(ANCHORAGE) - Alaska Representative Tom Anderson (R-East Anchorage) has been selected to chair the Labor and Workforce Development Committee for the National Council of State Legislatures (NCSL), the pre-eminent bipartisan organization dedicated to providing an open, bipartisan, national forum for lawmakers to communicate with one another and share ideas. In his first term in office, Representative Anderson is chair of the House Labor and Commerce Committee and considers labor and workforce issues critical to Alaska's future.

Having just returned from Officer Orientation, Anderson said, "I feel very honored to represent the State of Alaska and serve as Chairman of the Labor and Workforce Development Committee. In the upcoming meetings we will debate and discuss issues that affect all states, worker's compensation, social security funding and retiree/employee health care costs."

Discussions will begin at the NCSL Fall Forum in Washington, D.C. from December 9-12, 2003. All of NCSL's 15 Standing Committees, lawmakers and staff will address the critical issues on legislative agendas, discuss important federal legislation that affects states with members of Congress and the administration and hear experts speak on ideas and solutions to difficult problems. There are four vice-chairs under Chairman Anderson, who are legislators from other states, and over 200 legislator members to the committee.

"I look forward to a productive year," Anderson said. "With the legislature working on solutions to Alaska's fiscal future, it will be important not to lose sight of those who keep the economy running, namely the working class. We need to make sure they are treated fairly and given every opportunity to get and keep a job as we move ahead in today's economic climate."

The National Conference of State Legislatures was founded in 1975 with the conviction that legislative service is one of democracy's worthiest pursuits. Representing the citizens of a district and the people of a state is the very essence of free government.

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