(Juneau) - State Senators and Representatives of communities served by the Alaska Marine Highway System have formed a Coastal Caucus to deal with specific issues that face coastal communities, it was announced today by Representative Jim Elkins (R-Ketchikan), who was one of the caucus organizers.

The major and overall commitment of this group is to protect and encourage funding for the Alaska Marine Highway as well as to voice relative community concerns. "This is a great chance for both Senators and Representatives to share concerns in order to ensure that the voices of our coastal communities are heard," Representative Elkins said.

The Caucus has held their first meeting and plans to meet again next week.

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