the House and Senate with a large majority. The vote in the House was 34-5, with Gatto being the lone Republican in opposition. In the Senate the vote was 17-3, with Democrats Johnny Ellis of Anchorage and Kim Elton and Albert Kookesh of Juneau opposing the bill's passage.

The bill is currently awaiting the governor's signature.

Arctic Power, a nonprofit lobbying group, has worked on behalf of the state for the opening of ANWR over the last 12 years. It has received more than $10 million from the state for its efforts over the years.

Gatto questions the need to fund the group, with Alaska's congressional delegation of Sens. Ted Stevens and Lisa Murkowski and Rep. Don Young having efficiently promoted passing of ANWR drilling and exploration.

Kohring, however, says that with an estimated 10 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the refuge, the stakes are high

"Arctic Power's efforts could very well make the difference between ANWR legislation passing or not," Kohring said in a prepared statement. "This is a critical time in the history of the debate on ANWR."

In the bill's sponsor statement, Kohring stated, "With the current makeup of Congress in both the House and Senate, as well as the President's support of development in the refuge, the funding will assist in reaching the goal of opening the region."

Passage of the bill led Gatto to speak out publicly. He and Rep. Bruce Weyhrauch, R-Juneau, wrote a letter questioning the need to fund Arctic Power and sent the letter to newspapers statewide.

"Arctic Power has yet to present evidence of their accomplishments to any legislative committee that we are aware of," they wrote. "What we do know is that Arctic Power pays $31,000 a month in salaries for three Anchorage-based staff and $7,500 of that goes for the salary of Kevin Hand, the Executive Director."

The letter continued, questioning the logic of having an Anchorage office to lobby Congress in Washington. In addition to the Anchorage staff, Arctic Power pays Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist Stephanie Victory a monthly salary of $9,350.

"We question the expenditures when what we really know about Arctic Power is that it spends quite a bit of money on salaries," The letter concluded.

"I don't want to detract from the importance of opening ANWR," Weyhrauch said of his comments. "I voted in favor of the bill because I support ANWR, but Arctic Power seems to be more interested in funding itself with state money, rather than effectively using our lobbying dollars."

Gatto and Weyhrauch did not include Jerry Hood, one of the Arctic Power lobbyists in Washington, in their criticism.

"Jerry has been doing a solid job," Weyhrauch said. "He has coordinated meetings with the Alaska delegation and legislatures from other states promoting ANWR. He has used his contacts and efforts wisely and has carried out the mission we wanted from our lobbyist for ANWR."

Kohring responded to Gatto's letter by saying, "You get what you pay for. If you want a good lobbying effort you have to be willing to pay for the qualified lobbyist who can get the job done. You don't want to hire three clerks to do the job."

He went on to credit Arctic Power's efforts over the years in educating Congress and the nation about the truth of ANWR development.

"We are right on the cusp of getting ANWR passed in Congress," Kohring said. "It only makes sense to give it that one last little push to get things done."

Kohring emphasized that the $1.3 million is a pittance compared to the potential $100 billion of oil and gas potential that lies beneath the 2,000-acre coastal plain.

"The

of money and economic development that would be available if ANWR opened are remarkable," Kohring concluded. "We would have money for school, roads and programs in the Valley and statewide."