Alaska Senator Misses Key Meetings on Fisheries and Water Issues
Alaska’s fisheries and seafood industry is a significant economic driver, yet some meetings crucial to its future have seen a notable absentee: Senator Dan Sullivan. The Republican senator, who has been a member of the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) since 2015, has been frequently absent from its subcommittee sessions on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife.
Sullivan’s role on the EPW is significant given the committee’s influence over policies that impact Alaska’s $5.3 billion fishery and seafood industry. Despite this, records show that from 2021 to 2026, Sullivan missed half of the subcommittee’s eight hearings, a stark contrast to his previous attendance from 2015 to 2020 when he missed only one hearing.
In 2023, one of the missed hearings covered critical topics like water affordability and infrastructure. According to a 2021 study by McGill University, rural Alaskans face water costs that are ten times higher than those in Anchorage. This issue is pressing as water utility rates in the state are projected to rise by up to 5% this year.
Beyond committee meetings, Dan Sullivan ranks among the senators with the highest absentee rates. According to GovTrack, a site that tracks congressional activity, Sullivan is the 14th most frequently absent senator from 2015 to 2025, sharing this attendance record with Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell.
The implications of these absences are significant, as Sullivan missed several key votes, including a 2025 vote on the confirmation of Howard Lutnik as Commerce Secretary and a 2024 vote for Michael Sfraga’s appointment as the inaugural U.S. ambassador-at-large for Arctic Affairs, a role crucial to Alaska’s Indigenous populations.
Interestingly, in 2018, Sullivan missed a cloture vote for a farm bill he promoted, yet he later issued a press release highlighting his contribution to securing provisions beneficial to Alaskan fishermen and farmers.
As Sullivan campaigns for a third Senate term, he faces competition from former U.S. Representative Mary Peltola. According to an August Alaska Survey Research poll, Peltola has a slight lead over Sullivan by one point.
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