Four years later, the first Alaskan statehood bill was proposed in Congress. Opponents argued that Alaska was far away, disconnected from the other states and little populated. Only about 58,000 people lived there at the time. Today, its economy is tied to a large extent to the oil and natural gas industry and oil and gas was found in 1968 near some famous mountains. After the largest oil and gas field in North America was discovered by more and more people the pipeline to the Alaska was built. The field began production in 1977. Another important industry in Alaska is tourism, which directly pumps a billion and a half dollars a year into the state economy, much of it involving cruise ships. 9% of Alaska's total employment is in tourism.