Sen. Sullivan speaks on vets, military issues

By MATT TUNSETH

Frontiersman.com

(Editor's note: This article has been changed from its original version, which misquoted Sullivan as saying he told Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald he would put a hold on the secretary's confirmation unless he committed to visit Alaska. Sullivan actually said that about the VA's Undersecretary of Health Dr. David Shulkin.)

WASILLA – During the U.S. Senate’s six-week fall recess, Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan took time out to stop by the Frontiersman for an editorial board meeting with the paper’s staff. During the meeting, Sullivan spoke on a wide range of issues, focusing much of his remarks on the military, veteran’s affairs and the recent visit to Alaska by President Obama.

Sullivan spent a couple days in the Mat-Su while in Alaska, and said attending local events – among others, he hit the Alaska State Fair and the Job Corps graduation while in the Mat-Su – are a part of the job he actually looks forward to.

“You never know until you do it,” he said. “I love it, I get energized by it.”

Sullivan said getting to hear from people back home is the reason why legislators spend lengthy recesses away from the Capitol.

“Part of the theme of these recesses is to bring Washington D.C. to Alaska,” he said.

Sullivan said he was disappointed with President Obama’s choice to use his own recent visit to Alaska to focus on climate change. The senator said he spent two days in Bethel during his visit and not a single person raised the issue of climate change. Instead, he heard about suicide, domestic violence and local water and sewer issues. He would have preferred to see Obama spend more time on those topics.

“We’ve got a lot of urgent issues to deal with in this state,” he said.

Sullivan said he personally told President Obama during his visit to Alaska how important the state is to the nation’s security.

“I said, ‘You’re probably seeing these troops are critical to our nation’s security and the arctic and the Asia-Pacific, and it’d be great if you took the time to review them while you’re here but it’d be really important to make sure we don’t lose any troops here,” he said.

Sullivan said troop strength in the Arctic region is something he’s “been fighting on this issue probably harder than anything.” He said he’s concerned with the build-up of Russian and Chinese forces in the region, and said any cuts to forces in Alaska would be a big strategic mistake for the nation.

“It just makes no sense in the face of that,” he said.

Sullivan – a Marine who still serves in the Marine Corps Reserves – spent much of his time talking about veteran’s issues, and pointed to a recent highly-charged hearing in Wasilla with recently-confirmed Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald as evidence that veterans are fed up with the VA’s handing of medical issues.

“We have a big problem,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan said he thinks things like flexible spending and allowing more local control are ways the administration can start addressing veteran’s issues.

The senator said he’s sympathetic to people’s issues with the VA – things like frustration with the Choice Act or complaints about billing or a lack of doctors – and has been devoting much of his time to figuring out ways to fix those problems.

“A lot of my recess has been spent kind of looking at putting the pieces together of how we fix that,” he said.

Contact editor Matt Tunseth at 352-2268 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com