The Alaska House Finance Committee approved its draft of the operating budget, with a controversial dividend proposal that would require the state to drain roughly half of the state's rainy day fund to send every eligible Alaskan a statutory Permanent Fund dividend payment of around $3,800. Two House Finance co-chairs voted against setting the dividend according to an existing statute, instead favoring a smaller dividend of roughly $1,000 per eligible person. Nome Democratic Rep. Neal Foster supported the proposal, which would require $2.4 billion in state funds for the annual payments, including $1.4 from the Constitutional Budget Reserve. The remaining portion of the statutory $3.800 dividend would only be paid only if lawmakers succeed in accessing the Constitutional budget Reserve account, which requires support from three-quarters of members in the House and Senate. The proposal has been controversial as rural Alaskans struggle with rising costs.