You today by your cable or satellite provider. Alaska Governor Bill Walker delivers the state of the state address on fiscal challenges, education, Climate Change and the states heroine epidemic, as well Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault prevention and initiatives to bolster touch, timber and the oil and gas industries. President pete kelley. Speaker bryce edgemon, members of the alaska legislator and members of the cabinet and my fellow alaskans, good evening. Thank you for the opportunity address you this evening. I also want to thank miss donna walker. I would also like to introduce our daughter who is here today. Lindsey. It is also my honor to introduce Lieutenant Governor first lady toni mallat. As i stand before you tonight to deliver my third state of the state address, i extent a special welcome to the 15 new legislators. Thank you for stepping up to serve during a challenge, but exciting chapter in the states history. I look forward to working with all of you, new and returning legislators, to help write the next chapter for and i thank my cabinet for your leadership and creativity. Governing requires a team effort. And im grateful to have a dedicated and multitalented team. I thank your hard working state employees. Much of what you do is invisible, but indispensable to the quality of life many of us take for granted. As a state work force has shrunk, you were doing more with less. And still, state employees donated more than 350,000 to nonprofits last year through the share campaign. [ applause ] i am proud of your generosity and your service. And finally, i extend a heartfelt gratitude to all who reached out to me after my cancer diagnosis. In october during the convention, i received a call from my urologist informing me that i had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Following my surgery, i feel incredibly blessed to be a cancer survivor. [ applause ] donna and i have been blessed by the many well wishers and prayers from across the state. I am fortunate that my cancer was diagnosed early. Through routine screening. I encourage all alaskans to please, get recommended screenings. [ applause ] turning now to the great state tonight, i will discuss our fiscal deficit, highlights of accomplishments and challenges, introduce a new initiative, and share my vision to move alaska forward. State revenues are down more than 80 from four years ago. During that period, weve cut the budget 44 . But we still face a 3 billion fiscal gap. There is some good news. Last year at this time, oil was at 26 a barrel. Today its double that. New Oil Discoveries have the potential to stem the downturn in production. Last year i told you about our work helping conocophillips with challenges. I received a call from cono conocophillips alaska, and they were finding the potential to increase Oil Production by up to 100,000 barrels a day. Currently Oil Production is about 500 barrels per day. Oil prices, however, are around 50 a barrel, it would take over 100 barrels to solve our problem. Some say weve been here before. They say we should just wait it out. This philosophy bounded on hopes and dreams, not facts and reality, this philosophy has cost us nearly 13 billion from our limited savings over the past four years. These are dollars we will never see again. These are dollars that wont generate investment earnings. Earnings that amount to hundreds of millions of dollars each year. We have nearly emptied our Budget Reserve account. Next years budget will virtually drain the constitutional Budget Reserve. Heres the hard truth. Denial doesnt make the problem go away. Hope doesnt pay the bills. We need to pass a plan to stabilize our fiscal future, and we need to do it now. Take it from the legislatures own financial expert, david diehl. Last summer he said, alaska is in the midst of the greatest fiscal crisis in state history. Mr. Teal is correct. Alaskans made it clear before they will accept new revenues, major budget cuts were needed. My message to alaskans is this, we heard you, and we have acted. During my tenure, we have cut more than 1. 7 billion in general fund spending. We reduced the Capital Budget by 80 . We are shrinking the footprint of government through shared administrative services, improved technology and efficiencies. Weve reduced executive branch travel by 41 in the last two years. Weve given up lease space. Our court system statewide now shuts down on fridays at noon. The department of health and social services has been cut by more than 13 . One result is that more than 2,000 alaskan families will no longer get help to heat their homes. Crime rates are too high. The number of state troopers has decreased. By the end of this year, we will have closed seven posts, six health centers, three maintenance stations, one correctional facility, two youth detention facilities, multiple job centers, and a Fire Training facility. We are selling search and rescue aircraft and ferries. We are assessing whether it makes sense to sell other state assets. We are making sure that any project pencils out before with esink money into it. Weve canceled projects that are too costly to build and too costly to maintain. We are strictly adhering to formula funding for tax ketds. But this next year well have reduced 3,000 state employees since i took office. It brings the force down to what it was 15 years ago. We are asking more state employees. We have negotiated zero cost of living adjustments and labor agreements. State employees are taking unpaid furlough days and contributing more for health insurance. In short, we have made Great Strides to make government more efficient and accountable. I am proposing legislation to freeze the salaries of some state employees while we address our fiscal challenges. Better days will come, but until then, we must make difficult adjustments. While it obviously will not close the fiscal gap, i lead by example. I reduced my own salary to onethird. The level that some alaskans budget hawks have identified as a sustainable spending target. The last time our budget had a budget of 4. 5 billion was 2007. Adjusted for inflation and population, the fiscal year 2018 budget is the lowest since 2002. Some use perperson state spending as a litmus test of reasonableness. That is misleading when it applies to alaska. We are the largest state in the nation. Our population is among the smallest and is the most dispersed. That combination creates high cost of providing government services. Additionally, our state provides partial or full funding for Many Services such as education and public safety. The local governments are fully funded in many other states. Minnesota boasts 10,000 lakes, alaska has 3 million. Alaska has 242 stateowned airports. The next largest number is in oregon, with 40. As a comparison, the governor of california recently announced a 1. 6 billion budget deficit. That equates to a deficit about 40 per resident. Here in alaska, we have a 3 billion anticipated deficit and population of 730,000. That equates to a 4,000 per person deficit. We have a significant problem. In a recent town hall meeting, residents voiced grave concern over crime. Many wanted to increase trooper presence. The head of the state alaska troopers did a good job of explaining the impacts of ongoing budget cuts. We cant continue to cut the budget and improve the situation. Alaskans deserve and are demanding better. Its not just Public Service that suffers, our economy is at risk. Janet weise told the Resource Development council not solving the fiscal balance increases uncertainty and exacerbates the problem. It is time to move forward beyond the position and avert the problem. I couldnt agree more. It is time to work the problem. Its time to balance the books in a responsible and lasting way. It is time to increase revenue. We have the ability. We have industries that can support modest tax increases. We are the lowest taxed people in the nation. We have outside workers paying taxes to other states on their alaskan earnings. We have a Permanent Fund that earnings enough to help pay for a portion of state services, and pay different dense imper tu ti if we structure it wisely. As we come closer to draining our readily available savings, our economy becomes increasingly uncertain. Uncertainty is the greatest threat to economic opportunity. Last year i introduced nine majors that together would have closed the fiscal gap in a sustainable way. Not one of those proposals passed, not a single one. Only the Permanent Fund protect act made it out of one chamber. I thank the senate for having the courage to approve the bill. [ applause ] this year im again proposing a Permanent Fund protection act. Im introducing an increase in the motor fuels tax which hasnt been raised significant since president john f. Kennedy was in office. A fiscal Stable Foundation for alaska. In 2004, governor jay hammond expressed the fact that the income tax repealed. He said alaska would not have had to contend with the fiscal gap. And in the event of a fiscal gap, pfds should be used to support Public Services. In this vein i maintain my support for a moderate income tax and other bills introduced last year. If all of these measures pass, with alaska receiving a pfb each year, we will still be the lowest taxed individuals in the nation. Before introducing those bills, i plan to chart a path forward. If you dont support the plan i propose, then put another plan on the table. If you think we need to cut more, identify the cuts and put them on the table. Whatever your plan may be, put it out there and lets get to work to find a solution. But if your plan does not close the fiscal gap, be sure to also identify the amount from the dwindling savings each year to cover the gap under your plan. As a carpenter, i never framed half a house, shingled half a roof, or poured have a foundation. If you have a plan, bring alaskans a complete plan. [ applause ] last june i faced an unprecedented decision as governor. Had the Senate Version of the budget plan passed the house, we would have been reduced to the historical value of 1,000. I made one of the hardest decisions of my life when i reduced the dividend payout without legislative action. It was left in the reserve account for income for future payments. I know the Significant Impact that decision had on alaskans across the state. If i did not feel it was absolutely necessary, believe me, i would not have done it. For historical perspective, you might recall that in 2012 when oil, our primary revenue source, was 112 a barrel, we received a 800 dividend. Last year, when oil averaged 43 per barrel, alaskans received 1,022 dividend. After making that tough decision, i was approached by a gentleman who had worked in governor bill eagans administration. He thanked me for making this unpopular but necessary decision. He said governor eegen had also made a hard and unpopular decision. When fish runs were crashing, governor eagan opened fisheries. The fisheries and canneries suffered in the short run and heavy opposition mounted. But eventually the salmon runs began to turn around. In 2015, the cap was 260 million, a tenfold increase from governor eagans day. A pivotal reason is governor eagan demonstrated leadership. He did the right thing for the salmon and the state. No one could have foreseen that oil would drop below 40 per barrel and alaska would be hit with the financial crisis we are in. When youre in a crisis, you use whatever options you have available to avoid disaster. I cannot solve alaskas fiscal problems with my veto pen. It will take legislation to solve the problem. Only you have the power to pass legislation. You possess the power and the opportunity to solve our fiscal challenges. As i said last year, we were warned of this day. In 1976, governor hammond cautioned if we did not change our ways, alaska would arrive at this day of reckoning. He said, while the time to pay the piper may well be some 20 or 30 years away, if we continue to build a government funded primarily on one resource alone, what a terrible legacy we will leave our children. We must Work Together to advance a responsible plan to close the fiscal gap this year. While the fiscal gap has dominated much of the time and energy over the past year, together weve made progress in many years, and are working to overcome other challenges. Despite the cloud of uncertainty, we have seen some positive Economic Developments in this past year. And my administration continues to support and pursue economic diversification. Tourism is thriving with over 2 million visitors to the state last year. The Tourism Industry is working to create a tourism Improvement District to provide marketing funds with less state support. I applaud the leadership and initiative. Our fisheries continue to provide a livelihood for thousands of alaskans. Last summer i celebrated the harvest of the 2 billionth salmon of the 133 anniversary of the fishery. It was symbolic of the abundance and quality that is the basis of alaskas commercial and renewable resource economies. And it was delicious. [ laughter ] in february, i established a major task for to develop a shellfish and seaweed industry for traditional uses. A healthy Construction Industry is critical to alaskas economy. This coming season well see over half a billion collars worth of construction pronls awarded. Another half a billion dollars will likely go to bid this year. While we have reduced state funding of construction projects, were working to build maximum dollars to employ hundreds of alaskans in the Construction Industry. Our alaska native claims settlement act corporations are an economic engine. They provide hundreds of millions of dollars in profits and shareholder dividends to alaska. These corporations have worldwide operation. Stabilizing our fiscal house will help bring more of their investments home to alaska. Agriculture has a strong potential to help diversify our economy and increase Food Security for alaskans. Alaska has 43 farmers markets around the state. A threefold increase from 2004. If every alaskan spent just 5 a week on alaskagrown products, that would translate to 188 million circulating through the alaska economy every year. Mining can be an important employer in alaska. We celebrated the anniversary of the fort knox mine. This is the great example of local job creation through responsible Resource Development. Our Timber Industry has been in decline mostly due to restricted federal policy. We recently negotiated an agreement that allowed the state to manage federal timber sales under state authority. This agreement will also offer the full allowable timber harvest in the southeast state forest. It will enable and support land exchanges that will diversify ownership of the forests. The oil patch this year we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the transalaska pipeline. We saw a welcomed increase in Oil Production this past year, and have a plan to support increased throughput. Last year led by ex son mobile, oil began to flow from lake thompson. It demonstrated how much resource potential in alaska there is. The department of Natural Resources continued to support armstrong and hill corp as they worked to bring their respective new developments online. In 2016, my administration took a new step by nominating leasing, to protect the longterm interests in the region. We have new opportunities with the new administration in d. C. To secure access to the Coastal Region called the 1002 region. This region represents 8 of the refuge adjacent to the new infrastructure of point thompson. Here we sit with a threequarters empty pipeline. If the Outgoing Administration could see fit to allow offshore drilling, surely the Incoming Administration will see the wisdom of allowing onshore drilling in this area. [ applause ] we have already reached out to the incoming president on this issue. Following consultation, i will advocate tireless to bring this opportunity to reality. I was troubled to learn that wyoming about the size of the north slope that is drilled 16,000 exploration wells, and weve only drilled about 500 since the 1960s. Why are we not doing better . Well, our drilling and permit window is determined in part by the weather due to the necessity of building ice roads. Wyoming has traditional yearround roads. Why cant we as the owner of the resource build gravel roads as toll roads similar to what the state did for the red dog mine in the 1980s and drill year round. My administration is exploring this opportunity. On the gas line, with the support of our industry partners, were advancing the akl project. Were actively working to bring Market Participants into the project. Were requesting no new appropriations in the budget. The projected prices of 2023 to 2025. Some may remember that the price of oil was less than 5 a barrel when the decision was made to build the transalaska oil pipeline. Bloomberg recently reported this week the global output of l g will increase. According to ploomberg this week, this could drive up prices massively around 2025. Alaska cannot afford to miss this window of opportunity. To be ready in 2023 to 2025, we must stay on course. We have no other project that will re vitalize our economy the way the gas line will. [ applause ] i want to show alaskans that will be financed by longterm purchase commitments from l g buyers. It will not be pursued at all costs. It will only be pursued if it has longterm customers. In addition to Economic Development in 2016, we made progress in many other areas. A new agreement allows alaskans to have more say in canadian projects impacting alaska waters. I think the working group and Lieutenant Governor for their work on this critical effort. I thank the British Columbia government for recognizing the responsibility to clean up the old quad mine. Water doesnt recognize political borders. I am committed to protecting our waters and resources that they support. Last year we saw several victories for our state sovereignty. Supreme court ruled in our favor in the case of sturgeon versus frost. And i thank john sturgeon for asserting his rights and the states rights all the way to the highest court in the nation. [ applause ] the state also had a significant win in the mosquito ford case. The federal government ultimately gave the waterway to the state. The court held that the federal government owed alaska more than half a Million Dollars in attorneys fees for bringing frivolous claims. Last week we filed suit challenging the National ParkService Regulation that attempted to prohibit hunting methods on National Wildlife and refuge preserves. Last summer i visited king cove. I heard many stories of stress and endanger due to the lack of access to emergency services. An 11mile onelane gravel road would connect king cove to han allweather airport. That road would mean the difference between life and death. I applaud our congressional delegation for introducing legislation that will finally allow us to build this short but lifesaving road. I offer my full support. [ applause ] all alaskans deserve access to health care. Medicaid expansion has made that possible for over 27,000 alaskans. Many have told me how Medicaid Expansion improved or saved their lives. During the convention in fairbanks in october, Lieutenant Governor millot and i took our first ladies to dinner, and i got up during my dinner, and walked past the piano player and he motioned he over and said, id like to play whatever song youd like me to play. I said, why is that . He said, well, he said because im here because of Medicaid Expansion. I had a lifethreatening disease that required surgery immediately upon the impact date of Medicaid Expansion. He said the doctors worked it out to the very hour it went into effect so he could have that surgery. So he was alive today because of that. Im not very musically inclined and could not come up with a song for him to play for me. Alaskans lives have been improved as a result of that. Its encounters like this that remind each of us, that behind each number is a person whose life has been spared. Medicaid expansion brought 316 million in new federal dollars to the state and reduced state spending by more than 15 million. At the same time, we need to rein in the cost of medicaid. Thank you for passing the medicaid reform bill last year. It is designed to reduce costs while ensuring all alaskans receive the care they need. We must also address the broader challenge of escalating health costs. There is no easy solution, but we are aggressively looking into all available options. Turning to education, alaska has long ranked in the bottom tier in achievement and graduation rates. We must do a better job of preparing our youth for the challenges of the future. To meet this challenge, we need to rethink our spire system of Public Education. Alaskans must be at the heart of this effort. Weve already begun. The state board of education has identified five priorities for alaskas Public Education system. These include improving student learning, ensuring excellent educators, modernizing the system, inspiring tribal and community ownership, and promoting safety and wellbeing. After an extensive public process, the state board will education will provide a report to my office in september. Over the past year weve continued to prioritize relationships between the state and the tribes. Alaskas native people and our 229 federally recognized tribes represent 10,000 years of history and tradition in alaska. Tribes are natural allies in strengthening the fabric of our communities. With your help, we passed a bill in the indian Child Welfare act which increases the chances that the native children remain in their communities. And providing more services while saving the state dollars. We are partnering with tribes to improve criminal justice. Last week attorney general linden signed an agreement with the ville lanl tribe that provides certain lowlevel offenders the option to be referred to the tribal court. This past year we convened the governors Tribal Advisory Council to advice my administration and find more opportunities of collaboration. We continue to work to honor the rights of alaskas first people. Heres one example. For over 50 years, the village of gocana has been seeking to retain their burial site. In june i visited them, and walked the grave sites with the chief. Mr. Iwan turned 100 on august 13th. My goal is to complete the Land Transfer before his next birthday. [ applause ] this year saw several noteworthy military accomplishments. I cheered your passage of the alaska military code of justice restoring trust, transparency and discipline wp the national guard. Its been a major priority of my administration. This Bipartisan Legislation is an important piece of that effort. In addition to our financial crisis, we must commit ourselves resolving some of the states other urgent issues. An extreme challenge we face in alaska is the opioid epidemic. I thank now retired senator johnny ellis for his leadership in the drug that reverses the effects of heroin overdose and is saving lives. [ applause ] but it is not enough. The unfolding tragedy of alaskas heroin epidemic is ruining the lives of too many alaskans. Tonight i offer five steps to reduce the toll of this epidemic. First, limit the amount of opioids a doctor can prescribe with some exceptions. Second, strengthen the Prescription DrugMonitoring Program to prevent patients from pill shopping, and identify providers who are overprescribing opioids. Third, get Regulatory Authority to classify opioids as control substances as they emerge. Fourth, restrict the transparent of illegal opioids and heroin into our Rural Communities with screening and enforcement measures. Fifth, require licensed healths care providers to complete opioid addiction education as part of their continuing education requirements. This proposal was based on the good work of the Alaska Opioid Task force. I will work to refine this plan with lawmakers, the medical community and the public. I look forward to working with you to put an end to this needless suffering, and loss wrought by heroin and opioids. It cannot wait. [ applause ] im likewise committed to reducing violence in our communities and in our homes. Half of alaskas women experience sexual violence, intimate Partner Violence or both in their lifetimes. While the rate is down from 59 in 2010, it is still deplorable. Many individuals and groups working on prevention. Last may we held a statewide Sexual Assault trauma informed training. I want to recognize Sergeant Mike henry, named top 40 under 40 by the International Association of chiefs of police for his work countering Domestic Violence through education. While prevention is our priority, improving responses to sex crimes is critical. My office launched a Sexual AssaultKit Initiative in 2015. We uncovered of thousands of rape kits that had not been processed. In 2016 we secured federal funding to process this evidence. Justice delayed is justice denied. And victims deserve justice. [ applause ] turning to Climate Change, alaskans have known for some time that our landscape is changing at an accelerating pace. Alaska is the only arctic state in the nation, and were ground zero for climate impacts. We must maintain the integrity of our lands, air and water for future generations. My administration is developing a framework to engage alaskans in this effort to protect our way of life. We will seek our local and traditional knowledge. We will seek out industry input. We will seek to involve every sector to help us meet this challenge. This is one of the greatest challenges of our era. We look forward to working with you to create a legacy of timely response. Last year i shared with you a story about my family. This year i want to share with you a different story. To set it up, i have to talk a little bit what it was like growing up in valdez in the 60s. We didnt have radio, we didnt have tv. We didnt have a bowling alley. We had basketball. Basketball was everything. And so if you didnt make the team, you didnt get to travel on the weekend. You had to make the team. So in my senior year we won a regional tournament. And that meant we got to travel to play in the championship game. We were pretty excited about that. Many of our team members had never flown before. So we were excited about being on an airplane and flying. So we west to the school board and said we need money for travel funds. And he said no, no, with edont have any money. Talk to the city council. We went to the city council and explained the situation we were in. And they also said no. But they added, ill never forget this, they said, well, you should have thought of that before you won the tournament. Well, things have changed. So we raised the money. We went to the championship. I wish i had a story where we won the tournament. We didnt win the tournament, but we had a great time. But the point of that is basketball was absolutely really, really important. Off we go to college. I come back after the first semester. Ive got to tell you, this valdez team with one semester of college under my belt, i pretty much had it all figured out. There was a basketball tournament in delta when i came back. So i said to my classmate, i said, marty, lets go to delta for this tournament. Great. How are we going to get there . We didnt have cars. Were going to borrow a car. My parents said we only had one car. The twocar family thing didnt exist back then. Couldnt find a car. Her dad said, ill drive you. I wont loan you my car but ill drive you up there. Were college students, come on, we can figure this out. We found a friend with a Station Wagon. Off we go to delta in the Station Wagon. Well, getting a little colder. We get to delta, about 40 below. Along the way things started happening to willies Station Wagon. Go to the graame, had a great time. Came out, only one gear left, reverse. So we backed to a friends house and she said, well call martys dad. No, no. Heres the deal. Were going to go to valdez, were going to drive. At daylight, we backed out of delta, headed for valdez. And it was 45 below. You could put your head out the window about ten minutes driving backward, and then you have to rotate. Willie and marty and i would rotate, get in the sleeping bag, and drive. We made it about 40some miles. And we lost that allimportant last gear. And we didnt have to pull over to the side of the road because thats where we were driving. So we decided to hitchhike. We never hitchhiked before. We figured they would just stop if they saw us there. They didnt. We thought, whos not going to stop for a girl. Hey, marty, get out. So marty got out. They didnt stop for marty. We all got out. Finally a car came by and took us to paxson. We called her dad, he came to pick us up. To john keltys credit he never once said i told you so that entire trip back. We had a good time. No one got hurt. But we learned a lesson. So here we are in 2017. And were collectively heading into hazardous territory in a substandard vehicle. Were draining our Budget Reserve at a rate of 8. 2 million a day. That equates to 350,000 every hour of every day with no clear plan to replenish the money. It occurs to me that there are some lessons from my illfated trip to delta. Lessons that not only for my own life, but alaska. First, Pay Attention to those with wisdom and experience. They just might have something to teach us. Second, dont expect one person to stand out in the cold and work the problem. Solving problems takes a team. Third, the time to make a new plan is before you lose your last gear, or your last dollar. Dont ignore the warning signs. Finally, face your challenges headon. You cant go backward and expect to get where you want to go. Last years failure to act on a fiscal plan means we only have one year left of savings outside of the Permanent Fund earnings reserve. Were losing options as surely as willies old Station Wagon was losing gears. Last year i said it was a crisis if we didnt act, and we didnt act. Now we have a crisis on our hands. It is critical we embrace compromise and demonstrate true leadership to pass a comprehensive solution this year. Governor hinkle said, where people see action, they see hope. Let us act. To move alaska forward to better days. And yes, there are many reasons for hope. A new legislature means a new opportunity. New ideas and new dialogue. We have the tools to solve these challenges. We have the wealth. We have the capacity. We just need the will. Now is not the time to see who will blink first. Now is the time to open our eyes wide to the kind of future alaskans want and deserve. Let me share with you my vision for alaskas future. I envision an alaska with the lowest rates of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and highest rates of High School Graduation and employment. An alaska where our youth have hope for their future, and turn to training and education, not drugs, alcohol and suicide. An alaska where the work force is made up of 100 alaskans, where the shift workers commute from mento, not mississippi. And valueadded jobs. Lets start exporting finished products rather than raw materials. I envision an alaska boasting the lowest cost of energy, not the highest. An alaska where the cost of health care is not out of reach for Small Businesses and individuals. An alaska where we set the standard for Environmental Stewardship and responsible research development. An alaska where local governments have the authority and resources to meet their communities needs. An alaska where educational funding is not a cliffhanger each year and teachers dont get pink slips every spring. A stronger economy, vibrant communities and Healthy Families and healthy environment is a vision worth fighting for and sacrificing for. Its our sacred obligation to future generations. [ applause ] i have talked a lot tonight about our challenges. The challenges are many, but rewards are even greater. Im grateful every day for the opportunity and privilege to lead this great state. We are honored to be the first alaskanborn team of governor and Lieutenant Governor. We participated in every chapter of alaskas history since prestatehood. It gives us a unique perspective. Between us we have personally known every governor since statehood. We know how alaskans pull together to overcome yesteryears challenges. We know the stark realities of where we are today. We also know the course to a bright and robust tomorrow requires moving beyond entrenched position. It requires working the problem. Last year i talked about a phonograph called pulling together that i received as a gift from Lieutenant Governor. It depicts a group of alaskans standing by a road, a muddy stream, ready to pool their strength to uproot a giant stump. The stump itself is out of view. Its the people that make the photo so powerful. Over the past year ive been heartened by the alaskans who are asking, where is my place on the road. Many of you have been pulling on that rope. Those of you new to this body, thank you for stepping forward to grab ahold of the rope. We are so much stronger when we pool our might for the good of our state. Tonight i encourage all of you, and all alaskans to help pull alaska forward. In closing, i want to express my appreciation to the uniformed women and men who serve akans at all levels of government. When you see a fire or hear gunshots you run toward the threat. Your courage inspires me to continue facing alaskas challenges headon. It is our duty, it is what we were elected to do. I think especially, the Fairbanks PoliceSergeant Allen brant, a devoted father, husband, and man of god. Who was killed in the line of duty last year. I think of my hospital visit a few months ago with a Police Officer whose bold selfless actions ended a serial killers reign of terror. [ applause ] these extraordinary profiles in courage are reminders that our job in the face of alaskas crisis is not to play it safe. We must find the courage and the grit to run towards the threat and face it headon. Together we can move alaska forward. Together we can bring alaska to a place of stability and prosperity. Together we can work the problem. Thank you for your service to this extraordinary state we are proud to call home. May we be part of what god is blessing as we work the problem and pursue the opportunities this session. May god bless you, and may god bless alaska. Good night. [ applause ] President Trump spoke this morning at the National Prayer breakfast. You can see the entire event tonight at 8 00 eastern on cspan. Sunday, indepth will feature nick adams. Were taking your calls, tweets, emails and your facebook questions during the program. Despite all of the cultural problems of america may have right now, this is still by far and away the greatest country in the history of the world. Nick adams is the author of america, the greatest good, the american boomerang, how the worlds greatest turnaround nation will do it again. And retaking america. Crushing political correctness. Mr. Adams is also the founder and executive director of the foundation for liberty and american greatness. An organization dedicated to promoting american exceptionalism and combating antiamericanism worldwide. Watch indepth live from noon to 3 00 p. M. Eastern sunday on book tv on cspan2. In his state of the commonwealth address, Virginia GovernorTerry Mcauliffe outlined his legislative priorities for 2017, including cybersecurity and economic defendant