It's important that you are taking time to hear about the Alaska Natives Commission report, and I'm pleased to be able to add my thoughts to the record. It documents deep-seated problems, and provides a roadmap accomplishing significant progress. The report correctly and concisely identifies the most serious problem in much of rural Alaska. I believe the Number 1 tool for fixing the problems in rural Alaska is jobs .
Good jobs are the key to economic security.
Despite many of the grim statistics in the report, there has been considerable progress in some rural areas. Partnerships between the state and federal governments and Native corporations and organizations have been key to many of the successes. They help inject new fuel into what are often stagnant, slow-burning economies. That can be most clearly seen in the development of Prudhoe Bay, where partnering among Native corporations and oil support companies has provided economic opportunities for Native Alaskans. I saw it first-hand last winter when I visited a drilling rig on the North Slope.