The Democrat Shutdown Has Real Consequences for Alaskans
Democrats shut down the government and now Alaskans are paying the price.
A new report is highlighting that “funding for a federal program that supports flights from 65 communities in Alaska may run out as soon as Sunday due to the government shutdown.”
Nick Begich did his job and voted to keep the government working for Alaskans, but Democrats are holding Alaskans hostage just to appease their radical base and give criminal illegal immigrants taxpayer-funded freebies.
“Nick Begich voted to keep the government working for Alaskans. Democrats shut down the government to appease their radical base and give criminal illegal immigrants taxpayer-funded freebies, forcing Alaskans to pay the price. The contrast couldn’t be more clear.” – NRCC Spokesman Zach Bannon
Read more from Alaska’s News Source here or see excerpts below:
Essential Air Service funding may run out as soon as Sunday
Alaska’s News Source
Hannah Lee and Joe Allgood
October 6, 2025
Funding for a federal program that supports flights from 65 communities in Alaska may run out as soon as Sunday due to the government shutdown.
The U.S. Department of Transportation stated the subsidies in the Essential Air Service program are expected to expire as soon as Sunday.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy gave a press conference on Monday, where he discussed the potential loss of the EAS.
“The number one user of this airspace is Alaska. Again, you don’t have roads in Alaska. They travel by air, and a lot of these are small communities. Alaska will be impacted, but every state across the country will be impacted by the inability to provide the subsidies to airlines to service these communities,” Duffy said.
EAS flights not only transport people, but also cargo and essential items like groceries and mail.
The department is in the process of notifying carriers of the shortfall and alerting communities of the potential effects.
Rep. Nick Begich, R-Alaska, told Alaska’s News Source that the government shutdown “didn’t have to happen.”
“Republicans passed a clean, responsible bill to keep the government open and ensure programs like EAS continue uninterrupted. The Democrats chose to hold these programs hostage to push a $1.5 trillion-dollar partisan spending spree that includes funding for undocumented immigrants and repeals funding targeted for our rural hospitals in Alaska,” Begich stated. “I will keep doing the work that Alaskans sent me to do to ensure programs essential for Alaska’s connectivity remain funded and operational.”
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