Don young alaska biography

In he moved to Fort Yukon, Alaska. There he worked a handful of jobs. According to the biography on his website , he taught 5th graders for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, mined for gold, trapped animals, and captained his own tug and barge on the Yukon. He met and married his first wife Lu in Together they had two daughters Joni and Dawn. Lu passed away in His first foray into politics was as mayor of Fort Yukon.

He then went on to win a seat in the Alaska state House and later the Alaska state Senate. There he would remain for the next 49 years. Early in his national career, he helped secure a massive win for Alaska by getting legislation for the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline through Congress. As reported by the ADN , Young would find his place in Congress directing money and policy around the development of natural resources and infrastructure.

In he was given the chair of the Natural Resources Committee, and in he stepped up to chair the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. There he was able to secure large amounts of money for state projects, a fact he was shameless about. His temerity finally caught up with him and he was caught up in scandals surrounding funding for various projects.

He was the U. Representative for Alaska's at-large congressional district from until Contents move to sidebar hide. Page Talk. Read Change Change source View history. Tools Tools. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item. Don Young. Just last year, he voted in favor of the Infrastructure and Jobs Investment Act championed by the Biden administration.

It secured millions in funding for Alaska-specific projects. YOUNG: This is the last opportunity we have to make sure those potholes are filled, those airports run right, the bridges are safe and our economy can continue to grow. This is the only chance we have. To my colleagues that are voting no, I say think about it. What is the other alternative?

He's survived by two daughters and was This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. In , Young was investigated as a part of the Alaska political corruption probe for his ties to the oil and gas company VECO Corporation. He faced no charges. In July , Representative Scott Garrett proposed an amendment to strike money in a spending bill for native Alaskan and Hawaiian educational programs.

Members of the conservative Republican Study Committee gave Garrett a standing ovation later in the day during the group's weekly meeting and Virginia Foxx of North Carolina compared Young's earmarks to "legal theft". In , the investigation concluded with no charges against Young. King were the only two Republicans voting against censure. In March , the House Ethics Committee created a special committee to investigate allegations that Young had improperly accepted gifts, used campaign funds for personal expenses, failed to report gifts in financial disclosure documents, and made false statements to federal officials.

I've been under a cloud all my life. I'm sort of like living in Juneau. It rains on you all the time. You don't even notice it. In March , Young used the ethnic slur " wetbacks " during a radio interview to describe Latino migrants who worked at his father's ranch when he was growing up. In May , Young wrote a letter to the Clerk of the U. House of Representatives stating that for 25 years he had failed to disclose his inherited interest in a family farm in California on which he and other family members had signed oil and gas leases; Young said the omissions to his financial reporting were accidental.

On May 4, , though he had indicated two months earlier that he would oppose repeal of the Affordable Care Act , he voted for its repeal. Governor Bill Walker said Alaska "would be the most negatively affected if the proposed legislation is signed into law as is. Alaskans already pay the highest health care premiums in the country. Senator Lisa Murkowski opposed the removal of the provision in the act that eliminated discrimination against those with preexisting conditions, saying it was not "what Alaskans are telling me they think is an acceptable response.

In , former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives John Boehner told Politico that Young had once pinned him against a wall inside the House and held a inch knife to his throat. In September , during a House floor debate on an amendment to the government spending package for wildlife management and national preserves in Alaska, Young made critical comments about Representative Pramila Jayapal , including calling the year old Jayapal "young lady" and saying that she "doesn't know a damn thing what she's talking about" and that her speech on the amendment "was really nonsense.

It was written by an interest group". The exchange led to a temporary suspension of proceedings: upon their resumption, Young acknowledged in an address to the floor that his comments were "out of order" and apologized to Jayapal; she accepted. On May 19, , Young introduced H. No votes have been held on the bill. Trump castigated the 13 House Republicans who voted for the bill.

At the time of his death, he was the oldest and longest-tenured member of Congress. Young believed that abortion should be legal only when the pregnancy is a result of incest or rape or when a woman's life is endangered by her pregnancy. When then-U. The Arctic Refuge drilling controversy repeatedly brought Young into the national spotlight. He was a longstanding supporter of opening lands within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration.

He included provisions to that effect in 12 bills that have passed the House, [ ] but environmentalists concerned with the impact of road-building, pipelines and other development on the Arctic tundra landscape blocked these efforts. Young questioned public funding of the arts, [ ] but in his later years supported legislation increasing funding for the National Endowment for the Arts NEA.

At an assembly at Fairbanks ' West Valley High School in , Young was answering questions about cutting federal funding for the arts. He said that such funding had "photographs of people doing offensive things", and "things that are absolutely ridiculous. The bridge would be used for access by emergency vehicles, as well as passengers.

There is a small ferry for cars and passengers that travels the. Critics assailed this as pork barrel spending at taxpayers' expense and The New York Times quoted Keith Ashdown, spokesman for the Taxpayers for Common Sense : "It's a gold-plated bridge to nowhere. The Knik Arm Bridge was earmarked in the bill connects Anchorage to Point Mackenzie , a lightly populated area in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough that is less than four miles 6 km across Cook Inlet from downtown Anchorage.

The demise of this second bridge project has been suggested for years. Part of the concern about the bridge is that if it were built, it would significantly enhance the value of property in which Young's son-in-law owned an interest. Pork" due to his involvement in the Gravina Island "Bridge to Nowhere". Young supported a number of efforts to reform cannabis laws in Congress.

Young voted for the Civil Liberties Act of , which provided reparations for Japanese Americans imprisoned by the U. He attended Reagan's official signing ceremony for the bill. Supreme Court cases. October is National Energy Awareness Month, and the topic of energy production and its role in driving climate change — very rightfully — is as important a topic as ever.

While the United States is leading the way in developing energy in significantly cleaner ways than countries like Russia, Venezuela and China, Democrats continue to promote a policy agenda that would cripple our economy and cause energy prices to skyrocket for American families. Young had previously said that he did not believe in anthropogenic climate change and that the idea of global warming is "the biggest scam since the Teapot Dome.

Young voted for the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, [ ] which included permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Young supported exempting the Tongass National Forest from the Roadless Rule , saying, "An exemption will not only bring great economic benefit to Alaska but will also help bolster the long-term health of the Tongass National Forest.

The Tongass is an invaluable natural resource and it requires active management. Unfortunately, the Roadless Rule has only prevented Alaskans from responsibly utilizing our resources. Young supported an increase in the federal gasoline tax to keep pace with the continued rise in gasoline efficiency of automobiles. At a town hall in Palmer, Alaska , on March 13, , [ ] Young said of the pandemic, "This is blown out of proportion about how deadly this is.

I call it the hysteria concept", as well calling it the "beer virus" referencing the similarly-named Corona beer. By March 25, in a video message, he said the impact of COVID is "very real, growing", and was reshaping our daily lives. Urging Americans to stay home, he continued, "Weeks ago, I did not truly grasp the severity of this crisis, but clearly we are in the midst of an urgent public health emergency.

On November 6, , Young was photographed maskless at a birthday party for a staff member in an Anchorage restaurant. He was admitted to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage that day and released on November 15, writing, "Very frankly, I had not felt this sick in a very long time, and I am grateful to everyone who has kept me in their thoughts and prayers.

In September , Young called the investigation and the Trump impeachment inquiry "a waste of time". On November 7, , Young was one of the first Republicans to acknowledge and congratulate Joe Biden on his victory in the presidential election. He called Haaland, a Democrat, a friend and said it was "a long time overdue" for the U. Senator Joe Manchin , a crucial swing vote, cited Young's support of Haaland as a reason for his support.

As of October , Young had voted in line with Joe Biden 's stated position Young said he believed the Environmental Protection Agency should not regulate greenhouse gases , and that it kills jobs. In , Young and Debbie Dingell introduced legislation providing for a long-term reauthorization of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Young said he wanted to see a clean repeal of the Affordable Care Act ACA , [ ] but said in March that he would not vote on an earlier version of the AHCA a healthcare plan to repeal and revise parts of the ACA because it would have too negative an impact on health care costs in Alaska.

The AHCA would also stop the Medicaid expansion Obamacare provided, which gives health coverage to more than 27, of Young's constituents, about 3. In a debate, he said he would "probably" vote for E. In , Young issued a statement saying that while he believed marriage should be between a man and a woman, he recognizes that the law is settled on this issue, and stated that he accepts the Supreme Court decision ruling same-sex marriage bans as unconstitutional.

Young frequently earned the support of organized labor, and in the th Congress, voted in support of the pro-union PRO Act , which would make it easier for workers to certify unions, augment how employers classify laborers and prevent laborers from being denied rights on the basis of their immigration status. Young voted to make lynching a federal crime and supported House passage of the First Step Act , [ ] which reforms sentencing laws to reduce recidivism and decrease the federal inmate population.

In the aftermath of the protests related to the murder of George Floyd , Young voted for [ ] the National Defense Authorization Act , which would remove Confederate names from U. The commission is intended to examine societal disparities that black men and boys face at disproportionately high rates. In , Young cosponsored and voted for the EQUAL Act, which eliminates the federal sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powdered cocaine.

Post Office. When asked about the fact that Alaska has the highest per capita suicide rate in the U. In response to an increase in suicides among active-duty service members at Fort Wainwright in , Young called on the U. Army to investigate the cause of the increased suicide rate. On October 21, , Young addressed an assembly of students at Wasilla High School shortly after a student there committed suicide.

During a question and answer session, he said a lack of support from family and friends had caused the student's suicide. During the assembly, Young also recalled a story about drinking alcohol in Paris, and used profanity several times, officials from the school reported. When a student criticized Young for his comments on suicide, Young called him an "asshole".

Young apologized for these comments on October 24, saying, "I am profoundly and genuinely sorry for the pain it has caused the Alaskan people. Young said he did not believe in conducting town halls district meetings for officials to meet and speak with constituents in a town hall setting. When he was asked for a face-to-face meeting with his constituents in April , an aide said, "The modern town hall has taken an unfortunate turn as a 'show' for the media and are [sic] unproductive for meaningful dialogue.

On April 20, , residents started a town hall meeting by themselves, speaking to Young through a video camera with a color photo of Young to represent him. In Juneau, while speaking to the Alaska Municipal League in , Young asked the crowd, "How many millions of people were shot and killed because they were unarmed? Fifty million in Russia because their citizens were unarmed.

He was not implying that an armed Jewish population would have been able to prevent the horrors of the Holocaust, but his intended message is that disarming citizens can have detrimental consequences. In , Young was the sole Republican to vote for the Humanitarian Standards for Individuals in Customs and Border Protection Custody Act, which set minimum standards for Customs and Border Patrol detention facilities, including requiring health screenings and ensuring that basic needs of detained migrants, such as access to food and water for detainees, are met.

She volunteered her time serving as the manager of Young's Washington, D. They had two daughters and were members of the Episcopal Church. Lula died on August 1, , at age She was 76 years old at the time. Toward the end of the flight, he lost consciousness, [ ] [ ] and was declared dead, aged 88, after the plane landed at Seattle—Tacoma International Airport.

Young lay in state in the U. Capitol's National Statuary Hall on March 29, , before his memorial service. He was the 43rd person to have this honor since Contents move to sidebar hide. House of Representatives. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikidata item.

American politician — For other people with the same name, see Donald Young disambiguation. Official portrait, c. Lu Fredson. Anne Garland Walton. Don Young's voice. Early life, education, and teaching career [ edit ]. Early political career [ edit ]. House of Representatives [ edit ]. Elections [ edit ]. Some of this section's listed sources may not be reliable.

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Don young alaska biography

Unreliable citations may be challenged and removed. September Learn how and when to remove this message. Tenure [ edit ]. Committee assignments [ edit ]. Caucus memberships [ edit ]. Political positions [ edit ]. Abortion [ edit ]. Arctic oil drilling [ edit ].