September 19, 2022 — New Alaska Congresswoman Mary Peltola was awarded a seat on the House Natural Resources Committee, where Chairman Raúl Grijalva said she will sometimes be at odds with her fellow Democrats.
“I think she brings a perspective – and it’s not just an Alaska Native perspective, it’s an Alaska perspective – to us,” said Grijalva, D-Ariz.
The Resources Committee considers issues of huge importance to Alaska: Oil development. Oceans and fisheries. Federal land management. Native Affairs. Peltola’s predecessor, the late Don Young, was on the committee for decades and used to be its chair.
Next week, the Resources Committee will take up a rewrite of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the law governing fishing in federal waters. Before he died in March, Young was working on it with Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif.