As if it wasn’t bad enough that she is using valuable spots on the US Energy Council as an educational program for underdeveloped and uneducated legislators, Lyda now refuses to pay the way of Senators who plan to travel to the US Energy Council conference in DC this month. Even the Senators from her Bipolar Working Group will be required to pay from their own pocket for this important conference.
"Attending is optional," Green said. "In years past, we had 10 or 12Unbelievable. It’s not optional for Alaska, Lyda. This isn’t New Jersey. We’re talking about the US Energy Council, not the National Farm Bureau.
legislators who went, and the Legislature practically shut down. I would
rather see us continue working."
The timing of this debacle could not have been worse. Even now, the federal community doubts whether Alaska can pull off a gasline (here, here, and here). According to the Alaska Journal of Commerce, a report by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission expressed concern over whether a gasline will be built.
A key state lawmaker, House Majority Leader Ralph Samuels, said he is
concerned that the FERC report to Congress may be paving the way for more
aggressive action by the federal government in pushing the state.
Federal laws enacted by Congress in 2004 require a study of a possible takeover of the
project by the federal government. That study, by the U.S. Department of Energy,
is currently underway.
Maybe Lyda thinks this is one of those evil divisive ideological issues that Sen. Ellis talked about in his creed. While Uncle Fed is salivating over Alaska’s resources, Lyda continues to play games with the future of one of Alaska’s most valuable resources. The only thing worse than poor leadership is incompetent leadership.
