= Rick Halford, 25 K =
Robin Taylor, 20 KNews from the
Senate Majority
Alaska State Legislature
Wendy Lindskoog,Senate Majority Press Secretary
State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
Phone: 907/465-4582
http://www.akrepublicans.org
Broadcast Actualities: 800/478-6540
Senate Votes to Balance Spending with Savings
Taylor/Halford Floor Amendment Puts $586 Million into Permanent Fund
For Immediate Release: May 5, 1998 Contact: Senator Rick Halford at (907) 465-4958 or Senator Robin Taylor at (907) 465-3873.
Juneau – During Senate debate on the state capital budget Tuesday, Senators Robin Taylor (R-Wrangell) and Rick Halford (R-Chugiak) co-sponsored an amendment to build the people’s savings account by placing a projected $586 million of this year’s record investment earnings into the principle of the Alaska Permanent Fund. The amendment to Senate Bill 231 passed the Senate by a vote of 17 to 2.
"The only way to protect and truly preserve the Permanent Fund is by taking the excess earnings away from the Legislature and placing them directly into the body of the Permanent Fund where they may not be touched without a vote of the people," said Senator Taylor. "This deposit will make the Permanent Fund grow larger, faster and will increase the amount of interest the fund generates in the future," said Taylor.
A combination of sound investments and solid markets have, again, made this a record earning year for the Permanent Fund. According to projections provided by the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, after paying out record dividends and fully inflation proofing the fund, there will be a surplus of almost $1.2 billion in the earnings reserve account. Of that, $586 million will be deposited into the corpus of the Permanent Fund and the remaining balance of $575 million will stay in the earnings reserve account to ensure there will be no negative impact on this year’s Permanent Fund Dividends.
"Every time we make a substantial deposit to the principle of the Permanent Fund, we put the future ahead of the expedience and the spending of the present," said Senator Halford. "Our kids and our grandkids aren’t going to have Prudhoe Bay, but they will have the income generated from the deposits we’ve made when they still have to educate kids in groups of 20 or 30 on the banks of the Yukon or the Kuskokwim."
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Actualities are available by calling (800) 478-6540.
= Rick Halford, 25 K =
Robin Taylor, 20 K