U.S. representative visits Valley

Congress is on its April break, giving delegates a chance to return to their home states. U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, took the opportunity during the break to visit several communities, and was in Palmer last week to attend a meeting of the Palmer Rotary International club.

Young, who recently started his 30th year as a congressman, spoke about his lengthy career and expounded on several projects on which he's currently working.

"It's been a great privilege and a great honor -- and a heck of a ride," Young said. "I still look forward to this job as I get up every day."

Transportation has been Young's primary focus recently, as he applied for and was voted unanimously into the position of chair of the House Transportation Committee.

Young characterized the "Lower 48" road system as a "moving warehouse," and spoke of some of the challenges his committee faces in ensuring rapid transportation for shipping purposes, while providing safe travel routes for commuters, vacationers and others who share the road.

The largest challenges facing Young's committee are the security challenges in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Young touted legislation that was passed that changed the set-up of airport security, but said there was likely more legislation to come. One added measure currently being discussed, Young said, would allow frequent travelers to pass through security more easily if they agree to have a background check and have fingerprints on file. A simple thumb print may be all that's needed for such travelers to pass through security, Young said.

Although security has been made more stringent, Young said it's not likely to stop a determined terrorist.

"After all this is done, we'll probably be able to catch the kooks … but a dedicated terrorist … is hard to catch," Young said. He added that he is looking at ways of catching potential terrorists by identifying them before they ever attempt a terrorist act. He spoke of finding those who have potentially militant religious beliefs and deporting them before they become terrorists.

Young added that development of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge could help cut the United States' unintentional funding of terrorist organizations.

"The money that you're sending out of your pockets overseas is supporting terrorism," Young said. "There's no doubt about it."

Young advocated developing not only oil, but coal, nuclear and hydroelectric energy production. Those who talk of changing America's dependence on oil, he said, are not realistic.

"We're not going to drive hydrogen cars," Young said.

And transportation routes must be developed, Young said, to access those resources. He suggested a Knik Arm crossing, a railroad line into rural Alaska that would extend to Canada, and new road construction across the state.

"The last new roads were built 32 years ago," Young said.

Federal money may be available to build such roads, he said. A new federal road-funding program is currently available, he said, which allows money to be allocated in chunks. The program, called TEA-03, may be the best avenue to get the proposed Knik Arm crossing started, provided Alaskans support the project. But if that project doesn't have enough public support to move forward, it may not be done.

"You have to understand that if you don't do it within the next four years," Young said, "the opportunity will be gone. This is the time -- the state's ripe for it, Ted [Stevens] is in the position he's in, I'm in the position I'm in … You'd better pick those peaches when they're ripe -- The state better grab this opportunity now because once I'm gone and Ted's gone, then the state's going to be at the bottom of the barrel."

Young said those who wanted to contact his office for more information on projects he's working on or more information about the TEA-03 program should contact his Mat-Su office at 376-7665 or e-mail don.young@mail.house.gov. Due to the closure of his Washington, D.C., office when letters containing anthrax were received at the building, Young asked that people not send correspondence to that office.