Alaska State Legislature
News from the Office of House Speaker, Representative Gail Phillips

Jerry Ritter, House Majority Press Secretary
716 West 4th Avenue, Suite 630
Anchorage, AK 99501
Phone: (907) 258-8164
http://www.akrepublicans.org
Actuality Line: 1-800-478-6540

Phillips Welcomes Speaker Gingrich

Congressman to See Alaska Conditions First-Hand

For Immediate Release: August 27, 1998 Contact: Jerry Ritter at (907) 258-8164.

Anchorage -- Speaker of the Alaska House Gail Phillips (R-Homer) today welcomed Congressman Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia), the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, to Alaska.

"I'm delighted and honored to be able to host Speaker Gingrich and the Congressional Delegation during this trip," said Phillips. "We wanted to make sure he got an 'up close and personal' look at the way things really are in our state and how decisions so far away on Capitol Hill impact the real people in Alaska," Phillips said.

During their two-day visit, Speaker Gingrich and the Congressional Delegation will observe first-hand the Spruce Bark Beetle infestation which has devastated wide areas of Southcentral Alaska. The group will also receive comprehensive briefings on Kenai River fishery issues, including habitat restoration and riverbank restoration. In addition, the group will be briefed on oil and gas exploration on the North Slope and on regulatory issues dealing with access, clean air, and clean water.

"It's our hope that, by seeing Alaska for themselves, Speaker Gingrich and the Congressional Delegation will, when Alaskan issues are debated in Washington, be able to cut through the rhetoric and possible misinformation and say: 'I've been there and here's the way it really is,'" Phillips said. "If that happens, this trip will have been an enormous success for Alaska."

Speaker Gingrich is in the 49^th State for two days under the auspices of the Western States Coalition, as part of the Second Annual Northwest Passage Tour. WSC membership is made up of elected and appointed local and state government officials. State House of Representatives Speakers from nine western states serve on an advisory board. WSC works to heighten awareness of the impact of public policy on the western United States and to advocate decision making at the level of government closest to the people affected.

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Session: State Capitol, Juneau, Alaska 99801-1182 · Phone: (907) 465-2689 · Fax: (907) 465-3472
Interim: P.O. Box 3304, Homer, Alaska 99603 · Phone: (907) 235-2921 · Fax: (907) 235-4008