Mark favors local control and accountability of America’s schools. Mark believes that the Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind law has been a disaster in Alaska and as Senator will work to return to an education policy that respects community values. He will fight to return control to Alaska’s parents and educators and for the millions of dollars in federal support promised, but not delivered, to Alaska schools. Mark will also work for federally-supported voluntary pre-K education to ensure that Alaska’s children get a good start on learning for the earliest age. He also supports expanded support for higher education so Alaska students don’t have to graduate from college or vocational school in debt. As an Anchorage assemblyman for nearly 10 years and now as mayor, Mark has analyzed and approved more than a dozen school district budgets. The students in Anchorage schools, where more than 90 languages are spoken, continue to outperform the national average of college entrance exams. Sadly, America is no longer the best educated country in the world, with a dangerous “achievement gap” among U.S. students.

Alaska’s economy was built around its status as America’s leading energy producer. We sell almost 10 times as much energy as we use, but these benefits have not been adequately reinvested to help Alaska families and communities facing today’s energy crisis. Instead, oil companies are posting record profits while hard-working Alaska families are struggling to meet rising energy costs. We need to take steps now to help Alaska families and invest in Alaska’s energy infrastructure to ensure that we have a strong, sustainable economy. As U.S. Senator, Mark Begich will work across party lines to implement a new Alaska energy plan that works for Alaska families and communities.

Alaskans expect their elected officials to live by the highest standards of honesty, integrity, and transparency. Unfortunately, Alaskans have been let down by their elected officials. Secret meetings, hidden favors, special access for special interests, and now convicted legislators have given Alaska a black eye. The only way to restore Alaskans trust in their elected leaders is for them to earn it.

Alaska is truly ground zero for global warming. All you have to do is look at the shrinking polar ice cap and the devastating effects it’s having on our rural communities to know we have to do something. We feel the impacts of climate change more than any place else in the world. Alaskans have a responsibility to lead the way in developing solutions to global warming to protect the magnificent natural resources around us and to ensure that future generations do not inherit a drastically altered Alaska. The solutions will not only help protect our environment, but will save money and bolster our economy. Mark was the first Alaska mayor to join the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Climate Protection initiative, which now includes 800 cities. Anchorage is saving taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars through policies such as replacing street lights with LED lights, shutting down city computers when not in use and harnessing methane gas from the city landfill. Mark will push similar policies at the national level.

Alaska is blessed with resource wealth and unsurpassed potential, yet far too many Alaskans are struggling to find affordable, quality access to health care. More than 100,000 Alaskans don’t have health insurance. Those who do have insurance have watched their costs soar; health care premiums rose 14.2 percent since 2001. Older Alaskans face a growing doctor shortage. As U.S. Senator, Mark Begich will fight for high-quality, affordable health care access for all Alaskan that they can count on for a lifetime, starting from birth and lasting through your older years. Alaska needs a senator who will address the unique health care needs of Alaskans – the higher costs, doctor shortages and distances required to travel for proper medical care. Mark believes a pragmatic, solution-oriented approach to the health care crisis in America is essential to preserving American competitiveness globally and the security of American families at home. We need to build on the strengths of our existing system, reward local innovation, and ensure shared responsibility.

Mark believes that it is time for America to safely and responsibly redeploy our troops out of Iraq. Our troops have served admirably, but political leadership has failed them with no plan, inadequate equipment and diplomatic neglect. Simultaneously, we need the Iraqi government to take responsibility for its future. While we have high expectations for the Iraqi government taking a larger responsibility for their future, Mark recognizes that the current leadership has not addressed the destabilizing nature of the humanitarian crisis stemming from the sectarian civil war.

We must end our military's participation in Iraq's civil war so we can shift our attention back where it belongs: fighting al Qaeda in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and elsewhere. Mark Begich will ensure that our military is not stretched too thin to meet other national security needs by using all the tools at his disposal as a senator to chart a new course the Bush/Stevens administration's failures in Iraq. Restoring our military will mean providing the resources to replace damaged equipment, investing in necessary training for our troops, and providing our servicemen and veterans with the full education and medical benefits and care they deserve from the country they served. With new ideas and a determination to find solutions, Mark Begich will provide the leadership needed to bring an end to the war in Iraq and restore security at home.

Mark will work at the national level for the same results he has helped achieve as Anchorage’s mayor: 9,200 new jobs in five years, 20 straight years of economic growth and lower property taxes for most Anchorage property owners between 2006 and 2007. Mark Begich also helped pull together more than $1 billion in public and private sector funding to create the biggest building boom in recent Anchorage history. Mark will put this same results-oriented, practical vision to work in the U.S. Senate to create new jobs and expand Alaska’s economy by launching a new energy economy for Alaska, investing in infrastructure, expanding research and development programs at the University of Alaska, and focusing on workforce development. The global economy affects Alaska more than ever. Mark Begich is ready to lead Alaska in this economy, creating new opportunities for Alaska families and communities.

Alaska has always been a land of opportunity for those who work hard. Unfortunately, the Bush economic plan has left Alaska’s middle class families behind, benefiting only the wealthiest of the wealthy. As a small businessman, husband, and father, Mark Begich understands the pressure Alaska families face today to make ends meet and get ahead. Rising energy and food prices, health care and education costs are stretching Alaskans’ pocketbooks. Prices at the pump have more than doubled since 2001. Health care premiums rose 14.2 percent since 2001. College tuition rose 29 percent since 2000. Food costs have risen almost 5 percent in the last year. The child care cost for two children is over $1,200 a month. At the same time, Alaska wages have stalled and job growth is slowing.

Mark Begich’s middle class tax plan will help Alaska families get ahead and reclaim the opportunities our state has to offer. As mayor, Mark has always worked for Alaska families and small businesses. As a U.S. Senator, Mark will fight for Alaska families and make the middle class the priority of economic policy, not special interests and the wealthy. Mark’s plan will help Alaska families reach the dreams they have for their families—getting their kids off to a good start, sending them to college, buying a home, moving up on the job ladder, saving for a comfortable retirement.

Alaskans fiercely protect our right to privacy and believe that less government is better government. In fact, Alaskans so strongly cherish our privacy that we’re one of the few states to adopt an amendment to our Constitution – in 1972 – providing greater privacy protection than the U.S. Constitution. Mark Begich has long defended Alaskans’ right to privacy and will stand up against government intrusion into the lives of Alaskans as a U.S. senator.

Mark’s strong connection to rural Alaska began when his father – Nick Begich – served our state in the Alaska Legislature and the U.S. Congress. As a freshman in Congress, Nick Begich was instrumental in passing the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Serving on the Anchorage Assembly and as mayor of Anchorage, Mark has fought for subsistence rights and against proposed state cuts to education funding for rural Alaska. Mark understands Alaska cannot be a strong state without a strong, vibrant rural Alaska. He made improving relations between Anchorage and rural Alaska a priority. Mark was the first Anchorage mayor to appoint a Rural Affairs Director, a position he created during his first term. Mark recognizes the critical challenges facing rural Alaska: skyrocketing energy prices, high transportation costs, lack of economic opportunities,  inadequate law enforcement, high suicide rates and underfunded schools and health clinics. As senator, he will fight for rural Alaska and build new relationships in the U.S. Senate to ensure Alaska Native programs and services are protected. Mark will be a partner Alaska Natives can work with for years to come.

Mark believes all elderly Americans are entitled to affordable health care, prescription drugs and a solvent and reliable Social Security system. He opposes any initiative to privatize Social Security or Medicare. Mark will work to reduce health care costs for older Alaskans by increasing Medicare reimbursements and creating new incentives for doctors and health care professionals to participate in Medicare. He will also work to repeal the unfair penalties and Social Security offsets many Alaska seniors face who receive a state pension.

A small businessman since he was 16, Mark will work to expand opportunities for small businesses in Alaska. As mayor, Mark Begich helped small businesses by eliminating the need for 11,000 small businesses to file business personal property tax forms in Anchorage. He implemented investment-friendly policies that helped create a building boom in Anchorage and steady economic growth and job growth. Mark knows Alaska’s small businesses are the backbone of a prosperous Alaska economy. His wife Deborah built a 30-employee business out of a small salmon stand in downtown Anchorage. Mark understands small businesses are not just small-sized big businesses, but face unique challenges and hurdles to being successful. He understands the strong individual responsibility and pride Alaska small business owners take in their success. Mark will build on his Anchorage record in the U.S Senate, where he will be one of only a few small businesses owners with hand-on business experience in Congress.

Mark Begich recognizes that commercial fishing is an economic backbone for Alaska communities and fishing families throughout the state. With an industry that produces more than 5 billion pounds of seafood worth over $3 billion annually, providing 40,000 in-state jobs and comprising well over half of the nation’s annual seafood production, Mark Begich knows that it is critical to have a strong fisheries advocate in Washington, D.C. Mark Begich has a history of cooperating across party lines and he can effectively represent Alaska’s interest in the majority party. Mark Begich is committed to supporting Alaska’s commercial fishing industry and increasing the economic benefits to Alaska’s communities. As a U.S. Senator, he will work to maintain and strengthen those federal policies that benefit Alaska’s fishing families and communities.

Alaska’s history is closely intertwined with the sacrifices and contributions of our military. Mark Begich worked hard as Anchorage’s mayor to support veterans and military families and that’s what he’ll do as Alaska’s US senator. Alaska leads the nation in the number of veterans per capita; has the 3rd highest percentage of citizens in uniform, and the 4th highest percentage serving in the National Guard and Reserves. That’s why Mark Begich took strong steps as mayor to support veterans and military families and why he has made veterans issues a top priority of his campaign for the U.S. Senate. As senator, Mark Begich will help lead the effort to fully fund the Veterans Administration, modernize VA health care delivery and provide specialized care to our wounded warriors. He will work to eliminate the unacceptably high backlog of VA benefit claims, increase access to health care for all veterans, and provide the services needed by veterans and their families as they transition from the military to civilian life.

Mark understands the power of emerging leaders in shaping a strong future, and recognizes the need to invest in our youth. Mark got his business license at the age of sixteen and was elected to office by age twenty-six. He co-founded the Spirit of Youth Foundation and expanded the peer-to-peer model of Anchorage Youth Court throughout Alaska. As Mayor of Anchorage, Mark took great strides to ensure youth had a place at the table: he placed youth onto boards and commissions, advanced the Municipal Youth Advisory Commission, and established over sixty youth volunteer positions through the City Internship Program. In 2007, Mark launched Youth Employment in Parks to provide diverse Anchorage youth a meaningful first job and civic engagement training, Mark understands the pressing issues this generation faces: global warming and rising energy costs are threatening the Alaska way of life, multiple barriers make a quality education difficult for many youth, and our current economy does not reflect the job potential in our own communities. As a lifelong Alaskan and father, Mark will invest in Alaska’s future leaders, through affordable and accessible education, local workforce development, and sustainable communities.