Floor Statements

Mr. President, I will be brief. I wanted to say I appreciate the Senator's comments, and what I thought was most important about it was the fact that these tax benefits come after the fact. It is not going to create new opportunities. The tax reform legislation the Senator has been working on with Senator Gregg, Senator Coats, and myself is about real reform. It is about setting economic opportunities and creating growth. It is not about looking back. It is about looking forward. I have the same feelings the Senator has on this bill; that doing the short term, really 2 weeks, and then putting uncertainty back into the system again for another year would be a mistake. From my perspective, it is a $40 billion bill that is not paid for. Let's deal with it. Let's figure out real tax reform.

I will not be here in January. I wish all the Members will sit down, after years of work that you have done, and focus on a longer term situation that actually creates incentive for small business and not after the fact. My wife is in a small business, and they don't spend the last 2 weeks trying to figure out what their tax benefits will be to help do to investments. They have done it already. If we really want to do something for the economy and have real tax reform and real tax relief, focus into the future and not the past.

I commend you for the work that has been done on this, but I agree that there are a lot of problems with this and the way it is laid out for 2 weeks which is problematic.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

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.

I wish to echo all the comments people said today, but I have to be honest. When I was elected, I was scared of Mary. People said very politely that you should check with Mary to see if she has an issue with something. I was terrified of what people told me she would do if I was not on her side.

If you remember, when I came in, we doubled the oil and gas caucus in the Democratic caucus by me just joining, and so we had an immediate connection, which was unique in itself. Our connection was not just that, but also, as Mary mentioned, her mentor, Lindy Boggs, and our family knows the Boggses very well.

I can still remember a call I got when I won my mayor's race in 2003 from this woman in Louisiana. My staff came in and said some woman from Louisiana is calling, and we don't know who she is, but she wants to talk to you, and so I said, OK. I took the phone call, and it was Lindy Boggs. You know how she would start a conversation with ``Hi, darlin', I just want to check in with you and see how you are doing, and congratulations.'' Then she said, ``One moment, someone is at my door.'' She came back and said, ``The exterminator is here,'' and that is classic Lindy Boggs.

What was so real about her--and I can see it in Mary's style--and that is she is real. The work Mary has done--and I didn't know it until I came to the Senate--for foster kids and adoption is remarkable. Amy Klobuchar went into great detail about that, and it shows that it is not always about the policy and fights on the floor here, but there is so much that individuals do outside this Chamber. What Mary has done outside of the Chamber is to use this position to make a difference for young people, and that is powerful. As Mary has said, we fight over policies and issues, but every one of those young people has been touched in some way. I guarantee--and I am sure you have seen it over the years where someone might come up to you and say, I don't know if you remember me, and then they tell you the story of how you met them when they were a foster kid and just getting adopted or when you were at one of the ceremonies or one of the events they were at. Those are the things I will remember about you.

The tenacity that people talked about--there is no question about it. I was glad when I got on the Appropriations Committee because I thought, finally, I will be on there with someone who will chew it up with me, and I just had to hang on to your coattails when you were fighting on issues.

When we sat in on those leadership meetings on Tuesday morning, I was always thankful when you came in. You were right across from me. I don't know if they all figured it out--maybe, again, as I said, it is a little bit of confession--we had our signals, or maybe eye contact, and then we went to work. You were really incredible.

When you were in caucus--and many people don't see those, except as Members--you were always passionate about what was important to Louisiana. You never forgot what was important to Louisiana.

People made the comment that you are tenacious. I would say that any time something did move in the Congress, you were a part of it in some way. When we were trying to figure out how to fix the health care bill, you were right there. You didn't hesitate. You knew it was a hot potato, but it was also something that we knew we had to make better, not just for people but for decades to come. You were not afraid of that even though you said you knew it could cost you your election because you knew generationally it would have an impact.

It wasn't about the moment, it was about 10, 15, 20 years, you could look back and say you helped make that happen, and you did, every time you tried to move in and push an item or idea. Even though we will not be serving here, you will have an impact.

I could tell, as we were shaking hands here, it was amazing to watch you, you never stop. You were already talking to each person about the work they need to be doing. When I shook your hand, you were talking about fisheries. I am like, Mary, just relax. But you are already working it, and that is what is so unique about you. You will not be in this body, but you will be in this body because of the way you do your work. It is not about being in this office, it is about caring about Louisiana, and as I said, I saw it just in this last moment here. It is unbelievable. You will never give up on the people of Louisiana because you care so deeply.

It has been an honor to know you.

Madam President, I will be brief, but I want to thank both Senators on the floor, Senators Boxer and Vitter, for working on this issue. It was critical for Alaska's fishermen and really for fishermen across the country. More importantly this will resolve the issue with the Coast Guard bill, which is critical to get done for many other reasons.

First, on the discharge issue, as stated earlier, this is an important waiver for our fishermen in Alaska. This will ensure that a regulation that wasn't going to have any positive impact with regards to what they were attempting to do but would have a negative impact in regards to our fishermen--giving them a 3-year waiver is exceptional because every year we would have a 1-year waiver. So a 3-year waiver is fantastic, but I agree with Senator Boxer that this should be permanent. I would like to watch from the outside in to see how this develops over the years.

The Coast Guard authorization bill was critical to get done. This has many important provisions. As the chair of the committee that dealt with the Coast Guard bill, not only this year but 2 years ago, we have been successful now at least since I have been chair to ensure the bill passed by unanimous consent and not to have big fights over working out the differences. Again, I thank Senator Vitter for his effort, making sure we move forward on this piece of legislation.

The issue I want to highlight--and then I will close--is that the Coast Guard bill is not only important for our fishermen in Alaska, the 79 feet and under ships, but also many other things. It ensures additional resources for the Arctic and Antarctic and ensures ice- breaking capabilities, including extending the service life of the currently idled Polar Sea. It enhances vessel safety information regarding ice and weather conditions and improves the oil spill prevention and response capabilities. It also ensures availability of quality childcare for our Coast Guard personnel. We require Coast Guard personnel to go all over this country. Part of it is their families are obviously with them and making sure they have quality of life aspects that are important for us to continue to recruit and get the best of the best. It also creates educational and portable career opportunities for Active-Duty Coast Guard spouses and eases the transition for Coast Guard personnel into postservice life. It provides inflation adjustment for funding levels for something very important to us in Alaska, the Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Committee. This group of citizens is involved in ensuring that the community at Cook Inlet--there is a lot of oil activity and fishing activity and other types of activities that are in that region--and citizens are engaged in their input. It is not just industry, but it is industry and citizens working together. This ensures that their funding continues and is inflation adjusted for the future. That is important.

Lastly, a small item, but it allows the Commandant to issue leases on tidelands and submerged lands. That is important because there are parcels of property that the Coast Guard controls that are adjacent to communities, and we need to make sure that there is flexibility for them to do the work they need to do. This piece of legislation was cosponsored by Senator Rockefeller, Senators Thune, Rubio, Maria Cantwell and many others. This truly is a bipartisan piece of legislation and an example of what we do best when we work together.

Imagine a piece of legislation such as this, an authorization legislation for one of our large agencies, the Coast Guard, now the second time happening without a big fight on the floor, without this back and forth between the House and Senate, but actually getting the work done so our Coast Guard personnel know they have a budget that improves upon their quality of life issues and in my case in Alaska, making sure the Arctic is taken care of. We also increased and made sure the Coast Guard ongoing replacement programs are there, with $1.5 billion to continue to increase and improve the Coast Guard programs for our country, which is also very important.

Again, I want to thank the body, thank the folks on both sides of the aisle. As chair of the committee, it was my honor to be able to move this forward, but also I want to give a special thanks to all my staff members who worked on this because without the Senate staff who participated in this work, we could not have gotten the work done. I appreciate that.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following people from my office be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the 113th Congress: Military Fellow, Chief Master Sergeant Lavor Kirkpatrick; Interns Lee Kearns, Eleanor Murphy, Morgan Mena, and Joy Demmert.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 524, S. 1474.

I further ask unanimous consent that the committee- reported substitute amendment be withdrawn, the Begich substitute amendment, which is at the desk, be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed, the title amendment, which is at the desk, be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet on December 9, 2014, at 6 p.m., in room S-216 of the Capitol Building.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on December 9, 2014, at 9:30 a.m., in room SD-215 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Social Security: Is a Key Foundation of Economic Security Working for Women?''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on December 9, 2014, at 2 p.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``Authorization for the use of Military Force Against ISIL

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on December 9, 2014, at 10 a.m., in room SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Campus Sexual Assault: the Roles and Responsibilities of Law Enforcement.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights, be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on December 9, 2014, at 2:30 p.m., in room SH-216 of the Hart Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``The State of Civil and Human Rights in the United States.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on December 9, 2014, at 11 a.m., to conduct a

hearing entitled ``Inequality, Opportunity, and the Housing Market.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on December 9, 2014, at 10 a.m., to hold an International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy, and Global Women's Issues subcommittee hearing entitled ``ISIL's Reign of Terror: Confronting the Growing Humanitarian Crisis in Iraq and Syria.''

Madam President, I thank my colleague, Senator Vitter, for this incredible work. For several years we have been focused on this piece of legislation for two reasons; one, not only is it important for the hunters, the duck hunters, but a provision in there is also important for subsistence users in my State of Alaska.

This is an important bill. As has been mentioned, 98 cents of every $1 that goes into a duck stamp goes back into habitat protection for hunters currently and into the future.

Along with that, since 1934, almost $1 billion--three-quarters of a billion dollars--has been spent in protecting wetland habitat, again for the purpose of ensuring that we have this habitat protected not only for hunters but in my case for subsistence users.

I agree with Senator Vitter, this is the kind of legislation we want to see done, where Democrats and Republicans, the House and the Senate, are working together. My colleague, Congressman Young, a Republican on the House side from Alaska, worked on his side of the equation, working with other House Members, to figure out how to move a bill. We had a Senate version over here we were working on. At the end of the day, it is not about whose name is on the bill; it is about getting the job done.

Here we have a piece of legislation that will finally correct the pricing on duck stamps to ensure that we keep up with inflation, to ensure that the continued preservation of wetlands is done for our hunters and our sportsmen. But on top of that, for my State of Alaska, this recognizes the needs of subsistence hunters. Millions of acres in Alaska are set aside as refuge and others are in protected status. Our subsistence users live off the land--not for extra gain for their household, but literally for food for the winter in order to survive. So this allows a waiver to be put into place that will have minimal impact on the duck stamp program, but will ensure that subsistence users--people who live off the land in Alaska--can continue to do that without the threat of a Federal agency fining them or even dealing with them in some way because they didn't have the stamp. This allows them to go for a waiver and ensure they will be able to do their subsistence hunting they have been doing for generations before the government came along and locked up their land they have been hunting. And we will make sure this happens not only now but into the future.

Again, I wish to thank Senator Vitter for his work and his efforts not only in this body but on the other side of the Capitol, working with House Members to make sure we could all work together and do this by unanimous consent. Along with them, Senator Boxer and the EPW staff did an incredible job. It is an honor to be here today.

The last thing I will say to Senator Warner is this: My son just had an opportunity to go to the bay. He did an incredible field study there with some of his staff. It was a great experience. He was able to go into the mud. I am not sure what that is exactly, but he was able to go chest deep, and then he decided not to do that, but to be there to help people. But it was an incredible experience, to experience that bay, which is a national treasure. So having that bill at the same time as this other one is not only good for Senator Warner's community but good for this whole country. And for folks from my State who come to visit this community, it is another opportunity for them to see a national treasure. So it is an honor to have two pieces of legislation that will pass by unanimous consent.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I was not intending to come down here. I was getting ready to leave to see my 12-year-old son who just got home from school and make sure that he has dinner and do all the things that a parent would do, but I heard a speech earlier today--and I just heard another one--and it is like revisionist history. It is amazing to me to hear them talk about information that they claim is information--and really when you listen carefully, it is really more of the same.

I agree with my colleague who was just here that people want something different as the new Congress comes in. I will not be here, as the Presiding Officer knows, but that does not mean I will not be a participant in my community and also making comments when I hear things. But what I heard was they are going to finally get to economic development and improve the economy.

The two Members who spoke today whom I heard were here when I came to the Senate in 2009, and a few years later the Presiding Officer came to the Senate. People may have forgotten where this economy was in 2009. The stock market was in dismal shape. I believe it was around 6,500 or 6,800--somewhere in that range. Unemployment was at 10 percent, and the pundits and economists all said it was growing. Approximately 700,000 jobs were lost per month. Two of the three largest U.S. automobile companies were basically on their back and about to go bankrupt. New housing starts didn't exist, and prices of homes across the country were crashing. Consumer confidence was at the lowest point I have ever seen in I don't know how many years. The deficit was--annually--about $1.4 trillion.

I know what happens these days--because I have experienced it for the last several years--is news by the minute. What happens today in this moment of time are these one-liners and I can tell they are very synchronized today. They said that the economy was bad, and is still bad, and the bright spot is around the corner.

Actually, you have to look at where we are today, 6 years later. The stock market is at 17,000-plus. What does that mean? It means that people who have retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s or 529s--putting money aside for their kids' education--have had their value come back.

For my home State, which receives a benefit called the permanent fund check--we invest in the stock market with oil revenues we put aside constitutionally, and it is put in the permanent fund and a check is issued once a year. Guess what? This year the check is double from what it was last year. Why is that? Because it works on a 5-year average. Going backwards--I took the year 2009 off; it was a very bad year--what happened to the permanent fund check? It doubled this year in Alaska, which meant that people got that money in their pocket and spent it on the economy and helped to grow the economy.

Where is unemployment today? It is at 5.8 percent nationally--a 50- percent drop. GM, Ford, and Chrysler have added 500,000 jobs since mid- 2009.

I know that today was like revisionist history. Amnesia has set into some people over there. They want to recreate the news because the good news is hard to talk about because it is reality.

Now, there is still a challenge. The Presiding Officer has talked about this a great deal, and that is that people are still working harder and longer because the incomes have not gone up enough. They have not seen it come down to them yet, but they have seen it in certain elements. Housing prices are up. In the one single largest investment an individual makes in a lifetime--their housing prices are back up.

Gasoline prices--I have no idea if my colleagues fill up their cars with gas. I do. I know what it costs to fill up my tank, and it costs less now. The average price across the country now is about $2.77. In my State, it is about $3.35. But we were up to $5 in the urban areas-- but not anymore.

I saw the statistic today, and I wrote it down. I think I have this right. The price of oil has gone down and so has the price of gasoline. What does that save consumers every day? It saves consumers $630 million a day in current prices. It means that consumers are benefiting from that.

When you look at job growth--I believe we are in our 55th straight month of private-sector job growth. Again, we don't have it fully trickling down to the wages yet, but first we have to right the economy. I know the voters have made a decision. Before I came in, the economy was a disaster. Before the Presiding Officer came in, the economy was barely recovering. But I will not sit here and listen to revisionist history.

As a matter of fact, the consumer confidence level is the highest this month since 2007. That means consumers are finally feeling it a little bit. There is still more to go. But to pretend that nothing has happened over

the last 6 years--I can't use the words on the floor here because it would be disrespectful--is just not true. It has changed. We still have more work to do.

As a matter of fact, the tax extender bill--the items they didn't want to support permanently would have brought it to every single family that is still struggling. But I know there are tax provisions they want for the NASCAR owners, the horseracing owners. I get that. Those are their issues. I understand that. But we have to be realistic.

Also, the deficit. Think about this. When I came to the Senate in 2009, the annual deficit in this country was $1.4 trillion. Today, it is $480 billion. It has dropped by $1 trillion per year. Now do we want it to be zero? Yes. Do we want to have a surplus so we can start paying off the debt? Absolutely. But we have to get recovery first--get some treatment, which is what we have been doing--and then reinvest in the future. That means infrastructure, education, and objectives that matter to everyday Americans and everyday Alaskans.

I sit here and listen to these comments. Today it happened a little bit before 12:30 p.m., before our caucus break, because we usually break at 12:30 p.m. and I was going to go home. I turned on--my mistake. I turned on the station and I heard the commentary and I thought, Jacob is going to have to wait a little bit for dinner and I am going to come to the floor, because it is amazing to me. Exports-- businesses we create in this country we ship out, up 37 percent over the last several years. I will give an example of a company in Alaska. When I was campaigning, I ran into this company in Fairbanks. They had their manufacturing plant in China. Do my colleagues know where they have it now? It is in Fairbanks, AK. They moved it from China to Fairbanks. I told them they should put a 4-by-8 sign out there and say, We take jobs from China and bring them home. They are all good jobs. As a matter of fact, they are union jobs. So when people talk about how unions are destroying the country--they actually brought jobs back that are union jobs, paying good wages, good benefits, and took it from China and brought it to Fairbanks, AK. It is unbelievable what they do. They do business not only in Alaska, but in Hawaii and other places.

I listened over and over again today, and I want to make sure people--also I should mention housing prices are up, new housing starts are up, which is important for the construction industry. It creates jobs and makes sure we have competition so prices are stabilized over time. Retail sales are strong. I have no idea if my colleague who spoke earlier has ever been in business. He talked about the 179 depreciation. I have actually used it because I have been in small business. I have no idea if he understands how it works, but for small businesses, it is a big deal. It is why Democrats have supported that time and time again.

As a matter of fact, we had it in the minimum wage bill we brought to the floor, the 179 extension, which they voted against, they did not support--raising the minimum wage, bringing people out of poverty and, by the way, helping small businesses expand and invest so they can grow more. As someone who used the 179 more than once--as a matter of fact, my wife has small businesses and is now expanding and investing and is using the 179 depreciation. I hear what they are saying, but I don't know if they understand how it is used. When we had the minimum wage bill, coupled with 179, it seemed to make a lot of sense, but they didn't like that, either.

So I wanted to come to the floor because I think it is important that we, No. 1, don't take things out of context. They mentioned Senator Schumer's speech several times. They should read the whole speech, because I think they selected verbiage. I don't agree 100 percent with his comments, but I agree with the concept. We actually did two things. We worked on health care and we worked on the economy. I see people sometimes when they eat their food, they eat one piece at a time--their carrots first, and then their potato, and then their steak. We actually did a little bit of everything. We dealt with health care, because it was crushing the economy, but we dealt with the economy overall. We had to take votes on a regular basis that the other side would never do, because we bet on America. And the result is 6 years later, here we are. The economy is better. It is stronger. It needs more work, there is no question about it. We need to get the deficit to zero and get a surplus, and knock the debt down. That was driven up not just by this administration but by past administrations as well. They forgot about the two wars they didn't pay for. The extender bill is not paid for. We didn't hear one word about how that tax extender bill is not going to be paid for. It is going to be another part of the debt. But 4 or 5 months ago--my colleagues may remember this--we were on the floor debating veterans care, and all they said is how are we going to pay for it. Well, the veterans paid, but we had to find a way. But here we are going to give more corporate tax relief without paying for it-- except actually we do pay for it. Everyday Americans will pay for it with their taxes, and the debt, and interest on the debt. So we have to be clear about that.

I think about where we were, what we did, and where we are. It is significantly different than 6 years ago. It is better. I agree there is more work to be done to make sure we get more of the revenue stream and opportunities in the hands of individuals--hard-working Alaskans, hard-working folks from Massachusetts, and hard-working folks across this country. That is our next obligation. But to come to the floor and say the economy is a disaster is irresponsible. It is not correct. The numbers tell us differently. Actually, even the conservative Forbes, Wall Street Journal, and all of these other magazines and newspapers that I read are now talking about how the economy is moving because we have had this consecutive pattern which really tells how the economy is improving. That is important.

The last thing I will say from a purely Alaska perspective is not only are exports important to us because we do a lot of business overseas--we have seen exports increase. Our unemployment in Anchorage, for example, the city I am from, is 4.9 percent--a pretty good economy. Our fisheries industry, which I know the Presiding Officer and I share--78,000 jobs are connected to that--a $5 billion, almost $6 billion industry. Our tourism industry is up, with 2 million overall visitors to our State, again, generating income. There is more activity happening around the country than ever before, and my State is seeing it every single day.

But to come to the floor and continue to be naysayers and talk about how bad things are is really not responsible. We have done a great job. Can we do better? Absolutely. That is what we strive for every single day. And I hope--and I say this to the Presiding Officer because I will not be here after January--that they don't take the position where they are mad at immigration so now they are not going to do these economic development issues, or they are mad at something else and they take it out on some other program. We are going to have--the Presiding Officer will have differences with her colleagues, on immigration, maybe, on health care, on the economy, but we have to find common ground. The economy is a constant issue, and where investments should happen if we really want to have an impact down the road is investing in infrastructure, education, relieving--as the Presiding Officer has tried to do--relieving debt from students and families. There is now a $1.4 trillion debt, I think, on families for student loans. It is outrageous. We should be lowering those rates.

Also, as tax reform issues come up, which they will next year, I hope the Senate and the House look at objectives such as making a big impact for individual families, lowering the rates for individual families, hard-working families, if we want to put cash in their pockets, if we want to change the dynamics, give them more of their money back, not the top 1 percent or even the top 10 percent, but I am talking about the folks we see every day--I see every day--out there working hard. We need to make sure they can start putting money aside for college education for their kids, putting money aside for retirement, spending more in the economy, because maybe that car that is 15 years old isn't running so well anymore. That is what I hope we do. Individual relief is more important than corporate relief or the top 1 percent.

On top of that, when we talk about corporate tax relief, never forget who really is driving the economy. It is the small business owners, including the limited liability corporations, the subchapter S corporations, the sole proprietor individuals. They all get taxed by individual rates. We will hear about corporate rate relief, which is important to be competitive, but that is for the big guys. But the guys we see every day--when we go to the cleaners, a sole proprietor; go to a restaurant, sole proprietor, maybe it is an LLC--they are not going to see that benefit unless we lower the rates for them. That is what we should be doing if we want to make a difference for them. Because they will use the 179 depreciation. The 179 has a limit. The big boys use it a little bit, but the limit is really designed for small businesses to reinvest. But if their tax rates are still too high, they won't be able to take advantage of that as much as they can. We want them to take advantage.

I didn't mean to take time here at the end of the evening. I know lots of times people want to get out. But, honestly, I couldn't sit there and listen to the revisionist history that continues to go on. The elections are over. I know now it is called the Obama economy. That is a new phrase. It is really collectively all of our economy, because we participated in trying to save it. They have objected to it for the last 6 years, so by their objection, they get to be a part of not having the result that maybe they wanted, but the result is the economy is much better. We need to do more work to make sure it gets into the hands of the individual out there. I know that is a priority to the Presiding Officer. But if I continue to hear it, I will continue to come to the floor and speak, because people can't get away with just saying over and over again that they are stating the facts, because the facts are very clear as I just stated. The stock market has gone up. Unemployment has dropped. Housing is up. Housing starts are up. The two largest automobile companies, all three of them now, over a half a million new jobs. Fifty-five consecutive months of growth. That is all good news and we should be proud of it. The Presiding Officer should be proud of it and the Senate should be proud of it. But there is no room for revisionist history when we talk about the fact of where we were 6 years ago and where we are today.

I appreciate the time and yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, last month, 20 World War II Veterans and 3 Korean War Veterans from the Last Frontier Chapter of the Honor Flight Network traveled from Alaska to Washington, DC, to visit their memorials on October 21. I know you will join me in recognizing these heroes for their service to our Nation.

I would like to record the individual names of those who traveled from Alaska to be here to see the Nation's capital on October 21, 2014: Mr. Norman B. Bean, U.S. Army, Korean War; Mr. William R. Elam, U.S. Army, World War II; Mr. Henry E. Farrar, U.S. Coast Guard, World War II; Mr. Roy Harold Fay, U.S. Navy, World War II; Mr. Roland Henry Frank, U.S. Air Force, Korean War; Mr. Dewey Max Hodel, U.S. Army, World War II; Mr. Paul Patrick Jenkins, U.S. Army, World War II; Mr. Andrew Marion Johnson, U.S. Marine Corps, World War II; Mr. Arthur F. Jones, U.S. Air Force, World War II; Mr. Daniel K. Karmun, Army National Guard, World War II; Mr. Kenneth L. Krasselt, U.S. Navy, World War II; Ms. Vickey Malone, U.S. Navy, World War II; Mr. Henry Nosek, U.S. Air Force, World War II; Mr. Clyde Frank Oberg, U.S. Army, World War II; Mr. David C. Pratt, U.S. Air Force, World War II; Ms. Mary Julia Quesnel, U.S. Army Nurse Corps, World War II; Mr. John Martin Schwulst, U.S. Marine Corps, Korean War; Mr. Harold Walter Stover, U.S. Navy Construction Battalion, World War II; Mr. Jean R. Therrien, U.S. Army, World War II; Mr. Calvin C. Topliff, U.S. Army, World War II; Mr. John Lindsay Tullis, Sr., U.S. Navy, World War II; Ms. Marcella Green Vreeland, U.S. Marine Corps Women's Reserve, World War II; Mr. Henry N. Warren, U.S. Army, World War II.

These veterans from Alaska join over 120,000 other veterans from across the country who, since 2005, have traveled to our Nation's capital to visit and reflect at memorials built here in their honor. This Honor Flight was made possible by generous public donations and contributions from those who wish to honor these heroes.

I wasn't planning to speak on the floor. I will speak for a couple of minutes, but I appreciate my colleagues who have just spoken and their conversation, as well as many others who have spoken on the floor.

Let me make it very clear. This conversation I am having right now is not about the CR. It is going to pass. It is going to move forward. We have to keep operating. The artificial threat that it might be shut down if we don't vote in a certain way with regard to the government is not factual.

The CR is going to pass. The House passed it. People don't want to see a problem as they had a year and a half ago, so I feel very confident with where we are going with the CR. But I agree with the comment that this issue, regarding what is going on with Syria, should be a separate issue, should be debated separately. It shouldn't just be shoved into a continuing resolution for the purpose of getting all of this done because we all think we have to leave by Thursday night or Friday morning. It is a very significant issue, one I have already made my statement very clear after the President spoke that despite my colleagues on the other side--two of them who were just on the floor--I want to make sure I correct what they said--we just have differences of opinion and views.

We hear statements that people aren't informed or they don't want to do anything, that is not the factual basis here. We have different views when it comes to the issues of conflict in this world, where America should sit, what we should be doing, how we should be acting, who our partners should be and what they should be doing. It has nothing to do with the government being shut down, the CR or being uninformed. I think this body is well informed. We have had many briefings, many discussions.

The question is just our view of where we stand on the issue of do we arm the rebels in Syria to do something we hope they will do. That is the question, and that is the debate we are in right now. I appreciate at least the limited time we have on it.

Let me make my position very clear. I have made it clear before, but I want to say it again. I do not support the arming of rebels in Syria.

In the Appropriations Committee we had an amendment on this, which I voted for--not to make sure the funding didn't pass, but I think it was a statement that was important. This is not a newfound belief. I support the airstrikes. This is an institutional effort, strategy, and things are moving in the right direction.

As a matter of fact, yesterday or the day before Baghdad was being moved on by ISIL. Let me make it clear, ISIL, ISIS, whatever you want to call them, they are a terrorist group.

To say they are called the Islamic State, they are not a state. They are a bunch of terrorist thugs. Let's be honest about it. When they made a move on Baghdad, we came in at the request of the Government of Iraq to give air support. We did and then we pushed them back and continued to follow up. That seemed to work in that situation.

Here we are in a situation of do we arm the rebels, do we believe in combat troops, humanitarian aid? What is our role in this endeavor?

Again, I disagree with my President, and when I say that, the President of the Democratic Party. It doesn't mean I agree with him that often. There are times when we disagree quite a bit on many issues, but on this one I disagree. Arming the rebels and who they are today and who they might be 12 months from now--I don't know.

The bigger issue to me is also the Arab countries. I understand we have seen in the past few days they are starting to have conversations and wanting to participate, but this is their country, their region. What do they do? Where are they stepping up to the plate more?

Here we are, once again, going to have to solve some civil war issues in the Middle East. Instead, the countries in the region are saying, well, maybe we will help a little here, help a little there. They need to put troops on the ground. They need to step up to the plate, as well as the faith and religious leaders in that region because these

terrorists are a threat to the region and to our country.

The photos we have seen of the beheadings are horrific, outlandish, and outrageous. Don't get me wrong. This is a bad organization and should be dealt with in such a way, but we need the countries there to assist us in a much more aggressive way.

Today we heard from the President of Ukraine. He came to a joint session of Congress. Why did he come? Because he believes in his country. He is fighting for his country. He needs our help and he is asking for our help. He is not hiding behind closed-door meetings and trying to negotiate ways that they can't be seen asking us for help. He is asking because he wants to believe in democracy, what is right for his country. He is fighting for his homeland. His line--and I remember in his speech that he gave today, this morning--was you don't have to create the democracy, you just have to defend it.

But here we are in the Middle East with unusual allies because it is a convoluted situation. In some ways, we participated, but we also have to have the Iraqi Government be more sustainable. That means inclusion, which they haven't done. They are trying, but we have had to put pressure on them because now ISIL has moved into their country. As we know, some of those Arab countries, through some of those well-funded people, funded ISIL. But now the beast has grown so big it is out of control, and now they say: Whoops. We might have made a mistake. Now we need the United States to come in again.

What is the long-term plan for sustainability in the Middle East, to get rid of these terrorist organizations that every single one of those countries knows is bad for them? They know it.

But they don't step up to the plate enough. Every time we have to step up, and America--my wife and I have been to I don't know how many funerals, how many hospitals.

Are we asking--I heard some of my colleagues here now talking about combat troops. Absolutely not--absolutely not.

It is time for the Arab countries to step up, get over their regional differences, and know this is one organization, this terrorist organization, ISIS, ISIL--whatever you want to call them today--it is bad for them, bad for this world, and they need to stand and be more aggressive. That means combat troops on the ground for them, for them to do it, for them to step up to the plate.

ISIS is this terrorist organization, and they are making money off of oil, oil wells they have captured, shipping it out through one of our ``allies.'' Why don't we just dismantle these oil wells through airstrikes--stop their cash flow like that.

Probably we are not going to do it because I am sure we are hearing from people: Well, that is not really their oil. We will take them out, and then we will get our oil back. They own the oil right now because they are using it to fund their $3 million-a-day operation. Take out their oil wells, take out their cash flow. Then get the Arab countries to step up and do not arm with U.S. dollars and weapons the rebels of today who may not be the rebels of tomorrow.

Thank you for the opportunity to let me come to the floor and say my piece. It is going to be an interesting vote. I know the CR will pass. I will be in the minority, but I think it is important we put on the record where we stand on this issue.

Don't get me wrong. I believe they are a threat to the United States, and when they threaten our assets, our people, we will be on it and we will deal with them.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, it is my pleasure to memorialize a decorated veteran from the Alaska community of Haines, CSM Howard A. McRae. Born in 1929, he wanted to see more of the world, so, with his buddy Dave Berry, he made his way to Seattle. In that short distance, the two young men found themselves broke, so they joined the U.S. Army, where they received training in electronics. That was 1948.

For Howard it was a turning point. Described by a family member as ``a little disheveled,'' the Army changed his life. He was now on his way to a 23-year military career, including 11 in the Green Berets.

Howard got his wish to see more of the world, although perhaps not as originally intended. Assignments took him to Korea, Japan, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. He did four tours of duty in Korea and three in Vietnam.

Described as courageous and disciplined, Howard McRae received many citations and medals for his bravery, his dedication to duty, and his leadership. Among them: an Army Commendation Medal with three Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters to include a ``V'' for valor; a Korean Service Medal with four Bronze Service Stars; a Vietnam Service Medal with three Bronze Service Stars, a United Nations Service Medal given by the U.N. for participation in the Korean war; and an Army Commendation Medal and Oak Leaf Cluster for meritorious service as chief instructor of the Advance Training Committee and as sergeant major and director of instruction at Fort Bragg, NC.

Exemplifying the military's own respect for Command Sergeant Major McRae, he was among the 44 Special Services soldiers chosen to stand guard over President John F. Kennedy's body as he lay in State in the White House. McRae had said that this was his proudest moment.

In his later military career, McRae was command sergeant major of the Special Forces School and the High Altitude Low Opening Military School, parachute at Fort Bragg, NC. As the highest ranking noncommissioned officer at the post, he was in charge of oversight for those who taught tactical training skills. Truly, he was a leader among leaders.

Unfortunately, and likely due to the effects of agent orange connected to his service in Vietnam, Command Sergeant Major McRae was medically retired in 1971. With wife Sarah Elizabeth, whom he met at Fort Bragg, he returned to Haines. There, he continued in service but this time through the city and borough of Haines, where he served in the borough assessor's office. In 1976 he and Sarah moved to Juneau, where he served as a budget analyst for the Alaska Department of Education.

Every inch a soldier, McRae raised his blended family of 8 children and 34 grandchildren to serve. His son Guy served in the Army, as did grandsons Steven and Joshua. Grandson Thomas joined the Marines and, given his grandfather's indomitable spirit, survived serious injuries in Afghanistan.

Sadly, we lost Command Sergeant Major McRae in 1987, but given his service through the military, his community, and State, it is only fitting that his home community of Haines has placed his name in partnership with another great Alaskan leader, Walter Soboleff, on a veteran's home. The Soboleff-McRae Veterans Village and Wellness Center will forever serve as a reminder of the exemplary service of this man gave to his country. We are eternally grateful.

Mr. President, I wish to recognize Patricia Zulkosky for her outstanding years of service to the State of Alaska and congratulate her on the occasion of her retirement from the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Born into and raised by a large Polish family in northern Minnesota, Patricia moved to Alaska in 1978, making her home in the western tundra community of Bethel. After quickly falling in love with the Yup'ik Eskimo and rural Alaska lifestyle, she took to subsistence fishing and gathering. Patricia built lifelong friendships in Alaska. After 6 years, she began her family by welcoming the arrival of her first and only daughter, Tiffany.

Patricia started working for the State of Alaska in 1985 as a clerk typist for Alaska Public Health Nursing, but it wasn't until Patricia was hired by the Department of Juvenile Justice in December 1988 that she would come to know her passion for working with troubled youth and the families of rural Alaska. Hired as a youth counselor, Patricia's work ethic, commitment, and enthusiasm would quickly help her move up in the ranks. Not letting life get in the way, Patricia pursued her bachelor's degree in social work while being a single mom of a young daughter and working several other jobs to make ends meet.

After graduating in 1996, she returned to Alaska fulltime where she would hold supervisory positions before becoming the Bethel Youth Facility superintendent. Under her leadership as superintendent, the Bethel Youth Facility has become an exemplary facility in Alaska for utilizing subsistence

ways of life as a form of treatment. They have successfully hosted a community-based Cultural Heritage Week and begun to undergo a long- planned expansion. Patricia's love of community, culture, and hard work has resulted in a public service career that exemplifies the Alaska and American dream.

I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to Patricia for her many years of service to the people she has come to call family. I wish the absolute best for her and her family as they begin this next stage in their lives.

I say to my chairman on the Veterans' Affairs Committee, we talked very briefly on the phone. I wanted to come down here because I find this amazing. I am new around here. I know it has been almost 6 years. I still consider myself new in the process. But late last night, early this morning, I get a notice of a supposed conference committee meeting, which I was totally unaware of, was unaware of the proposals they are putting on the other side. I would like to have time--I know on the other side they talk a lot about transparency and timeliness and making sure the public is aware of what they are doing. But, lo and behold, they just kind of snap together a meeting because they have an idea that they want to move forward.

I am all game for more ideas on how to solve the problems with our veterans. But the public demands--demands--us to solve this problem, and also demands it to be done in a transparent way, not in the dark of the night a meeting is called. The chairman of the other side, in this case the Senator from Vermont, the chairman of the Senate committee, is not even notified.

I recognize Senator McCain's comments about the courtesy. It should be a courtesy. But on top of it, the basic understanding of compromise and working with each other--that is what has to happen. We are not seeing that. We had a conference committee. We all made 5-minute speeches, grand statements about how to help veterans. We all want to do that. But it also means sitting down, working with each other, putting proposals out. I think the way the chairman described it best is: Roll up your sleeves and solve this problem.

Think about this: What is the real issue here? You heard it from Senator McCain, that we pretty much have agreement on a lot of the basic issues. It is the money.

What is so amazing to me--I was not here when the wars were decided to be funded or, excuse me, not funded--two trillion dollars, Afghanistan even more. But even if you use that $2 trillion number, what we are talking about today is about 1 percent, 1 percent to take care of the veterans and their families who put their lives on the line, have come back, some missing limbs, some having mental issues, a variety of services they need, they earned, they deserve.

You know, when you think about it, my simple statement--the chairman has heard me say this before: You are for veterans or you are not.

We are going to quibble and nickel-and-dime our veterans. I appreciate what the chairman has done trying to lower the costs, trying to find compromise. But this is, as Senator McCain said, an emergency. We need to take care of these veterans. For the House to nickel-and- dime our veterans is absolutely obscene. It is outrageous. They served our country. We need to do what we can to take care of them. It does not mean having midnight emails to tell us about a meeting that is going to occur on a day 12 hours later when I have no idea what their proposal is. They have not shared it with me. It would be nice. They are all about transparency. Let's do it. Let's have transparency. Let's have a debate.

I know the chairman has been working on this for the last 6 weeks. Many of us met, as the chairman in the last week did, talking about-- with the new potential Secretary, which I am very excited for. He already has a 90-day idea, a plan, which I was amazed to see that he is already moving forward. I met with him yesterday. I told him: Be bold. Start doing things. Get nominated, get approved, let's get some stuff going.

But for this body on the other side to just out of the blue decide they are going to have a conference--usually the way it works--maybe I am wrong--a conference committee usually means Senate and House. The two chairmen talk to each other, pick a time, everyone tells their Members, and we all attend. We see proposals. We see paperwork beforehand. It is transparent. The press is aware of it, the public is aware of it. It is open to the people.

This is like a midnight ride to, in my view, potentially shortchanging our veterans. I am outraged. The chairman probably got that sense when I sent an email to the chairman this morning. Within seconds we were on the phone, because this is not how we need to do this business. The veterans deserve the care; they earned it; we owe it to them. The bill is due. It is time to pay up and quit nickel-and- diming our veterans. Prepare the services they need. Give the VA the capacity they need in order to perform the many different services, from hiring people--the chairman is right--nurses, doctors, mental health providers. We need them all.

I am very proud of some of the work--you heard me talk about it before--in Alaska. But we are one State. There are 49 other States. We need to do everything we can. I came down here--I had something else going on right now, but I was very frustrated and outraged by this lack of transparency on the body that proclaims to always talk about transparency.

But again, I can go on a rant here. I am going to stop. I am going to say the last thing I will say is: This is an emergency. We know it. The American people know it. Quit nickel-and-diming our veterans. Quit complaining about: Is it $25 or $26 billion. It is an emergency. We did not complain about one dime when they wanted all of the money for the wars: $2 trillion, $3 trillion. Actually, as some remember those photos, we put cash on pallets--cash on pallets--and shipped it over there. Now it is time to take care of our veterans. It is time to put up or shut up. It is time to get the work done. You are for veterans or you are against veterans. It is a simple equation.

It is a simple equation.