107 Facts About Don Young

Donald Edwin Young was an American politician in Alaska.

Don Young was the longest-serving Republican in congressional history, having been the US representative for for 49 years, from 1973 until his death in 2022.

Don Young worked various careers, including sailing and teaching, in the small city of Fort Yukon, where he was elected mayor in 1964.

Don Young entered state politics two years later, when he won a seat in the Alaska House of Representatives, and advanced to the Alaska Senate in 1970.

Don Young ran in a special election to fill the vacant post the following year, defeating Democrat Emil Notti.

In Congress, Don Young chaired the House Resources Committee from 1995 to 2001 and the House Transportation Committee from 2001 to 2007.

Don Young became the 45th dean of the United States House of Representatives in December 2017, after John Conyers resigned.

Don Young was the last serving incumbent member of Congress who was first elected during the Nixon administration.

Donald Edwin Young was born on June 9,1933, in Meridian, Sutter County, California, the second of three sons of Russell Lawhead "Cy" Young Sr.

Don Young earned an associate's degree in education from Yuba College in 1952 and a bachelor's degree from Chico State College in 1958.

Don Young moved to Alaska in 1959, not long after it became a state.

Don Young eventually settled in Fort Yukon, then a city of 700 on the Yukon River, seven miles above the Arctic Circle in Alaska's central interior region.

Don Young made a living in construction, fishing, trapping, and gold mining.

Don Young captained a tugboat and ran a barge operation to deliver products and supplies to villages along the Yukon River.

At the time of his death, Don Young still held his mariner's license.

Don Young ran for the Alaska House of Representatives in 1964, but finished tenth, with the top seven candidates being elected for the multi-member district.

Don Young was elected to the State House in 1966 and reelected in 1968.

Don Young served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 1967 to 1971.

Don Young said he "loved" the job before he "got ambitious" and ran for the Alaska Senate in 1970.

Don Young served in the Alaska Senate from 1971 to 1973.

Don Young was elected to the two-member District I alongside long-serving Republican State Senator John Butrovich.

Don Young said he "hated" the state senate and, after encouragement from his first wife, ran for Congress in 1972.

In 1972, Don Young ran for Congress against incumbent Democrat Nick Begich.

Don Young won the resulting special election to fill the seat in March 1973.

Don Young was reelected 24 times, usually without significant opposition, although he faced strong challenges in the 2008 primary election and in the 1974,1990, and 1992 elections.

Don Young was the most senior US Representative and, after Jim Sensenbrenner retired, the last member who has been in office since the 1970s.

Don Young was the second-highest-ranking Republican on the Natural Resources and Transportation and Infrastructure committees.

Don Young chaired the former from 1995 to 2001 and the latter from 2001 to 2007.

Don Young was the subject of an extensive FBI investigation but was not charged with wrongdoing.

Don Young was the subject of a House Ethics Committee probe.

Don Young ran against Begich in 1972 and placed second in the August 22 open primary with 13,958 votes to Begich's 37,873.

Don Young ran in the special election on March 6,1973, and defeated Democrat Emil Notti, 35,044 votes to 33,123.

Don Young won a full term in 1974 with 51,641 votes to Democratic State Senator Willie Hensley's 44,280.

Don Young was sworn into the House of Representatives on March 14,1973.

Don Young credited his victory to his leadership of the fight for the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline System.

In 1984 and 1986, Don Young defeated Nick Begich's widow, Pegge Begich, 113,582 votes to 86,052, and 101,799 votes to 74,053, respectively.

Don Young defeated him by 99,003 votes to 91,677 in 1990 and then faced a serious challenge in 1992.

Don Young was challenged in the Republican primary by State Senator Virginia M Collins and defeated her by 24,869 votes to 19,774.

Don Young received 213,216 votes against Thomas Higgins in 2004, the most votes he ever received in a single election.

Don Young won by 304 votes, and Parnell declined to seek a recount.

Don Young faced a challenge from Democrat Ethan Berkowitz, the 46-year-old former minority leader in the Alaska House of Representatives.

Don Young was challenged in the Republican primary by John R Cox and Sheldon Fisher, a former telecommunications executive, winning with 74,117 votes.

Don Young defeated Democratic State Representative Harry Crawford in the general election, 175,384 votes to 77,606.

In 2012, Don Young drew two challengers in the Republican party, but defeated them with 58,789 votes.

In 2014, Don Young received 79,393 votes in the Republican primary against three challengers.

Don Young was the only statewide incumbent in Alaska to win reelection that year, as Republican Governor Sean Parnell was defeated by Independent Bill Walker, and Democratic US Senator Mark Begich was defeated by Republican Dan Sullivan.

In 2016, Don Young received 38,998 votes in the Republican primary against three challengers.

In 2018, Don Young defeated Alyse Galvin, an Independent candidate who had won the combined Alaska Democratic Party, Alaska Libertarian Party and Alaskan Independence Party primary.

At the start of the 116th Congress, Don Young was the longest-serving current House member.

Don Young chaired the committee until 2001, then chairing the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure from 2001 to 2007.

In March 1998, Don Young brought a bill to the House floor allowing voters in Puerto Rico to vote on continuing its commonwealth status or becoming either a state or independent.

In 2007, Don Young was investigated as a part of the Alaska political corruption probe for his ties to the oil and gas company VECO Corporation.

In 2012, Don Young endorsed then-Representative Mazie Hirono in the Democratic primary for the United States Senate.

In March 2013, Don Young used the ethnic slur "wetbacks" during a radio interview to describe Latino migrants who worked at his father's ranch when he was growing up.

Don Young issued a statement later that day saying that he "meant no disrespect" and that he "used a term that was commonly used during my days growing up on a farm in central California".

In May 2016, Don Young wrote a letter to the Clerk of the US House of Representatives stating that for 25 years he had failed to disclose his inherited interest in a family farm in California on which he and other family members had signed oil and gas leases; Don Young said the omissions to his financial reporting were accidental.

In 2017, former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives John Boehner told Politico that Don Young had once pinned him against a wall inside the House and held a 10-inch knife to his throat.

The exchange led to a temporary suspension of proceedings: upon their resumption, Don Young acknowledged in an address to the floor that his comments were "out of order" and apologized to Jayapal; she accepted.

On November 5,2021, Don Young was among the 13 House Republicans to break with their party and vote with a majority of Democrats for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Don Young's views on abortion were largely anti-abortion during his congressional career: he voted for the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act while making exception for maternal endangerment and favored stripping federal funds from Planned Parenthood.

Don Young was a longstanding supporter of opening lands within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration.

Don Young included provisions to that effect in 12 bills that have passed the House, but environmentalists concerned with the impact of road-building, pipelines and other development on the Arctic tundra landscape have successfully defeated such legislation in the Senate.

Don Young questioned public funding of the arts, but in his later years supported legislation increasing funding for the National Endowment for the Arts.

At an assembly at Fairbanks' West Valley High School in 1995, Don Young was answering questions about cutting federal funding for the arts.

Part of the concern about the bridge is that if it were built, it would significantly enhance the value of property in which Don Young's son-in-law owned an interest.

Don Young was listed as the third-worst congressman by Rolling Stone, and dubbed "Mr Pork" due to his involvement in the Gravina Island "Bridge to Nowhere".

Don Young supported a number of efforts to reform cannabis laws in Congress.

In February 2017, Don Young launched the Congressional Cannabis Caucus with Representatives Earl Blumenauer, Dana Rohrabacher, and Jared Polis.

Don Young toured several cannabis facilities in Alaska in October 2019.

In 2020, Don Young was one of only five House Republicans to vote for the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act.

In 2021, Don Young introduced the Gun Rights and Marijuana Act to allow the ownership of firearms by people who use cannabis in accordance with state law.

Also in 2021, Don Young introduced the Cannabis Reform for Veterans, Small Businesses, and Medical Professionals Act to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and direct federal agencies to develop regulations for cannabis similar to alcohol.

Don Young voted for the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which provided reparations for Japanese Americans imprisoned by the US government during World War II.

Don Young attended Reagan's official signing ceremony for the bill.

Don Young voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which clarified the 1964 civil rights act in response to several controversial US Supreme Court cases.

Don Young supported an increase in the federal gasoline tax to keep pace with the continued rise in gasoline efficiency of automobiles.

Don Young later clarified that he was attempting to urge calm.

On November 6,2020, Don Young was photographed maskless at a birthday party for a staff member in an Anchorage restaurant.

In September 2019, Don Young called the investigation and the Trump impeachment inquiry "a waste of time".

Don Young voted against the first and second impeachments of Trump.

On November 7,2020, Don Young was one of the first Republicans to acknowledge and congratulate Joe Biden on his victory in the 2020 presidential election.

On January 6,2021, Don Young affirmed Biden's victory by voting against the objections to counting electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania.

Don Young was a strong supporter of Biden's nominee for United States Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland.

Don Young called Haaland, a Democrat, a friend and said it was "a long time overdue" for the US to have a Native American interior secretary.

Haaland asked Don Young to introduce her at her confirmation hearing before the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Don Young said he believed the Environmental Protection Agency should not regulate greenhouse gases, and that it kills jobs.

Don Young said he wanted to see a clean repeal of the Affordable Care Act, but said in March 2017 that he would not vote on an earlier version of the AHCA because it would have too negative an impact on health care costs in Alaska.

For those reasons, Don Young was a key House member preventing the AHCA from going to a vote.

An organization called Save My Care spent $500,000 to release a series of attack ads against 24 House members who voted for the AHCA, including one about Don Young that decried his vote, claiming it would raise health care costs for Alaskans.

In 2015, Don Young issued a statement saying that while he believed marriage should be between a man and a woman, he recognizes that the law is settled on this issue, and stated that he accepts the Supreme Court decision ruling same-sex marriage bans as unconstitutional.

In 2021, Don Young was one of 29 Republicans to vote to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.

In 2021, Don Young was one of 33 Republicans to vote for the LGBTQ Business Equal Credit Enforcement and Investment Act.

Don Young frequently earned the support of organized labor, and in the 116th Congress, voted in support of the pro-union PRO Act, which would make it easier for workers to certify unions, augment how employers classify laborers and prevent laborers from being denied rights on the basis of their immigration status.

Don Young voted to make lynching a federal crime and supported House passage of the First Step Act, which reforms sentencing laws to reduce recidivism and decrease the federal inmate population.

Don Young voted for legislation authorizing the creation of a Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys.

In 2021, Don Young cosponsored and voted for the EQUAL Act, which eliminates the federal sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powdered cocaine.

On October 21,2014, Don Young addressed an assembly of students at Wasilla High School shortly after a student there committed suicide.

Don Young was one of 33 Republicans to vote to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, which included his amendment to help end violence against indigenous women.

Don Young said he did not believe in conducting town halls.

Don Young was not implying that an armed Jewish population would have been able to prevent the horrors of the Holocaust, but his intended message is that disarming citizens can have detrimental consequences.

In 2019, Don Young was the sole Republican to vote for the Humanitarian Standards for Individuals in Customs and Border Protection Custody Act, which set minimum standards for Customs and Border Patrol detention facilities, including requiring health screenings and ensuring that basic needs of detained migrants, such as access to food and water for detainees, are met.

In 1963 Don Young married Lula Fredson, who worked as a bookkeeper in Fort Yukon.

Don Young was a Gwich'in and the youngest child of early-20th-century Gwich'in leader John Fredson.

Don Young volunteered her time serving as the manager of Young's Washington, DC congressional office.

On March 18,2022, Don Young was on a flight from Los Angeles to Seattle while traveling to Alaska.

Don Young lay in state in the US Capitol's National Statuary Hall on March 29,2022, before his memorial service.

Don Young was the 43rd person to have this honor since 1852.