Donald Young

Donald Edwin Young, a Republican, has represented the state of Alaska, as the at-large member to the United States House of Representatives since 1973.

Iraq War
Young voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that started the Iraq War.

During the debate in mid-February 2007 of a nonbinding resolution opposing President Bush's troop "surge" in Iraq, Rep. Young, who opposed the measure, falsely quoted Abraham Lincoln, stating, "Congressmen who willfully take action during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs, and should be arrested, exiled or hanged."

Environmental record
For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

American Land Sovereignty Act
In 1997 Representative Don Young (R-AK) introduced the American Land Sovereignty Act (H.R. 901) to reign in what he termed the "growing power of foreign entities on US soil". Young used the Alliance for America's Fly-In for Freedom to promote his bill that year. He attended the annual anti-environmental conference and delivered a speech supporting his bill. A backlash to the designation of the Yellowstone National Park as a World Heritage Area, H.R. 901 required Congressional approval for any designation of U.S. territory under U.N. or international treaties. Young allowed some of the more fringe elements of the anti-environmental lobby to testify at hearings for the bill. Those testifying included Betty Beaver of Take Back Arkansas and Henry Lamb of the Environmental Conservation Organization.

Alaska conservation
Young came to the House as an advocate of the trans-Alaska pipeline, tenaciously promoting the interests of mining, oil, timber, loggers, drillers and developers seeking to open up Alaska to commercial interests. He fought against the 1980 Alaska Lands Bill, and although the bill was passed, Young managed to whittle down the wilderness acreage considerably and secured provisions for development. Nevertheless, Young complained the bill was unfair to Alaskans. "People can sit on this floor and say it is all right to take what is already the people's of Alaska. That is immoral . . . None of you has to go home to unemployment created by national legislation." Young reportedly broke down in tears following his remarks. (50 State Review: Alaska Clearinghouse on Environmental Advocacy and Research)

CLEAN Energy Act resistance
Young opposed the CLEAN Energy Act of 2007, which addressed royalties and tax breaks previously afforded to oil and gas companies. He stated, "If you want to do things right, let's tax foreign oil."

Gravina Island Bridge
In 2005 Young and Senator Ted Stevens earmarked $223 million for building a bridge from Ketchikan to Gravina Island (pop. 50). Critics assailed this as pork barrel spending at taxpayers' expense and dubbed it the "Bridge to Nowhere". After criticism from citizens and others in Congress, lawmakers defunded the bridge specifically, and instead funneled the money to the state of Alaska's transportation department to use as it saw fit. 

Knik Arm bridge
Allegedly, in early 2003, while Young was the Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, he began drafting a highway bill that would provide federal funding for a bridge to an uninhabited area outside of anchorage called Knick Arm. Young along with Sens. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) earmarked the project which was overlooked because of the provisions of the Gravina Island Bridge incident (see above). According to a Roll Call report on May 14, 2007, Young's daughter, who is a staff member of Sen. Murkowski's, as well as other Alaska congressional staff members, previously bought land in Knik Arm and stood to profit off of the proposed bridge and following land development.

Department of Justice Investigation
Currently, Young is under investigation for by the Department of Justice for earmarking $10 million for a construction project in Florida in exchange for campaign contributions. In addition, Young is also under investigation for allegedly accepting bribes, illegal gratuities and unreported gifts from VECO Corporation.

In the most recent federal disclosure, Young revealed that he pays his legal fees from his defense fund, not his campaign funds. The defense fund, which receives most of its money from fishery interests, has raised $82,000. Approximately $73,415 has been spent. In 2008, Young reported he spent more than $1 million in legal fees. In March 2009, Young was listed as one of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington's Most Corrupt Members of Congress.

Abramoff scandal
Published reports have linked Young to the Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal.
 * In September 2002 Young and Steven LaTourette (R-Ohio) wrote to the General Services Administration urging the agency to give preferential treatment to groups such as Indian tribes when evaluating development proposals. In particular, the letter referred to a historic building, the Old Post Office Pavilion in downtown Washington, DC.


 * The Marianas are a U.S. commonwealth, falling under jurisdiction of the House Resources Committee. The committee's chairman, from 1995 to 2003 was Rep. Don Young of Alaska. According to Joel Connelly of the Seattle Post Intelligencer, " One of [Abramoff's]] major legislative successes in 2000 was blocking legislation that would have put garment manufacturers in the Mariana Islands -- notorious for running sweatshops -- under federal labor laws," wrote (January 6, 2006).


 * "Young used Abramoff's MCI Center skybox in Washington, D.C., for fund-raisers. Lower 48 Indian tribes represented by the super-lobbyist gave about $20,000 to Young's campaign committee, according to the Anchorage Daily News," Connelly also wrote.


 * Don Young's former Chief of Staff Duane R. Gibson worked for Abramoff at Greenberg Traurig.


 * In April 2007, Mark Zachares, former Young staffer and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands employee, was arrested and expected to enter a plea of guilty. The list of charges all stem from his involvement in the Abramoff scandal.

Involvement in VECO scandal
In late July 2007, it was reported that Young, along with Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), was under criminal investigation for his ties to VECO Corp.

Over the previous decade, former VECO Chief Executive Bill Allen had been famous for holding a yearly "Pig Roast," a fundraiser held in support of Young. From 1996-2006, at least $157,000 was given to Young's campaign from VECO employees and its political-action committee. In January, Young's campaign-finance filings also paid out $38,000, labeled "fund-raising costs," to Bill Allen, the former VECO chief. The investigation was centered on determining whether Young provided political favors in return for the contributions.

Illegal campaign contributions
In June 2007, Don Young filed a report with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) admitting to unknowingly having accepted illegal campaign contributions amounting to more than $5,500 from the seafood industry between 2000 and 2007. In June 2007, Young agreed to pay back the contributions to the Pacific Seafood Processors Association given since 2004, about $2,400, in keeping with the FEC's statute of limitations, intending to keep the illegal contributions made between 2000 and 2004. However, in early August, by which time Young was under federal investigation, he reversed his earlier decision and chose to refund the remaining campaign contributions, amounting to $3,175.

Clash with Rep. Garrett
On July 18, 2007, proposed legislation by Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) that would have cut funding in Alaska launched Rep. Young into an outburst, claiming "Those who bite me will be bitten back," as a threat to Garrett. Young continued, "This is supposed to be a house of honor; you didn’t tell me you were going to offer this amendment... We are a new state. I have poverties that you don’t even think of and yet you say you want my money — my money, for my students that need to be educated — to go to New Jersey. This is a sad day for this House." Young also called New Jersey a "a state that doesn’t have the greatest reputation," and suggested that they seek better representation.

Other Representatives stepped in to support Garrett. Republican Study Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) wrote in a letter, "Rarely have I seen a member embody the principle, courage and caring for the people of his state as admirably as Scott Garrett... There is no more obvious indicator of a weak argument than one member personally denouncing another — or the people of his state — during a substantive policy discussion on the floor of the House of Representatives," Hansarling continued, criticizing Young's attack, "In addition, any member of Congress who confuses taxpayer money with their own has clearly spent too much time in Washington."

Bio
Young was born June 9, 1933 in Meridian, California. He earned an associate's degree in education from Yuba Junior College in 1952 and a bachelor's degree from Chico State College (now California State University, Chico) in 1958. He served in the United States Army from 1955 to 1957.

Young moved to Alaska in 1959, not long after it became a state. He eventually settled in Fort Yukon, a 700-person city on the Yukon River, 7 miles above the Arctic Circle in Alaska's central interior region. With a lifelong taste for adventure, he made a living in construction, fishing, trapping and gold mining. He captained a tugboat and ran a barge operation to to deliver products and supplies to villages along the Yukon River. During the winter, he taught fifth grade at the local Bureau of Indian Affairs elementary school.

Young began his political career in 1964 when he was elected mayor of Fort Yukon. After only one term, he was elected to the Alaska State House and served two terms before being elected to the Alaska State Senate in 1970.

Young is the 8th-longest serving House member, and the 3rd most senior Republican (ranked only by Bill Young of Florida and Ralph Regula of Ohio). Due to his long tenure in the House and that of Senator Ted Stevens, Alaska is considered to have clout in national politics far beyond its small size (it has long been one of the smallest states in population and is currently 48th, ahead of only Vermont and Wyoming). He is often called "Alaska's third senator."

Young's voting record is relatively moderate by Republican standards. However, he vigorously opposes federal control of Alaska's land and resources. He is also a strong proponent of opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.

According to The New Republic, Young is "well-known for his sharp elbows and generous appetite for legislative pork." His reputation for steering federal dollars to Alaska is almost as legendary as that of Stevens. For example, in the 2005 Highway Bill, Young helped secure "$941 million for 119 special projects," including a $231 million bridge in Anchorage which a rider in the bill would name for Young himself.

Congressional elections
Alaska's congressman, Democrat Nick Begich, disappeared in a plane crash on October 16, 1972. He was reelected to the House that November, but was declared dead on December 29. Young, who had been the Republican candidate against Begich in November, ran in the special election in March 1973 and won, just barely defeating Democrat Emil Notti. He won a full term in 1974 in another relative squeaker, largely due to his role in fighting for the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline. He didn't face another serious opponent until 1990. That year, John Devens, the mayor of Valdez, nearly defeated him. Devens ran another close race against Young in 1992, but Young was reelected in 1994 with 57 percent of the vote and has not faced serious opposition since. He was reelected to his 16th full term in 2004 with the most votes ever for a single candidate in a statewide election in Alaska.


 * 1998 elections: Young defeated Jim Duncan (D), 63% to 35%.


 * 2000 elections: Young defeated Mark Greene (D), 71% to 17%.


 * 2002 elections: Young defeated Mark Greene (D), 75% to 17%.


 * 2004 elections: Young defeated Thomas M. Higgins (D), 71% to 23%.

2006 elections
In 2006, the Democrats nominated Diane E. Benson, the Libertarian Party nominated Alexander Crawford, and the Green Party nominated Eva L. Ince to face Young in his November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006). Young defeated Benson, 57% to 40%, with the Libertarian and Green candidates each receiving 1% of the vote. Young's margin of victory was the smallest in at least eight years (since 1998) and he outspent Benson 10 to 1, spending $1,959,806 to Benson's $192,484 in the race.

2008 elections
In 2008, Diane Benson again ran for the Democratic nomination to face Young in the general election.

Although Young is being investigated for countless charges relating to bribery, he has decided to run for re-election in 2008. If elected, this will be his 19th term being the sole Alaskan representative in the House.

Don Young narrowly defeated challenger Sean Parnell in the Republican Primary. The results of the close race were delayed almost three weeks while absentee ballots were counted. Young secured victory by a 340-vote margin.

Money in politics
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Committees in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

 * House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
 * Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
 * Subcommittee on Highways, Transit & Pipelines
 * House Committee on Natural Resources - Ranking Member

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

 * House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee -- Chair since 2001
 * Resources Committee - former chair from 1995 - 2001
 * Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
 * Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation Wildlife and Oceans
 * House Committee on Homeland Security
 * Subcommittee on Economic Security Infrastructure Protection and Cybersecurity
 * Subcommittee on Prevention of Nuclear and Biological Attack

Coalitions and Caucuses

 * Executive Committee on Committees
 * Republican Steering Committee

Board and other Affiliations
Young serves on the advisory board of National Wilderness Institute, an organization that claims to be the "voice of reason on the enviornment." NWI is dedicated to weakening the Endangered Species Act and other environmental protections. 

Young is a board member of the National Rifle Association.

2008 Campaign Contact Information
Young for Congress website

Alaskans for Don Young, Inc. 2504 Fairbanks Street Anchorage, Alaska, 99503

Campaign Manager Steve Dougherty (907) 563-4314 [mailto:steve@donyoung08.com steve@donyoung08.com]

Campaign Spokesman Michael Anderson (907) 382-9177 [mailto:mike@donyoung08.com mike@donyoung08.com]

Resources

 * Official website
 * Technorati Search: Don Young
 * Google News Search: Don Young
 * Yahoo! News Search: Don Young
 * Power Trips: How much did Don Young travel?
 * GovTrack Statistics: Don Young
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database

Articles

 * P.J. O'Rourke, "The Art of Policy. Pork With a Point. The highway bill&mdash;a translation," The Atlantic Monthly, December 2004.
 * Nick Jans, "Bringing Home the Pork," USA Today, May 17, 2005.
 * Rebecca Clarren, "A Bridge to Nowhere," Salon, August 9, 2005.
 * Mark Tapscott, "Has the GOP Lost it's Soul," Townhall.com, August 13, 2005.
 * Alexander Bolton "Young Doles Out Earmarks to Steering Committee," The Hill, August 17, 2005.
 * "Young scoffs at criticism of bridges. MILLIONS: Despite relief effort, money will remain," Anchorage Daily News, September 19, 2005.
 * Scott Glabe, "Old Dony Young Had a Farm," The Weekly Standard, September 21, 2005.
 * Richard Mauer, "Bridge to Nowhere Benefits Young's Son-in-Law," Anchorage Daily News, December 18, 2005.
 * David Boaz, "The Bridges are Back. Alaska's Congressional delegation celebrates the Season of Taking," Reason Online, December 23, 2005.
 * John Fund, "Don Young's Way," Wall Street Journal, February 7, 2006.
 * "Three more lawmakers linked to Abramoff, GSA," Associated Press (MSNBC), February 11, 2006.
 * Margaret Talev, "Young's PAC Shades Links to Lobbyists," Anchorage Daily News, February 11, 2006.
 * Liz Ruskin, "Young's Abramoff Ties Examined," Anchorage Daily News, February 19, 2006.
 * Holly Martins, "America's Dumbest Congressmen. Radar ranks the 10 biggest fools on the Hill," Radar, October 13, 2006.
 * "CREW releases 'Beyond DeLay: The 22 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and two to watch)'," Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, September 18, 2007.

Blogs

 * Amanda Terkel, "'Chief Porker' Don Young Refuses To Share Bacon With Katrina Victims," Think Progress, September 20, 2005.
 * Niko Pitney, "VIDEO: 'Chief Porker' Don Young Lashes Out At Critics," Think Progress, September 23, 2005.
 * "The New Huey Long," Coyote Blog, May 24, 2005.