Sullivan Celebrates End of the Schumer Shutdown

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) thanked his House colleagues who voted tonight on legislation the Senate passed earlier this week to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. On Monday, November 10, Sen. Sullivan voted with 59 of his Senate colleagues for a bipartisan continuing resolution to reopen and fund the federal government through January 30, 2026. Sen. Sullivan previously voted 14 times to keep the government open and to end the shutdown, which was spearheaded by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). The bill also contains military construction and Veterans Affairs funding, legislative branch funding, and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding, including for the SNAP program, through the entirety of Fiscal Year 2026.

"For 43 days, thousands of Alaskans and millions of Americans have faced uncertainty about getting paid, putting food on the table, and supporting their families as the longest and most senseless government shutdown in history dragged on," Senator Sullivan said. "This shutdown was completely avoidable. It was spearheaded by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and congressional Democrats to hold the American people hostage as a means to-in their own words-gain 'leverage.' The American people should have never been used as political pawns.

"Thankfully, a bipartisan group of senators who I had been working with for weeks came together to reopen the government and get our essential federal workers paid-from TSA personnel and air traffic controllers to federal law enforcement and our military. The pause on SNAP benefits is over, meaning thousands of Alaskans can once again count on that support to feed their families. The appropriations bills we passed also included significant provisions that will greatly benefit Alaska, bringing hundreds of millions of dollars to our state for military construction, funding our veterans' care and benefits, and establishing a seafood industry liaison in the Department of Agriculture to advocate for Alaska's fishermen and coastal communities. I'm thankful the House and the President acted quickly to finish the job and ensure our government reopens. This is an important step forward in getting our country back on track."

Military Construction:

The bill includes $441 million in military construction funds for Alaska secured by Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, much of which was included for authorization by Sen. Sullivan in previous National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAA) and in this year's Senate-passed NDAA.

Included in the MILCON funding bill:

• $184 million for a barracks at Ft. Wainwright.
• $152 million for the Joint Integrated Testing and Training Center at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER).
• $46 million for a Base Supply Complex for the Alaska Air National Guard at JBER.
• $45 million to complete the runway extension at JBER.
• $7.7 million for the design of a new dining facility at Ft. Wainwright.
• $6.7 million for the design of a new base dormitory at Eielson Air Force Base.

Veterans Affairs:

The bill, passed by the House the day after Veterans Day, includes $133.2 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, including funds for mental health services for Alaska and the rest of the country, telehealth services, veterans homeless programs, suicide prevention programs, addiction treatment services, and hundreds of millions of dollars for rural health initiatives in Alaska and across the country. Alaska has the highest per capita veteran population in the country.

Seafood Industry Liaison:

Finally, among other important measures for Alaska, the USDA funding portion of the legislation establishes a seafood industry liaison in the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture to advocate for Alaska fishermen; and prohibits federal funds from being used to procure raw or processed seafood from China for USDA nutrition programs.

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