Let Alaska lead: America's energy, security and Arctic future depend on it

The Hill

22-05-2025

In his first hours back in office, President Trump signed a series of executive orders aimed at unlocking Alaska's resource potential. This signaled to the world what many Alaskans have long known: The road to American prosperity, security and global leadership runs through the 49th state.
This renewed federal attention is not only welcome — it's long overdue.
With growing incursions by Russian and Chinese forces into Alaska's waters and airspace, America's northernmost state is no longer a distant outpost; it is the front line of a new global contest.
Meanwhile, the Arctic itself is changing. Warming oceans are opening new trade routes. Rival nations are racing to stake claims and build presence.
Yet while Moscow and Beijing have poured billions into Arctic infrastructure and military expansion, the U.S. has been dogged by underinvestment and, until now, a lack of serious engagement.
Alaska is the game-changer. Our vast reserves of oil, gas, coal, and critical minerals — including copper and rare earth elements — are essential to reducing U.S. dependence on hostile foreign suppliers. Its Arctic geography makes it indispensable to our national defense. And its communities, industries and Alaska Native leadership are ready to meet this historic moment.
That's why more than 100 of Alaska's business and community leaders representing oil and gas, mining, fisheries, tourism, forestry, transportation, construction and Native corporations have come together to deliver a unified message to Washington: Alaska is poised to deliver on the promise of William H. Seward when he pressed the U.S. to purchase the state from Russia in 1867. To use the state's untold resource wealth and strategic advantage for the benefit of the U.S.
Now is the time. We are ready. Let us lead.
This isn't abstract patriotism. It's a blueprint for national strength. According to a national poll from Public Opinion Strategies,
These numbers reflect bipartisan common sense. Alaska is not asking for a handout. We're asking for federal policies that unlock our ability to serve the nation. Policies grounded in science and strategy, not ideology.
Already, the shift is underway. Federal agencies are revisiting stalled development projects. Congress is debating investment in Arctic ports and military assets. And the White House has recognized the urgency, with new executive orders prioritizing domestic energy and mineral development, many of them with Alaska squarely in mind.
But momentum alone is not enough. We need commitment and partnership.
We need recognition that Alaska's role in the national interest goes far beyond beautiful images and nature documentaries. It is a state that feeds the world with its fisheries, powers the economy with its energy and connects America to the Arctic, where the next great power competition is already underway.
We also need to tell the full story. Alaska's Native communities are uniquely established with corporations that invest to benefit their Indigenous shareholders. The people who have lived in Alaska since time immemorial stand at the forefront of responsible development, advancing projects that blend innovation and science with traditional knowledge and environmental stewardship.
In Alaska, we don't see development and conservation as mutually exclusive, but as complementary forces working in tandem.
William H. Seward called Alaska the 'last star added to the American flag.' Today, it must become the first place America looks to solve the biggest challenges of our time: economic instability, resource scarcity and global insecurity.
The U.S. cannot win the race for energy independence, develop more robust supply chains, or influence the Arctic's future by looking inward or retreating. It must move forward with Alaska in the driver's seat.
We are ready. Let us lead.
Kati Capozzi serves as the president and CEO of Alaska Chamber, the state's most diverse business association, and is a passionate advocate for a healthy business environment in Alaska.