U.S. Rep. Don Young answers a reporter’s question after filing paperwork for reelection at the Alaska Division of Elections in Anchorage, Alaska. Young, the longest-serving member of Alaska’s congressional delegation, died Friday, March 18, 2022. He was 88. (AP Photo / Mark Thiessen)

U.S. Rep. Don Young answers a reporter’s question after filing paperwork for reelection at the Alaska Division of Elections in Anchorage, Alaska. Young, the longest-serving member of Alaska’s congressional delegation, died Friday, March 18, 2022. He was 88. (AP Photo / Mark Thiessen)

Rep. Don Young to lie in state at US Capitol

By KEVIN FREKING

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Rep. Don Young, the longest-serving Republican in House history, will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol on March 29, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Monday.

Young’s office announced the congressman’s death in a statement Friday night. He was 88.

Young, who was first elected to the House in 1973, was known for his brusque style and for bringing federal investment to the state. He was elected in 2020 to serve his 25th term as Alaska’s only member.

Pelosi’s office said a formal ceremony will be held with the Young family, which will be open to invited guests. Following the memorial service, there will be viewing open to members of Congress. Lying in state is an honor traditionally bestowed upon American political and military leaders. Young will lie in state in National Statuary Hall.

Pelosi had said after Young’s passing that he was an “institution” in Congress.

“The photographs of him with ten presidents of both parties who signed his bills into law that proudly cover the walls of his Rayburn office are a testament to his longevity and his legislative mastery,” she said.

President Joe Biden said few legislators left a greater mark on their state than Young.

“Don’s legacy lives on in the infrastructure projects he delighted in steering across Alaska,” Biden said.

Most recently, Young won $23.7 million for Alaska for water, road and other projects in the government-wide $1.5 trillion spending bill Biden signed into law this week, according to an analysis of that bill by The Associated Press. It is one of the highest amounts for home-district projects that any House member had in the legislation.

Earlier, he was one of only 13 Republicans who voted for a roughly $1 trillion package of road and other infrastructure projects, which he described as perhaps the country’s “last best chance” to make the federal investments necessary to strengthen the country’s infrastructure needs for the next century and beyond.

Young came to Alaska in 1959, the same year Alaska became a state, and credited Jack London’s “Call of the Wild,” which his father used to read to him, for drawing him north.

Young served as chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee from 1995 to 2001 and then as the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee from 2001-2007.

More in News

Shrubs grow outside of the Kenai Courthouse on Monday, July 3, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Anchor Point man indicted for 3 shootings at Homer family planning clinic, recovery center

The grand jury returned 12 counts total for the three shootings

The entrance to the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center is barricaded on Overland Avenue in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Citing dangerous drivers, Kenai closes one entrance to visitor’s center

The barricade will be removed temporarily on Friday for Christmas Comes to Kenai festivities

A Kenai Peninsula Food Bank truck in the Food Bank parking lot on Aug. 4, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Food bank seeks turkey donations as Thanksgiving nears

The local food bank is calling for donations of $25 to “Adopt-A-Turkey” for a local family in need

Seward City Hall is seen under cloudy skies in Seward, Alaska, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Seward budget hearing covers bed tax, wages, emergency medical services

The Seward City Council on Nov. 12 considered a series of legislative items connected to 2025 and 2026 budget

The results of ranked choice tabulation show Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, winning reelection in the race for Senate District D. (Screenshot/Gavel Alaska)
Bjorkman, Vance win reelection after tabulation of ranked choice ballots

An effort to repeal ranked choice voting and the open primary system was very narrowly defeated

Jacob Caldwell, chief executive officer of Kenai Aviation, stands at the Kenai Aviation desk at the Kenai Municipal Airport on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Aviation, Reeve Air submit proposals to bring air service back to Seward

Scheduled air service has been unavailable in Seward since 2002

Erosion damage to the southbound lane of Homer Spit Road is seen on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, following a storm event on Saturday in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
City, DOT work to repair storm damage to Spit road

A second storm event on Saturday affected nearly a mile of the southbound lane

Kenaitze Indian Tribe Education Director Kyle McFall speaks during a special meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Charter school proposed by Kenaitze Indian Tribe given approval by school board

The application will next be forwarded to the State Department of Education and Early Department

Suzanne Phillips, who formerly was a teacher at Aurora Borealis Charter School, speaks during a special meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Aurora Borealis charter renewal clears school board

The school is seeking routine renewal of its charter through the 2035-2036 school year

Most Read