Funding to purchase the Aiviq icebreaker, seen here towing a mobile drilling rig about 100 miles southwest of Kodiak, was cut from $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package passed by Congress. According both of Alaska’s Republican senators, it is a disappointing cut. (Courtesy / U.S. Coast Guard)

Funding to purchase the Aiviq icebreaker, seen here towing a mobile drilling rig about 100 miles southwest of Kodiak, was cut from $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package passed by Congress. According both of Alaska’s Republican senators, it is a disappointing cut. (Courtesy / U.S. Coast Guard)

Icebreaker plan hits snag after funding cut

$150M allocation pulled late, Murkowski says; multiple Juneau-based projects still receive funding.

This article has been updated to include additional information.

A late change in the Senate to the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package passed by Congress axed funding to purchase a privately owned icebreaker that had a preferred home port of Juneau.

A $150 million authorization for the vessel to be purchased by the U.S. Coast Guard was removed from the bill that both avoids a government shutdown and provides significant aid to Ukraine.

The removal of funding is disappointing, both of Alaska’s Republican senators said.

“It’s very frustrating to all of us,” said U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski during a news conference Friday afternoon.

Josh Wilson, interim communications director for Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat, said Peltola echoes those sentiments.

“Representative Peltola joins Senator Murkowski and Senator Sullivan in being extremely disappointed in the removal of the Icebreaker funding,” Wilson said. “We haven’t gotten a clear answer on why that happened yet.”

Murkowski described the cut as a “temporary setback” and said she will continue to push for its advancement in the future. She did express her concerns that the 10-year-old Aiviq icebreaker, which has been eyed by lawmakers, could be purchased by another entity and the recent move to cut the funding opens the doors to that possibility.

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, who voted against the omnibus bill, cited the sudden removal of funding among the reasons he objected to a bill. In a prepared statement released Thursday, Sullivan stated the package was approved without sufficient time for lawmakers to analyze the bill.

“This was a priority for the Alaska delegation,” he stated. “In the final hours of this opaque omnibus process, these funds were removed. By whom and for what reason, is not clear. This decision could further set back our nation’s ability to provide a persistent presence in the Arctic for years. This is a major disappointment for our state and country.”

According to an explanatory statement submitted by Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat who chairs the Senate Committee on Appropriations, the committee was concerned with the potential cost to convert the icebreaker for Coast Guard operations and a search for a commercially available icebreaker will be expanded to include foreign countries. Previously, finding a U.S. built ship was prioritized.

The Coast Guard has been asked to brief the committee on an updated procurement plan in the future.

According to City and Borough of Juneau City Manager Rorie Watt, the funding cut does not change any of the city’s plans or decision-making in preparation for the icebreaker. He said the city will continue to prepare for the next opportunity.

[Downtown port development plans make winter waves: City discusses assisting private developers with proposed cruise ship dock with eye on icebreaker]

“I don’t think it affects anything at all,” Watt said. “It is Congress — Congress is complicated and until something is a done deal, we should make sure the next time there’s an opportunity where we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot.”

It has been a long-standing desire for Alaska to homeport an icebreaker, with proposals to purchase the Aiviq icebreaker dating back to 2015, most notably advocated for by former U.S. Rep. Don Young, who died in March. The procurement of the icebreaker has been seen as controversial, in part due to leaders from the Coast Guard having stated in the past that the Aiviq is “not suitable for military service without substantial refit.”

Though the bill cut funding for the icebreaker, more than 130 Alaska community projects totalling nearly $500 million were included, containing multiple Juneau-based projects.

■ $2.5 was allocated to CBJ to design and construct a commercial-scale compost facility. According to Watt, the process to get the facility up and running in Juneau will likely be “long and complicated” and will require multiple Assembly actions. He said he hopes it becomes a catalyst for further waste diversionary projects.

■ $870,000 was allocated to renovate and expand the Juneau Alliance for Mental Health, Inc. Health and Wellness specialty behavioral health facility.

■ $750,00 was allocated to establish and operate a commercial driver’s license education training program at Juneau’s University of Alaska Southeast.

“We all recognize that one of the challenges with our workforce right now is we don’t have enough people to drive buses, to drive trucks and heavy equipment,” Murkowski said. She said the use of the funding for the program will be determined by UAS.

• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651)-528-1807. Follow her on Twitter at @clariselarson.

More in News

The Norwegian Bliss arrives in Juneau on Monday, April 14, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Ships in port for the week of May 11

This information comes from the Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska’s 2024 schedule.… Continue reading

Boxes of sugary cereal, including those from General Mills, fill a store’s shelves on April 16, 2025, in Miami, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
US House Republican plan would force states to pay for a portion of SNAP benefits

State costs would increase with higher error rates — Alaska currently has the highest.

Juneau Board of Education members including Will Muldoon (foreground), whose seat is currently open after he resigned April 21, meet at Thunder Mountain Middle School on Sept. 10, 2024. Five candidates for the open seat are scheduled to be interviewed on Saturday at TMMS. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Five people seeking open seat on Juneau school board set for public interviews on Saturday at TMMS

Former board member Steve Whitney, recent runner-up candidate Jenny Thomas among applicants.

Jörg Knorr, a solo travel journalist from Flensburg, Germany, smiles after taking a photo on Sunday, May 11, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
German kayaker sets off to circumnavigate Admiralty Island

He made friends along the way in his mission to see Alaska.

A cruise ship docks in downtown Juneau on April 30, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
As foreign tourists stay away, US could lose $12.5 billion this year, tourism group says

Border detentions, confusion over visas deterring visitors, according to World Travel & Tourism Council.

Phase One of the HESCO barriers ends in the backyard of this residence on Rivercourt Way on Monday, May 12, 2025. The next extension, Phase One A, will install the barriers along the river adjacent to Dimond Park from the end of Rivercourt Way, interconnecting through a gap in the back fence. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Juneau Assembly approves extending HESCO barriers

After reviewing flood-fighting inundation maps, additional short-term mitigation deemed necessary.

House Majority Leader Chuck Kopp (R-Anchorage), right, presents an overview of a bill reviving pensions for public employees during a House floor session Monday, May 12, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
House passes bill reviving pensions for public employees, Senate expected to consider it next year

Supporters say it avoids pitfalls in previous system nixed in 2006 due to multibillion-dollar shortfall.

Members of the Alaska Senate watch the votes for and against Senate Bill 26 on Monday, May 12, 2025, in Juneau. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska senators vote to end daylight saving time, ask feds to put state on Pacific Standard Time

Alaska would be on the same time zone as Seattle for four months of the year is bill becomes law.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Sunday, May 11, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Most Read