The end of the legislative session last month brought a major milestone for Alaska’s workforce and the families who keep our state running. We passed a bill to better support Alaskans navigating work transitions and unavoidable seasonal insecurity in important industries such as fishing, tourism, construction and mining.

As freshman legislators, we joined forces this session with a shared conviction: to modernize and update Alaska’s fraying economic safety net and put our workers first. The state unemployment program is that safety net. It helps catch workers so they can stay in Alaska while they look for new jobs or look forward to their next work season.

Before this session’s historic reform, the weekly unemployment insurance benefit had not been adjusted since 2009.

While the cost of essentials such as housing, fuel and groceries skyrocketed, the maximum weekly benefit remained frozen at $370. The dependent allowance was stuck at $24 for those who depend on them. For a state that relies heavily on a highly skilled, seasonal workforce, letting unemployment insurance benefits wither wasn’t just a gross legislative oversight; it threatened our state’s economy.

Unemployment benefits are a critical bridge to keep families afloat during temporary, seasonal shutdowns or routine layoffs between major projects. They keep workers from falling into severe financial hardship and protect employers from permanently losing a trained workforce. Workers who can’t afford to feed their children or pay their bills leave the state in search of greater stability elsewhere.

The bill we passed this session ensures that Alaska retains its local talent, stabilizes our workforce, keeps our construction and natural resource sectors competitive and helps Alaskans stay in the communities they love.

This victory took collaboration and mutual support in the Legislature. Last year, Rep. Ted Eischeid introduced an unemployment reform bill, House Bill 192, to update and then inflation-proof unemployment benefits and modernize the system. That bill proposed increasing the dependent benefit and adjusting the unemployment benefit each year. Rep. Carolyn Hall introduced House Bill 193, Paid Parental Leave, which, in addition to updating unemployment benefits, sought to create a first-ever paid parental leave program for Alaskans.

Recognizing our shared goals of strengthening working families, Rep. Eischeid’s unemployment provisions were merged into Rep. Hall’s paid parental leave proposal, HB 193. Robust policy debates refined the final package and earned bipartisan support.

The final hours of a legislative session demand swift, coordinated action to move bills across the finish line. On the final night of the legislative session, Rep. Hall worked closely with Sen. Jesse Kiehl, who moved a critical amendment to attach the core unemployment insurance reforms to a fast-moving, related vehicle: another Rep. Hall bill, House Bill 302. Thanks to this collaborative, multichamber strategy, the unemployment components of our bill passed. We prevailed, increasing the maximum weekly unemployment benefit 27% to $470 and tripling the dependent allowance to $72.

HB 302 will soon be sent to Gov. Mike Dunleavy. If he lets it become law, Alaskans will get direct, meaningful relief. In addition to the benefit increases, we’ll ensure Alaska doesn’t fall behind again by tying annual benefit adjustments to Alaskans’ average weekly wage.

Best of all, these changes don’t affect the state’s general fund. The benefits are paid out of Alaska’s Federal Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, restricted dollars that are heavily overcapitalized with hundreds of millions of excess dollars while workers struggle to pay their bills and feed their families.

The nonpartisan, cross-chamber collaboration is a blueprint for how we can, and should, work together. Economic resilience and common-sense adaptability aren’t built and maintained through partisan gridlock or House-versus-Senate silos. They’re forged when lawmakers listen to working families, work together and build practical, cost-effective solutions.

Rep. Ted Eischeid represents House District 22, North Muldoon, in the Alaska House of Representatives.

Rep. Carolyn Hall represents House District 16, West Anchorage, in the Alaska House of Representatives.

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Dear Alaskans,

As the state with more coastline than the rest of the country combined, Alaska has a direct stake in the health of our oceans, fisheries, marine ecosystems, and coastal communities. For this reason, I have supported numerous federal programs and legislative efforts that strengthen ocean research, improve marine debris response, protect coastal communities, and support the Alaskans whose livelihoods depend on healthy oceans.

A critical issue that has been a particular focus of my work in this space is marine debris. Marine debris—especially plastics and other forms of ocean pollution—poses a serious threat to coastal ecosystems, marine life, and our coastal communities that depend on healthy oceans. To address this challenge, I authored the Save Our Seas Act, signed into law in 2018, and the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act, signed into law in 2020. SOS 2.0, which I worked closely on with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, is the most comprehensive ocean debris legislation ever passed by Congress. SOS 2.0 also established the congressionally chartered Marine Debris Foundation, which is now headquartered in Juneau.

Building on this work, my SOS 2.0 Amendments Act was signed into law in December 2025, strengthening the Marine Debris Foundation and reauthorizing NOAA’s Marine Debris Program. I am also working to pass my Save Our Seas 2.0 Marine Debris Infrastructure Programs Reauthorization Act, which would reauthorize proven Environmental Protection Agency grant programs that combat plastic waste and microplastics. At the same time, I am developing SOS 3.0 to build on the success of the first two Save Our Seas laws.

Another serious threat to Alaska’s coastal resources is harmful algal blooms. HABs can endanger marine life, damage coastal ecosystems, threaten commercial, recreational, and subsistence fisheries, and put the health and well-being of Alaskans at risk. That is why I introduced the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act to reauthorize and strengthen the original 1998 law. This legislation will help ensure communities have access to HABs observation data, monitoring and mitigation training, and testing for HABs toxins. The bill passed the Senate in September 2025.

To build on these specific issues, as well as support additional oceanographic programs in our state, I continue to support the NOAA Sea Grant Program and the Integrated Ocean Observing System, two important programs that strengthen ocean research, coordination, and public-private partnerships. I am a cosponsor of legislation to reauthorize these programs, and I support robust funding for both programs every year.

There is more work to do to address plastic pollution, marine debris, and harmful algal blooms in Alaska and around the world. I will continue working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to advance practical, lasting solutions. The health of our oceans, fisheries, and marine life should never be a partisan issue—it is a responsibility we all share.

Sincerely,

Dan Sullivan
United States Senator