I came down to give my farewell remarks, but before I do, I have to make a comment about Senator Coburn. Senator Coburn is absolutely what many people said about his word. Yesterday was an example of that when he resolved an issue. There…
I came down to give my farewell remarks, but before I do, I have to make a comment about Senator Coburn. Senator Coburn is absolutely what many people said about his word. Yesterday was an example of that when he resolved an issue.
There is always activity after the Senate, and I wish my friend from Oklahoma the best.
Farewell To The Senate
I thank the Presiding Officer for allowing me to speak on my 6 years of serving in this body. It has been a true honor to serve with the Presiding Officer in the short time he has been here and to serve with all of my colleagues, but it has been an even bigger honor to serve my fellow Alaskans.
Alaska is a huge State--660,000 square miles. More than--to my friends from Texas and California, please don't take this personally-- double and triple the size of States such as Texas and California.
But Alaska is a very small place in many ways. People make personal connections with their elected official. At the end of the day, we pretty much know everybody one way or another. Alaskans will more than likely will see me at a checkout stand at Andy's Hardware or Home Depot or hanging Christmas lights at my wife's store or doing errands with my son Jacob that at times he is not very anxious to do. It is a small State, and they will more likely see me doing that than on the floor making speeches or on C-SPAN.
When Alaskans contacted me with an idea or complaint or problem, we made sure we responded. After 6 years in the Senate, I am most proud of the work with helping Alaskans and their families. My office responded to more than 360,000 individual letters and emails and phone calls from Alaskans. To put it in perspective, 360,000 is roughly half the population of the State.
Much of my staff is here with me on the floor today. I thank them for their unwavering service to their fellow Alaskans. Truly I have the best of the best. Some of them worked with me when I was mayor and are now working for me as a Senator. Many will go on and continue to do incredible work not only for Alaskans but for this country. I thank them.
We took on 3,000 individual casework cases to help Alaskans navigate the Federal Government. We helped them get their Social Security checks, made sure the local post office actually delivers the mail, and in Alaska that is important. We fought for benefits for individual veterans.
I am also proud of the great policy work we did. When I say we, it is because sometimes ideas came from Alaskans, sometimes they came from this body, sometimes I would have a crazy idea I would write down on a sheet of paper, but at the end of the day it was my staff that did the work.
Opening Alaska's arctic lands and waters to responsible resource development--NPR-A, CD-5, Beaufort and Chukchi. We also helped to convince the EPA to free up permits for Kensington and Greens Creek mines.
The Arctic. When I first came to the office, I have to say that not everybody knew where the Arctic was. Some didn't even know it was an ocean, to be frank with you, but that is not the case today. Some of my colleagues probably got tired of hearing me always talk about Alaska no matter what they were discussing.
I see my friend Al Franken is here, and I know he remembers this story. He draws incredible maps of the United States, and he does it all freehand. I remember him drawing a map one day, and I said: You missed two things, Alaska and Hawaii.
He said: Well, when I drove around the country with my parents, they were not States, they were just territories, and the maps they bought were maps of the lower 48. So I sent him a dot-to-dot of Alaska, and he sent me back a nice letter with a map of Alaska he had drawn.
No matter what conversation my colleagues might be having on an issue, I would manage to weave in Alaska.
The Arctic has unbelievable potential. We just touched the tip of the iceberg and there is more work to be done.
Working on defense is important to Alaska. It is important that we keep our military bases secure by saving F-16s at Eielson and getting F-35s next. We need to make sure that the benefits for those who are serving continue to be there for them.
It is incredible to hear stories from veterans when they talk about the new model of care we developed over 2\1/2\, 3 years ago. Our State has 77,000 veterans. When I was campaigning in 2008, I had an idea that I called the Hero's Health Card, and I remember when I got into office, people said it will never happen. People who know me know that when you say never or no, that means yes, they just didn't spell it properly, and I have to figure out what to do.
Today in Alaska, it doesn't matter if you are a veteran in the smallest rural communities or the biggest cities, you
will get health care and access to it through our tribal health care delivery system--the first in the Nation.
One time when I was in Bethel, this gentleman who was a veteran came up to me when I was in the VFW Hall. A lot of us have been in VFW halls, and you know that when someone comes at you at an aggressive pace, it is probably not a positive situation, but you have to engage them in a conversation. He held his hand out and showed me his scars, and he said that he had to go to Anchorage to get this taken care of, and you told me I could go down to my clinic and get it taken care of, but it didn't happen. I was about to say something, but before I could get a word out, he said: Do you know what I get to do because of what you did? Every single week now when I need therapy, I can go down the street in Bethel instead of flying to Anchorage to get it done. That is a model of how to do the right thing.
Alaska is well known for fisheries. I don't mean to pick on Senator Franken, but I remember him coming up to me because we coined a phrase on modified engineered fish which we called the ``Frankenfish.'' It was not about the Senator, but it was about this fish that was chemically enhanced and would really destroy the fisheries in Alaska and would be bad for the market and bad for consumers. We fought over that issue because Alaskans brought it to our attention every single day.
I just mentioned some of the things we did for native rural health care, which was not just about Alaska. When we discussed an issue in our office, we asked: Can we do it for Alaska, and does it have an international impact? Will it impact the rest of the United States in a positive way?
I remember hearing and reading about the money the Federal Government owed to our tribes which had not been paid for two decades. It was money for clinical services they produced. We did some things, and the net result was Alaska received over $500 million in settlements over the last year. On top of that, many tribes across the country now have almost three-quarters of a billion dollars, money owed by the government for services delivered to individuals. And earlier this week we were able to pass another piece taking away the restriction on our tribes in Alaska so they can now, under the Violence Against Women Act--and we hope the House passes it--to be able to dispense and do tribal government in the sense of our justice system improving the situation on the ground when it comes to sexual assault, domestic violence, and substance abuse.
There are a lot of examples. It is hard when we talk about these because there are a lot of great things that have been done, not just individually but collectively. But in this place we spend a lot of time talking about doom and gloom and how the sky is falling and always the worst-case scenario.
We have come a long way in the last 6 years. The people who know me know I don't care how bad the situation is, I am positive about it because there is always another day to solve these problems and make things happen.
I think about where we were when I came to the Senate. I remember coming on this floor as a freshman in 2009, and the chaos of this economy was unbelievable. We were losing 600,000 jobs a month--equal to the whole population of my State--unemployed, boom, gone. Unemployment was around 10 percent. The stock market was at 6,500. Two of the largest automobile companies in this country were flat on their backs. No housing starts were happening. The market was crashing. The deficit was $1.4 trillion per year. As a new Member, I wasn't sure what I had gotten myself into, to be frank. Some of the Members who came with me were trying to figure out, What did we get? But we didn't sit around.
I know we always hear this doom and gloom out there. When we look back over 6 years, we remember we had some battles here, and most people think we don't do anything. But where are we today? We are 17,000-plus in the stock market today.
I can tell my colleagues that Alaskans saw this because every year--I know I hear from other Members who ask me this question all the time-- we get a permanent fund check. It is based on investments we make, and it is based on revenues we receive from oil and gas. That permanent fund check doubled this year from $800 to over $1,900. Why did it double? Because it is based on the stock market average of the last 5 years. We dropped off 2009, so the market was doing better. Every Alaskan felt what this economy has done. So when the naysayers are out there speaking, it is just not accurate.
GM and Ford and Chrysler have added over half a million good-paying jobs. Unemployment is at 5.8 percent--almost a 50-percent drop. Over 10 million new jobs and the longest stretch of private sector growth on record--56 months. Just last week--I know we always hear it is not good enough. Of course, but it is a heck of a lot better.
I remember the chaos on this floor during those 3 or 4 months and as a new Member what we had to go through.
The deficit has dropped by $1 trillion a year. We are down to about $480 billion now. We have sliced off $1 trillion a year from the deficit.
In Alaska we have seen some incredible things. Anchorage unemployment is at 4.9 percent. There are more jobs in mining and timber than ever before. Tourism has risen to nearly 1 million visitors. There are 78,000 people in the fishery industry.
It is important to remember that this is just a moment in time of challenges we have as a body and as a country. It is important to remember that there is a lot of work ahead of us. But we have accomplished a lot. But we spend a lot of time on this floor debating what is bad about this country.
A lot of us are coming to the floor and giving our farewell speeches and talking about good things. There are a lot of good things we should be proud of as a country. I am proud of what we have done over the last 6 years. This country is back on track. We have more work to do to make sure people's incomes rise, but that is starting to happen now.
The challenge for my colleagues who are still here and for this country is--it has been an incredible honor to be in this body, but what do we do to make sure we move forward so we don't have this as a platform of negative attitudes and views but about opportunity and possibilities; not about things that we sit here and try to figure out how to kill but what we try to do to improve and give new ideas a chance.
I said it earlier: I am a very optimistic person. I believe what is possible today can be even better tomorrow. But it is incumbent on people to believe it, to want to do it, to put aside their differences where we can. I will tell my colleagues, that is why fewer Alaskans are party registered and more are nonparty registered in our State than in most States--because our view is that we don't care about the party; what we care about is getting things done. We are trying to find the answer to yes rather than trying to find the way to no.
My staff has always, and it is a struggle sometimes--and I have a great staff, as I said earlier, some from Alaska, some from here, and some from across the country, people who I don't understand why they continue to subject themselves to working for me after the mayor's office, and then they came here. I always told them that what mattered was not who sponsored the bill but whether it is a good idea. If it is a good idea, then let's move forward, try to find an answer, try to solve the problem.
The positive attitude we have to have is not only important for this body, but it is important for this country. In a weird way, they love us and they hate us. The poll numbers show they don't love us too much--13 percent. But on the flip side, they look to us. They look to us for certainty and guidance and where we might take them. The pundits are different, but the people look to us. I see it when I go to stores, when I am out and about. People may be angry with us, but they want to know what we are going to do to solve these incredible problems, and it will be incumbent upon the next Congress to sit down and work together. It is going to be tough because the politics of the day are about the moment in time, not about the long term. This is an incredible challenge that has to be dealt with in some way.
I have spent a lot of time trying to, as I said, do what I can; it didn't matter whose idea it was. I listened to Senator Coburn speak. I remember one
day we were working on an issue--essential air service. Some of us have that in our States. Senator Coburn was against it. I remember having a conversation with him and trying to explain that between one airport and the next is 1,200 miles. There is no road. There is no way to get to it. At the end of the day we were able to resolve that issue and move forward.
I think of all the things that have been accomplished in this body but how little people know about it. In an odd way, over these last few days more of the positive issues are out there. I hope the press covers them. We will see. But we live in a world where it is better to talk about the negative because that seems to be what thrives. I hope that changes.
Let me end by sharing a couple of other quick thoughts. There are a lot of great stories about being here in the Senate. Someone asked me one day: Do you write these down? And I said no.
I remember I was in Sitka, AK, and I was headed to the airport. I got to the airport, and the attendant there was checking my ticket, and he said: Oh, wait, Mr. Begich. We have something for you.
It was a wrapped gift at the airport.
I said: Great.
Now, people who care about the TSA, please ignore what I am about to say. They just handed it to me. I took it. I opened it, and it was one of those empty books that say: Please write down your thoughts and your notes. They are incredible thoughts.
I remember I was coming through--people will remember when it snowed like crazy. Well, people from DC thought it snowed like crazy. I did not. I knew one thing, and that is about how the plows work, being a former mayor. I thought to myself, I can't leave my car on the street because they will plow me in, especially in this place, or they will attempt to. So I and my son Jacob--we got our snow shovels, did our shoveling, and then drove the car to another area. Then I realized--we were dressed in what I call Alaska good garb. And then I realized that I had to get back to the house because I had this snow shovel and he had a snow shovel. It was on the other side of the Capitol. So what did we do? People who know me know I don't really follow all the rules around this place. We started walking through the Capitol with our snow shovels over our shoulders. The place was empty. I realized what an incredible place this is. First, we were allowed to walk through with snow shovels. It was dead silent. If my colleagues have never done that, they should. You walk through the Capitol and you just see the history, and in a small way, we were a part of it.
I did break another rule. This is confession time. I am a Catholic, I can do that. We came into this Chamber. I had the corner desk over here. Why did I pick that desk? A lot of people don't know this story. Why did I do that? One, I was a junior Member, but No. 2, I wanted that desk because that is where the candy box was, and I knew every Member would have to go there sooner or later, and I thought I could spend some time talking to them. And maybe I would have a candy box, which I did. I had special candies from my wife's store.
One day I came in here late at night with my son, and we sat right there. I know the security guards probably didn't see us. We took a photo. Yes, I broke the rules. I took a photo of my son sitting there, and I will cherish that photo forever.
As my son once said--and I said it on this floor one time--about how important it is to get things done and the battle we were having--I remember I actually quoted my son on the floor, and I think I shocked somebody. I was talking to him about something, and he said: Dad, just suck it up. I thought, only from a young kid do you hear what you have to do sometimes.
Now, I didn't forget her; I just wanted to wait until the end. I know I am breaking the rules, but my wife is right up there. I am pointing to her. Yes, I am, Sergeant at Arms. Too bad. I am acknowledging her. She has been incredible. She has allowed me to do my public service, to fly those 20 hours every weekend to and from Alaska. She has taken care of Jacob when I couldn't. I love her dearly. Thank you.
To end, I will just say this: It has been a true honor to serve in the U.S. Senate, to serve the people of Alaska, and to know every day we--me, my staff, and my colleagues who work with me--contributed a little bit to making life better for Alaska, for Alaskans, and for this country. There is no experience like serving in this body and doing what I could to make a difference.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
(Applause, Senators rising.)
Tim Kaine, Richmond.
Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
