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Sen. Mark Begich had this message for members of the Kenai business community: Whatever the issue, he's looking for long term, sustainable solutions rather than a political deal that has to be renegotiated every year.

Begich spoke during the Kenai Chamber of Commerce luncheon Wednesday, and gave a brief recap of what he said has been a very busy year in the Senate.

Begich noted some good news for Alaska: in addition to $1.6 billion in stimulus money flowing into the state, the U.S. military is making long-term plans for a pair of Alaska's bases. The missile defense system at Fort Greely near Delta Junction has become a priority, as has the radar installation at Clear Air Force Station near Anderson. What that means, Begich said, is that the military will occupy those bases for the foreseeable future.

Begich said part of his task has been to educate the Obama administration on issues important to Alaska, such as oil and gas exploration on the outer continental shelf and the need for a natural gas pipeline to the Lower 48.

"We know how important development is (in Alaska). We also recognize the gas line and its role. We wanted to make sure the Obama administration sees the gas line as a critical component to an energy policy," Begich said.

He said he's framed those issues in terms of the potential benefit to the entire nation, and he's been able to find some new allies along the way. For example, with new natural gas discoveries in the Lower 48, there's now much more interest, even on the Democratic side of the aisle, in oil and gas legislation.

"We have some unique allies that did not exist four or five years ago," Begich said.

On the issue of Cook Inlet beluga whales and their endangered species listing, Begich said his concern is that extra requirements could delay projects, even if the project was shown to have no impact on the beluga population.

"We're nervous, just like you, of what it could do economically to the state," Begich said.

On health care reform, Begich said the Senate version does not include a public option, but does have a mechanism to hold health insurance companies accountable. He said the bill would in essence replicate the health care program now available to federal employees, and include some important restrictions on the private insurers that would participate. Insurance companies would have to limit their profit margin to 1 percent, and would have to guarantee that 80 to 85 percent of every dollar paid in premiums goes to health care, rather than things like executive salaries. Begich said currently, the percentage of premiums actually spent on care is much lower.

Begich was asked about cap-and-trade legislation to deal with climate change, and said he thought that didn't have as much momentum in Congress as it did last year. Instead, he said he would focus on good energy legislation, and noted that such a bill would address the same issues as a climate bill -- developing new energy sources and new energy production technology, and finding more efficient means of delivering energy, would in effect help to curb emissions.

"If you get into that (climate change) debate, what's the goal? Energy," Begich said. "I think that's the better use of our time."

Will Morrow can be reached at will.morrow@peninsulaclarion.com.