Alaska Congressional delegation silent on Trump's Russia sanctions stalling
Alaska's three-member Republican Congressional delegation had nothing critical to say about Donald Trump's State of the Union address or why he continues to genuflect to Vladimir Putin.
On Monday, Trump refused to go ahead with new sanctions approved by Congress last year, claiming that the threat of sanctions is all that is needed to get results. This was after the CIA warned that Russia is still trying to mess with U.S. elections, so the threat isn't working.
Last summer the Alaska delegation members said they wanted to send a message to Putin about the consequences of election meddling. Now they are sending a different message.
“We need to send a message to Russia that we will not tolerate its aggressive behavior around the world, and it will face consequences for interfering with our elections here at home,” Sen. Dan Sullivan said last summer.
“Today we also send a strong signal to the Russian government that their conduct is unacceptable, whether it involves interference in US democratic processes through hacking and misinformation, their efforts to bolster the Assad regime in Syria, or their threats to the sovereignty of an independent, democratic Ukraine," Sen. LIsa Murkowski said last summer.
“This legislation is an important and appropriate step to holding bad actors accountable for their misguided and aggressive actions,” Rep. Don Young said last summer.
Murkowski's statement on Trump's speech: “The president’s vision that he outlined tonight of an America that is safe, strong, and proud is one that all of us should be able to support. I welcome his outreach to members of both parties and the policies he laid out that can draw support, even in a divided nation.
"There was a lot of good in the President's speech tonight—from gains in our economy to lowering the price of prescription drugs and from fully funding our military to investing in infrastructure and our skilled workforce."
"But the President’s best point was more fundamental: we need to work together to solve our country’s problems. Whether it is the opioid epidemic, immigration reform, or rebuilding areas devastated by natural disasters, we must work together to build bipartisan solutions for the American people."
“The President outlined a number of areas where we can find bipartisan agreement, and it is now our responsibility to work together and begin building a more united America.”
Sullivan's statement: "I appreciate President Trump’s focus in his State of the Union address on issues that are important to Alaska and America: policies to strengthen our economy, the call for new infrastructure and permitting reform, efforts to tackle our nation's opioid crisis, energy dominance, and rebuilding our military. I also appreciate that throughout his speech, the President highlighted so many of America’s heroes. We are a country of heroes, and in Alaska, we are a state of heroes. I'm glad to see that recognized."
Young's statement: “I think it was a great speech. Now, it’s up to Congress to act on many of the issues the President discussed tonight. Infrastructure, for example, is going to be a big project for us. I believe this was good news for Alaskan and we have many positive projects to look forward to.”