Ted Stevens

Mr. President, I am grateful to the Senator from Virginia for his comments. I understand that duty calls him to go to his meeting at the CIA. I am grateful for his support.

Mr. President, just before Christmas in 1968, I was appointed to succeed Alaska's first senior Senator, Bob Bartlett. Next month will mark the 40th year I have had the honor and privilege to serve in this great Chamber.

First, and most important, I thank my family. After my wife Ann's tragic death in 1978, I thought the end of my career had come, but my dear wife Catherine entered my life in 1980, and joined by my six children, Susan, Beth, Ted, Walter, Ben, and Lily, and my 11 grandchildren, my family has given me love, support, and sacrifice, which made my continued career in the Senate possible and gave it meaning. I dearly love each member of my family.

Forty years. It is hard to believe that so much time could pass so quickly, but it has. I want everyone listening to know that I treasure every moment I spent here representing Alaska and Alaskans, the land and the people I love.

As a Member of this body, I served as whip from 1976 to 1984, as chair of the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, as chair of the Arms Control Observer Group, as chair of the Ethics Committee, as chair of the Rules Committee, as chair of the Governmental

Affairs Committee, as chair of the Appropriations Committee, as chair of the Commerce Committee, and also had functions as the ranking member as the political change took place back and forth across this aisle. I also served as President pro tempore and President pro tempore emeritus.

I am having really a difficult time today articulating my feelings, and I hope if I puddle up a little bit, as my old friend used to say, I will be excused.

When I came to the Senate, Alaska had been a State for less than a decade. We were then more of an impoverished territory than a full- fledged State. The commitments made by the Federal Government in our Statehood Act were unfulfilled, and some are still unfulfilled. Alaska had not received the land and resources it had been promised. Poverty and illness reigned supreme in rural regions of our State. I remember so well when Senator Kennedy and I went to the Arctic and examined some of those villages. It was a disaster. Our fisheries were in peril, primarily from the intrusion of foreign vessels that were anchored just a few miles offshore 12 months out of the year.

Many people doubted whether Alaska had what it took to be a successful State, and they asked whether Alaska was still Seward's Folly. We proved those doubters were wrong. Working with one another as Alaskans and with great friends in the Senate, Alaskans took control of our own destiny.

In 1958, as legislative counselor for the Department of Interior, I worked on Alaska's Statehood Act. Section 4 of that act committed Congress to settle the Alaska Native land claims.

In 1971, Congress did enact the Alaska Natives Land Claims Settlement Act, settling aboriginal claims in our State. Native corporations, established at my request to manage $1 billion paid to our State by the Federal Government, and the 44-million acre land settlement are now driving forces in the Alaska economy.

In 1973, after a dramatic tie-breaking vote by the Vice President of this Chamber on an amendment which closed the courts of this country to further delay by extreme environmentalists, the President signed into law the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act. That act dramatically improved America's energy security and secured the economic future of Alaska.

In 1976, Congress passed what became known as the Magnuson-Stevens Act to fight foreign fishing fleets which endangered America's fisheries. Because of that act, America's fisheries today are the most productive and the best managed in the world.

Working within the framework of these basic laws, Alaskans have labored in the appropriations and administrative process to make statehood a reality. Where there was nothing but tundra and forest, today there are now airports, roads, ports, water and sewer systems, hospitals, clinics, communications networks, research labs, and much, much more. Alaska was not Seward's folly and is no longer an impoverished territory. Alaska is a great State and an essential contributor to our Nation's energy security and national defense. I am proud to have had a role in this transformation. Working to help Alaska achieve its potential has been and will continue to be my life's work.

My motto has been here ``to hell with politics, just do what's right for Alaska,'' and I have tried every day to live up to those words. I take great pride in the work of the Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, the leadership of which I have shared for almost three decades with my brother Senator Dan Inouye, and I thank him for being here. He is a great American patriot and a true friend. Together, we have worked to rebuild our Armed Forces to provide the support and training needed by our warfighters to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world.

I don't have time today to recount the highlights of 40 years of work in this body. That will take a lot of time. I will take time, however, to acknowledge the friendships I have enjoyed with so many of my colleagues and Senate staffers.

I really am grateful to every Member of the Senate for their friendship, and I bear no ill will toward any Member of this body. I am most grateful for the support and counsel of my colleagues in the Alaska congressional delegation, my old friend in the House, Congressman Don Young, who has done so much for our State, and my steadfast partner in the Senate, Senator Lisa Murkowski, to whom I owe so much and admire so much. She has been a true friend and true partner. I wish her well in the future here.

I also want to acknowledge the tremendous contribution made by hundreds of young Alaskans who have come to Washington to serve on my staff. In particular, let me express my gratitude to my current staff, all of whom have worked hard for Alaska during the toughest of times. I know all will go on to do great things for Alaska and our country.

I feel blessed by God to have had the opportunity to serve in this body. I deeply appreciate the trust Alaskans have reposed in me for 40 years. When Alaska needed a strong voice to speak up for its interests, I did my part to the best of my ability. When an administration submitted legislation or a budget that ignored Alaska's legislative concerns, I urged Congress to exercise its constitutional power to redress the balance. When an Alaskan--any Alaskan--or any Alaskan entity needed help, my office was ready and did help to the maximum extent possible.

I feel the same way now that I did in 1968. I really must pinch myself to fully understand that I am privileged to speak on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Coming from the boyhood I had, I could never even have dreamed of being here today. And home is where the heart is, Mr. President. If that is so, I have two homes--one is right here in this Chamber, and the other is my beloved State of Alaska. I must leave one to return to the other.

As I leave the Senate and the work that has given me so much happiness and satisfaction over the years, I know Senator Murkowski and Congressman Young will continue to be strong voices for our 49th State. This is the last frontier. I also pray for my successor's success as he joins in that effort.

My mission in life is not complete. I believe God will give me more opportunities to be of service to Alaska and to our Nation. And I look forward with glad heart and with confidence in its justice and mercy.

I told members of the press yesterday that I don't have any rearview mirror. I look only forward, and I still see the day when I can remove the cloud that currently surrounds me.

That's it, Mr. President, 40 years distilled into a few minutes, I close by saying and asking that God bless Alaska and our Governor, God bless the United States of America and our President, and God bless the Senate and every Member of this body.

I yield the floor for the last time.

(Applause; Senators rising.)

Mr. President, I thank my house and senate colleagues for their hard work and dedication these past months as we have worked for a bipartisan, bicameral consumer product safety bill. This is a product of a bipartisan effort in both chambers and I am proud to have been a part of it. This final product will provide essential resources to a commission badly in need and help ensure the safety of our children from hazardous products.

The number of toys coming from overseas has increased greatly, while the resources of the Consumer Product Safety Commission have decreased. The result is unsafe products making their way to our store shelves and into our homes. We all remember the wave of recalls last year. Passage of this bill will help assure consumers that products are safe.

This bill provides the commission with $626 million over the next five years and directs it to significantly increase the number of staff, also adding to the number of CPSC employees stationed at our ports of entry inspecting products for safety defects.

In addition to these increased resources, the CPSC will have greater authority to punish violators of its statutes. The amount the CPSC can collect in civil penalties for a single violation will be raised to $100,000, with a maximum penalty cap of $15 million. And, as a way to ensure compliance, state attorneys general will have authority to enforce particular violations of CPSC statutes, including violations of consumer product safety rules, regulations, standards, and bans, as well as product recalls.

I am pleased that the all terrain vehicle (ATV) provision that I included in the Senate-passed bill remains in this final bill. For many Alaskans ATVs are the primary means of transportation in the summer. More than a third of the ATVs sold in 2006 came from overseas--many ATVs from overseas do not meet our safety standards. ATVs injured over 146,000 people in 2006, and approximately 39,000 of those injuries were to children under 16. This bill requires all ATVs, both foreign and domestic to be subject to the same safety standards.

Additionally the bill establishes tough lead standards and calls for safety rules for durable infant and toddler products such as strollers and cribs. Selling, reselling, offering or providing for use any of these products not meeting our new safety standards will be illegal. Consumers will also have the option of registering their purchases so they can be notified in the event of a recall.

Consumers are purchasing more products over the internet or through catalogues, and it is sometimes difficult to ascertain a product's dangers by the photo online.

Advertisements providing a direct means of purchase will be required to contain a cautionary statement. By including these statements, consumers, will be able to make an informed decision when purchasing products for a young child.

I congratulate everyone who worked so diligently on this bill. It took some time, but we have a solid bill to send to the President that will better protect our children and give the Consumer Product Safety Commission the resources it has been missing.

Mr. President, BG John W. Peabody has served as commander and division engineer for the Pacific Ocean Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers since July, 2005.

I relied on General Peabody to help resolve the crisis of coastal erosion in my State of Alaska.

He was instrumental in developing a partnership between State, Federal and local agencies dedicated to helping our communities deal with the effects of coastal erosion.

Under his leadership and commitment our Army Engineer District, Far East, has begun the Korea relocation program, moving our forces and their families to new, state-of-the-art facilities south of Seoul.

In Japan, General Peabody directed the largest military construction program in the history of our Corps of Engineers. USAED, Japan completed over 500 projects, greatly enhancing our operational readiness level and significantly improving the quality of life for our service men and women and their families living in that country.

Brigadier General Peabody oversaw the construction of the Stryker Brigade stationing facilities at Schofield Barracks, HI. Those new facilities allow our soldiers to train for contingencies throughout the Pacific region and around the world.

Brigadier General Peabody's professionalism, caring leadership, and devotion are in keeping with the proudest traditions of our military, and reflect great credit upon himself, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Army.