Why Should Alaskans Vote for Trump?

This essay will not post until after Election Day, but I have hopes that Donald Trump will be our next President of the United States. There are many other reasons why I voted for Trump, but now I have another reason for supporting him. It is the Biden-Harris administration’s energy policy for Alaska.

            Alaska is the “Last Frontier” and could be the last place that people expect to be critical for the survival of the United States. According to an article written by Austin Gae – research associate in the Center for Energy, Climate, and Environment at The Heritage Foundation – and published in The Daily Signal, Alaska “has 49 of the 50 critical minerals, including rare earth metals.” However, the Biden-Harris administration “has taken 66 actions over nearly four years to obstruct Alaska’s production of these minerals, along with hydrocarbons.” 

In June, for example, the administration blocked a 211-mile road to the Ambler Mining District, which has deposits of copper, zinc, lead, silver, and gold. And last year, the Environmental Protection Agency blocked a proposed gold and copper mine in Bristol Bay. Copper and zinc are considered critical minerals, according to the 2023 Department of Energy’s Critical Materials List.

In addition, Alaska is home to over 3 billion barrels of crude oil and 100 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves. It is ranked fourth and 12^th among oil- and natural gas-producing states, respectively.

Just as with critical minerals, the Biden-Harris administration has blocked oil and natural gas development. For example, the administration canceled oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR, region estimated to hold about 7.7 billion barrels of oil.

The U.S. government, which owns about 60% of the state’s land, currently views Alaska as a large national park to be left untouched, not a resource-rich state to benefit Americans. The Biden-Harris administration also repealed the 2020 Alaska Roadless Rule, effectively prohibiting timber harvesting and road construction in the Tongass National Forest.

The federal government’s limits on Alaska’s ability to use its natural resources is “as though someone in Alaska said to me, ‘You cannot have your vegetable garden in your backyard,” Heritage Foundation scholar Diana Furchtgott-Roth testified recently before the House Budget Committee.

As the only state without both a personal income tax and a state sales tax, Alaska funds its state government largely by taxes and royalties from the oil and gas industry. In 2022, the state collected about $4 billion to fund programs that included education and health care.

The Alaska Permanent Fund, which collects revenues from oil and gas, pays eligible citizens an annual dividend. Local governments also collected $449 million from oil and gas property taxes.

Because of the Biden-Harris administration’s regulations, Alaska loses revenue it could use to provide services for citizens. So the state recently sued the Biden-Harris administration to extract compensation for canceled oil and gas leases in ANWR that would have generated billions of dollars.

Good for Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, for standing up for Alaska and for the American citizens living in Alaska. Hopefully, Trump won the election and will release the federal government’s grip on Alaska’s natural resources. Alaskans should vote for Trump because Harris will continue to steal money out of our pockets!