Begich Urges Alaska Lawmakers to Back LNG Project, Not Block It

Rep. Nick Begich III stood before a joint session of the Alaska Legislature in Juneau on March 10 and issued a pointed request: get out of the way of the Alaska LNG pipeline, or at least don't stand in front of it.

"The federal path is largely cleared, but investors also need state level clarity, fiscal predictability and simplicity," Begich said. "Scrutinize it carefully, model it thoroughly. But my request to you is not to become a roadblock."

The Alaska LNG project would run an in-state natural gas line from the North Slope to Southcentral Alaska and establish an international export hub in Nikiski. Critics have noted the price tag is likely to exceed the already-steep $44 billion estimate, and that purchase and supply agreements from buyers remain noncommittal. Begich framed the project in the broadest possible terms. "Alaska LNG is a jobs project, a national security project, it is a cost-of-living project for Alaskans," he told lawmakers.

The appeal was not met with unqualified enthusiasm. Sen. Cathy Giessel, the Republican Anchorage lawmaker who chairs the Senate Resources Committee, said flatly that she had not received the basic financial information needed to act. "I have not seen any figures," Giessel said. Legislators who handle pipeline matters daily told Alaska Public Media they still lack answers to foundational questions: how much the pipeline will actually cost and whether the gas it carries will be affordable to Alaskans.

Sen. Bill Wielechowski, an Anchorage Democrat, laid out a blunt timeline of broken promises from project proponents. "They told us last year that they were going to be at FID by the end of last year, end of December. That didn't happen," Wielechowski said. "They told us then it would be by the beginning of session. That didn't happen. Then they filed with FERC and said it would be by February 6th. That didn't happen." Wielechowski added that skepticism should not be read as opposition: "We all want this project to happen. We all want it to go forward. But if they need enabling legislation, we need to understand what that means."

The Senate Resources Committee had introduced Senate Bill 275 just days before Begich's address. The bill imposes transparency requirements on the pipeline project, eliminates a tax exemption relevant to the project, and adds a new surcharge on gas processing plants. It does not include the property tax reductions Gov. Mike Dunleavy has said he supports as investor incentives, though Dunleavy had not advanced legislation to that effect as of March 10. Giessel said she did not believe Begich's roadblock remarks were directed at her committee or its bill.

House Minority Leader Rep. DeLena Johnson of Palmer struck a more receptive tone. "It was really important that we focus on being positive about the gas line," Johnson said after Begich's speech, adding that lawmakers should be "open to making the project go forward" and avoid passing legislation that would stall it.

Walking out of the chamber, Begich told reporters he did not actually think lawmakers were blocking progress and urged them to "speak with a unified voice" to project confidence to investors "not here in-state." His press release struck a more urgent note: "The federal barriers are coming down. The permits are getting done. The investments are flowing. Now Alaska must deliver."

Begich also used the address to announce H.R. 7760, legislation he introduced in Congress to make the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend federally tax-free, and called on the Legislature to act on workforce development and fisheries governance reforms. He is running for reelection to a second term; two unnamed opponents issued statements the same day criticizing his voting record on policies they said would raise costs for Alaskans, including healthcare costs. Protesters gathered outside the Capitol during his appearance while supporters greeted him at the chamber entrance.

The message echoed a similar push Sen. Dan Sullivan made in his own address to the Legislature on Feb. 18, suggesting Alaska's federal delegation has aligned on a unified ask: the state must move, and move now, before investor confidence erodes further.