Lisa Murkowski

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, I speak in loving memory of Barney Gottstein, a patriarch of Alaska's Jewish community, who passed away on October 21 at the age of 91. He was buried in the Anchorage Cemetery on October 22, in accordance with Jewish burial traditions. I suspect that my colleagues might not be aware that Alaska is home to a thriving Jewish community or that the origins of that community preceded statehood by generations. One might be even more surprised to know that Barney was not the first generation of Gottsteins to occupy a leadership role in prestatehood Alaska, but the second generation. The Gottstein family is up to four generations of leadership, with a fifth--the great-grandchildren--now in place. The first generation, Barney's father, Jacob B. Gottstein, originally of Des Moines, IA, came to Anchorage in 1915, selling cigars and confections out of the tent city established to construct the Alaska railroad. Jake, as he was known, then opened a wholesale grocery and dry goods business, known as J.B. Gottstein & Co., which made sales calls by dog sled. You can't get more Alaskan than that. Jake passed away in 1963. Barney was born in Des Moines in 1925, but soon moved to Anchorage, population 2,500, where he was raised. He enlisted in the Army and served in the Army Air Corps. After the war, Barney went to the University of Washington, studying to be an aeronautical engineer. That didn't work out so well. He was told by a counselor that anti-Semitism would likely prevent Barney from getting a job in his chosen field, so he switched to business and economics and came home to work in the family business, but he didn't abandon his love for flying. Barney was a licensed private pilot who loved to fly around Alaska and beyond. By the time Barney returned home, the family business was growing as fast as the State. The focus had changed from dry goods to wholesale groceries. Barney took it the next step. One of J.B. Gottstein's customers was the Carr Brothers Grocery. The rest is history. Barney partnered with Larry Carr to grow the retail grocery business and pursue real estate ventures. Carr's Quality Centers sprung up throughout Alaska, along with an associated chain of Eagle markets. By the late 1980s, the Carr-Gottstein group of companies was the largest Alaska-owned business in the State. Barney and Larry sold the grocery side of the business in 1990 but remained in the real estate business. Today the Carr's name remains on grocery stores in Anchorage, Eagle River, and the Mat-Su Valley. In 1989, Barney was inducted into the Alaska Business Hall of Fame, and in 1991, he was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree by the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Barney's business success in Alaska was deeply respected, but his community engagement even more so. He was chair of the Alaska Board of Education and provided financial assistance that enabled hundreds of Alaska Natives to pursue schooling. He was an inaugural member of the Alaska State Commission on Human Rights as well. Barney was active in Alaska's political life as well. He was chairman of the Alaska Democratic Party, Alaska's Democratic National Committeeman, and an Alaska delegate to the Democratic National Conventions. I mentioned that Barney was one of the patriarchs of Alaska's Jewish community. An early supporter of the State of Israel, he was the face of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, AIPAC, in Alaska for many years. Today, Barney's son David leads the AIPAC group in Alaska and, in that capacity, is a frequent visitor to my office. He provided financial support to enable young Jewish Alaskans to participate in the ``March of the Living,'' so that they might better understand the legacy of the Holocaust. He visited Israel on many occasions and took on the cause of supporting Ethiopian Jews who had made Aliyah to Israel integrate into society and pursue advanced degrees. Barney was not only a father figure to the Alaska Jewish community. He was the patriarch of a large family himself. Barney is survived by Rachel, his second wife, of 32 years, who not surprisingly he met on a trip to Israel. Barney was father to seven children. Some of Barney's children have followed in their father's footsteps to achieve positions of great respect and prominence in Alaska. I am proud to count David, Jim, Robert, and Sandy among my friends. A fourth generation of the Gottstein family, the grandchildren, are just beginning to make their mark, and there are great-grandchildren behind them. On behalf of my Senate colleagues, I proudly pay my respects to Barney Gottstein and his wonderful family. May his memory be a blessing.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 3 p.m., Monday, January 14; further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; finally, that notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXII, the cloture motion with respect to the motion to proceed to S. 1 ripen at 5:30 p.m., Monday.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I asked that it stand adjourned under the previous order following the remarks of our Democratic colleagues.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. I thank my friend from Maine. I enjoy working with the Senator as well.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the senior Senator from Alaska be authorized to sign duly enrolled bills or joint resolutions today through Monday, January 14.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I have listened to some of the remarks from my colleague from Maine. I appreciate so much of what he has said, the reminder to us all to be acting in good faith here. I would like to just take a few moments this morning to say: Count me in. Count me in to be operating in good faith. Count me in as one of the many in this body and the many around this country who want to ensure that we have strong borders in this Nation, that we have true and meaningful border security, whether it is at our southern border or whether it is at our northern borders, whether it is our borders on land or whether it is our borders on sea. Count me in as one who is prepared to deal with the difficulties, the true humanitarian issues that we are seeing on the southern border today with an influx of children and families, those who are seeking asylum, those who are frustrated with our system. Count me in as one of those who want to address these issues. But also count me in as one who says that shutting down the government is not governing. Nobody is winning in this. I have been reading all the accounts that are out there in terms of whether people think this is on the President, whether this is on the Democrats, whether this is on the House. Do you know who it is on? It is on the backs of all of us, of the men and women who are the Federal workers, who work hard, who get up every day and do the jobs we have tasked them to do, some of whom are furloughed, some of whom are working without pay, but all of whom are worried about where we are. We are now in the longest shutdown we have seen. I think it is either today or tomorrow that we will pass that benchmark. It is not just Federal workers who are being impacted; it is those of us who rely on the services of those who work in our Agencies. I come from a State, as does my colleague from Maine, where fisheries are a significant issue for us. NOAA and some of these other Agencies have a great deal to do with the economic health and well-being of our State right now. This is our big crabbing season. This is the time of year where there are a lot of folks out there on the water who need to be able to provide for their families--their livelihood. You think it is all about looking for the crab at the bottom of the Bering Sea. Well, in order to do that, you not only have to have certain permits, you have to have the ability to unload your load at the dock with certified scales. Not necessarily in the crab fisheries, but in other fisheries, you have to have observers on your boats. One of the things we are learning is that the observers need to be checked out after their trip. They have to be checked out before they can move to another vessel. You have kind of a ripple effect that is going on out there. So if you are a cod fisherman or a crab fisherman and you are thinking: The government shutdown doesn't mean anything to me--it doesn't until it does. Our reality is that there is impact, and I understand that it impacts us in many different ways. Every morning, I check in with the folks who are answering my phones here in Washington, DC, along with staff back in Alaska, and I ask, what are we hearing from folks back home? I will tell you, I have a lot of people saying: Lisa, you have to stand with the President. You have to stand strong on this because we need to have border security. Then I have an equal number who are saying: Please, please do something to help reopen this government. We expect it of you. We need it from you. We are begging you to make things work. Fix it back there. I think about where we are right here and right now. There have been some suggestions out there that we don't know how long this is going to take, but we just have to hunker down, and you are just going to have to figure out how you can make ends meet. We have some great credit unions in the State of Alaska that have put out notices that say: If you are concerned about how you are going to make that mortgage, make that car payment, pay your landlord, come to us and talk to us. I so appreciate that, but I also know that many times, that is limited in its application. This suggestion that I have heard by some that, well, you can just go out there and get a second job--I come from a State where we have the highest unemployment rate in the country right now, or maybe we are now second from the bottom, but there are communities where there aren't a lot of options. Our Coast Guard base in Kodiak is the pride and joy of the Coast Guard. We have a lot of coasties who serve us in Alaska--about 2,500, and that is significant for us. But in the community of Kodiak, if a military spouse or a Coast Guard spouse says ``I have to find a job because my husband isn't getting paid, and we are not quite sure when it is going to come,'' in Kodiak, it is pretty tough to find a temporary job. One of the things we have learned is that, you have a situation, OK-- the Coast Guard is required to show up, and we so appreciate that. We so appreciate the work of the Coast Guard. They are out there in the Bering Sea right now. They are helping those who are dealing with some pretty extreme conditions. Every day, they put their lives on the line for us. So the fact that they are not protected at this point in time causes me great concern and anxiety and stress, as it does them as well. But think about it. You have a situation where non-exempt employees are those who are providing childcare at the childcare center. So you are still going to work and not getting paid, but now your childcare center is not open. Think about these real-life applications, and then think about the very easy answer: Well, go out and find something to tide you through. So I asked my team back here--I said: Wait a minute, you could go out and you could drive Uber. Well, if you are a Federal employee, you can have secondary employment, but in order to ensure that there is no conflict with your Federal job, you have to get permission to do so. So if you are in the middle of a shutdown and if your Department is shut down, where do you go to get permission to get that secondary job? Where do you go to ask for permission and say: I want to drive Uber for the next however many weeks until the government opens. There is nobody there to give the approval. It seems like this, where we can say back here in the Halls of Congress: Just hang tough. Just be strong. Just talk to your landlord. We are all going to get through this together. We want border security. I want border security. I think the President's request for a comprehensive view of how we address this is not something that is so unreasonable. Let's figure that out. Let's walk through it. I was part of a group this week who was suggesting, let's take the proposal that the Acting OMB Director sent to the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, and let's treat that as a request for supplemental appropriations. Let's have that hearing. But in order to do this, we have to get our colleagues on the other side to sit down and go through this process with us. So maybe we can get a short-term reprieve. Let's do a short-term CR to allow us to process this. But let's not keep the government shut down while we do this. We can figure out these things. Everyone is talking about leverage--it is all political leverage. Well, tell that to the people who are really worried right now. We had a pretty tough earthquake on November 30 that a lot of folks are still digging out of. They are writing checks to contractors because they need to make sure they are going to have a boiler to get through a cold winter or make sure the foundation in the home they want to get back into--that they are going to get back into it sooner than later. But what do you do if you are not sure if that paycheck, which was supposed to come today, is coming today or coming 2 weeks from now, and you have written the check to the contractor? There is a lot of anxiety out there. I hear from a lot of these folks who are dealing with unexpected household expenditures after that earthquake. I shouldn't say it is just after that earthquake; we just had another one yesterday, 4.7. This is the fourth earthquake we have had since the first of this year, January 1, that has exceeded 4.0. So we had the big one, and then we have had thousands afterwards. So we are still dealing with a lot of this stuff. When people hear that the requests for FEMA assistance or for small business assistance may be delayed because the government is not open--think about how we are compounding their stress, their anxiety. I have been part of groups who have talked to the Vice President, have talked to his negotiating team. I myself have raised these issues with the President. I want to be part of the solution, and I want to be part of the solution sooner rather than later because we owe it to the people of this country to function, and when the government is shut down, partial or otherwise, we are not functioning. Let's stop talking about who has leverage and who doesn't have leverage and when that is going to tip to advantage the other side. Let's do what we need to do when it comes to ensuring the security of our Nation and our borders. Let's navigate those issues. But let's not hold hostage good men and women who are working hard to keep us safe every day through the basic functions of government. I am one who has signed on I think to most of the bills that are out there that would help alleviate some of what individuals and their families are seeing, whether it is the Pay Our Coast Guard Act, the End Government Shutdowns Act, the Pay Excepted Personnel Act. But those are simply bandaids, and quite honestly, they are probably nothing more than messages right now. What I am hearing from folks is, keep us secure, protect our borders, deal with humanitarian issues, but allow our government to function. Go to work, stop arguing about who is winning, and let's get the government open.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, today I honor an Alaska legend, Urban Rahoi, on the occasion of his 100th birthday, which occurred on Monday, January 6, 2019. Now, my colleagues might wonder, what the heck is an Urban Rahoi? To his admirers throughout the State of Alaska, the question is more appropriately stated: What is Urban Rahoi not? Urban is a World War II veteran, an Alaska pioneer, a homesteader, a lodge owner, a legendary hunting guide, an aviator, a snowmobiler, an entrepreneur, and a statesman. They call him ``Urban Legend--kind of an odd play on words because ``urban legends'' are supposed to be false, but you will not find a more direct and honest guy than Urban Rahoi. He has been flying for more than 80 years and has survived three plane crashes with barely a bruise. That earned Urban a reputation of being somewhat indestructible. That reputation has only strengthened over the years. In 2016, Urban was out at his remote lodge on an inholding in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. He woke up at 6 a.m. one morning with a ``difficult to describe feeling.'' He felt something was just wrong and needed to get out of there. Urban was 97 years old at the time. Now, most 97-year-olds who wake up to these feelings would likely call 911--not Urban. He gets in his plane and flies off from the lodge to Tok. Then he gets in a truck to begin a 202-mile drive to Fairbanks. He stops for breakfast, drops by a friend's cabin for lunch and storytelling along the way, goes home for a half hour, and then drives over to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. It turns out Urban had suffered a stroke, albeit a minor one in his estimation. Urban is fond of saying: ``In my dictionary, two words don't exist: can't and impossible.'' So he wasn't about to let a little stroke stop him. Following his release from the hospital, Urban put in long hours in physical therapy. He was reportedly grumpy about missing fall hunting, but he was looking forward to returning to flying and participating in the Tired Iron snowmachine race. The Tired Iron race is a fundraiser for the Boy Scouts that features racers in relatively ancient snowmachines, or what people in the lower 48 would call snowmobiles. Urban races a 1965 vintage Polaris Mustang. He is known to quip that the iron may be tired, but he isn't. True to form, Urban won the 2017 Tired Iron, months after his stroke. Come to think of it, he won the 2018 Tired Iron as well. Just as I said, ``indestructible.'' Urban Rahoi was originally from Iron Mountain. He learned to fly in 1934, making his first solo flight at age 15, and joined the Air Force in 1942, where he flew B-17s during World War II. After the war, Urban attended Michigan Technological Institute for 18 months. Restless, he began flying in Alaska and soon packed up his wife Vi, their four dogs, and a pile of gear into his three-passenger Super Cruiser, flying north to Fairbanks. That was in 1947, a dozen years before statehood. He was one of the founding partners of Interior Airways, which at one point was one of the largest operators of C-130 cargo planes in the world. He remained active in the Air Force Reserve in Alaska and founded his own air service, which enabled him to get back to his homestead on the Tanana River every night. A real estate developer, as well, he developed the Lakeview Terrace subdivision in South Fairbanks. Urban holds Alaska State Guide license No. 1, issued shortly after statehood, but he began guiding from his Ptarmigan Lake Lodge even before Alaska statehood and remains a master sheep hunter today. My family has many stories from hunts with Urban, and all end with how Urban kicked their butts as he hiked up and down the mountain, packing more than his share. Urban's energy humbled the strongest hunter, regardless of age. Urban is also a citizen-statesman. He served on the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly and has run for the Alaska Legislature several times. He remains active in the realm of game policy. In recent years, Urban has been working on a bucket list item: flying vintage planes. He flew the B-17G Yankee Lady out of the Yankee Air Museum in Ypsilanti, MI, when he was 94. In 2015, he wanted to fly a B- 17 over the National Mall in commemoration of VE Day. Despite my efforts to help him gain permission to fly, he ended up a passenger because the government wouldn't let him fly in restricted airspace. They clearly didn't know my friend's skill as an aviator. During a visit to Eielson Air Force Base in 2016, Urban told his hosts that he lives by a simple philosophy: ``Be happy with what you do and if you aren't happy, go find something you'll be happy with.'' By all accounts, Urban has enjoyed a happy and successful life following that philosophy. It is with great pleasure that I honor my friend Urban Rahoi in the U.S. Senate. On behalf of my colleagues, I extend Urban best wishes for what I know will continue to be an adventurous future.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, December should be the happiest month of the year, as we await Christmas and the New Year, but in the even numbered years, it is bittersweet as we say goodbye to colleagues who will not be returning in the next Congress. While the body often seems to be polarized and contentious to the public that knows us only from media appearances, the fact is that partnership and alliances across the aisle are part of the fabric of the body, and friendships of unlikely allies abound. This is not to say that we don't disagree on issues; we very much do. But we strive for these disagreements never to erode our collegiality. I would like to take this opportunity to thank those with whom I have been proud to serve, Mr. Hatch, our President Pro Tempore, Mr. Corker, Mr. Flake, and Mr. Heller on my side of the aisle for their distinguished service. To my friend, Mr. Kyl, it has been a pleasure to serve with you again. On the Democrat side of the aisle, Mr. Donnelly, Ms. McCaskill, Mr. Nelson, and especially my dear friend, Ms. Heitkamp, the Senator from North Dakota. Each of these individuals cares deeply for the Nation, for the States they have represented so ably, and for the Senate.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, people often forget that each of us comes to the Senate having done other significant things in life. Mr. Corker, the Senator from Tennessee, came here with a series of experiences that greatly informed his work in the Senate, as well as the work of his colleagues. Mr. Corker was a success in business long before he entered politics, and he brought the lessons of that success into public service. He was the deeply respected mayor of Chattanooga, TN. Mayors are perhaps the most accountable elected officials in the Nation. They are a pragmatic results-oriented stock. They live in the communities that they govern, so there is no place to hide, and they are forced to defend their records because the electorate knows what they have done and haven't. No room for spin when you are a mayor. Bob then brought the lessons of both of these careers to the U.S. Senate where he is known as a no-nonsense Senator who cuts through the bluster and focuses on the facts. On difficult problems, whether it was the Iran nuclear agreement or working to save the American automobile industry from near collapse, he brought discipline to our deliberations. I would like to say a few words about Bob's work as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has historically held a preeminent role in the formulation and execution of U.S. foreign policy. Chairman Corker approached the position with all of the grace and diplomacy appropriate to the office. As the Senate's representative to the executive in foreign policy, he ably represented our interests. He asked the questions that were on so many of our minds and then he returned to the Senate to explain the administration's thinking. He calmed many of our anxieties about the turbulent world in which we live. I like to think that is because Mr. Corker is a thoughtful, methodical, and calm thinker. His calm, steady leadership as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee these past several years will be greatly missed.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, Heidi Heitkamp and I share much in common. Although we sit on different sides of the aisle, we represent resource States, we represent significant populations of Native Americans, and we are each fiercely independent women who have tended to vote our conscience over party on the toughest issues of our time. We are also the best of friends off the court. So it will come as no surprise to those who know us that I am heartbroken that my friend will not be returning to serve alongside me in the next Congress. Our collaborations over the past 6 years have been very productive. We partnered on creating the Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children, a body named for respected Elders from each of our States. The commission has been stood up and is now operating. I am hopeful that the commission will conclude its work with recommendations that we can adopt into law. The adoption of those recommendations will be a fitting legacy for my friend, the Senator from North Dakota. Senator Heitkamp and I have also collaborated on Savanna's Act, which is the first piece of legislation to specifically address the epidemic of missing and murdered Native women and girls in America. This cause is so very important to my friend, as it is to me, but I would like to share a story about my friend that is so telling about her commitment and her character. On the Wednesday, following our return from the election day and Veterans Day recess, I had a news conference scheduled with the Urban Indian Health Institute. That news conference was called to discuss the results of a new report on the epidemic of missing and murdered Native women and girls in urban American cities. It was important to me that my friend be present at that news conference because it was about an issue that she championed during her time in the Senate, and it would have been excusable if my friend had bowed out, having just fought and lost a difficult reelection bid. But my friend didn't bow out. She stepped up, and she pledged to the advocates present that, even though she will no longer be a Senator come January, she would be moving over to their side come January. She pledged to remain an advocate for this cause that is most important to her. She will continue to do great and good things. Her work is not done. To Heidi, you have done good in the U.S. Senate. We thank you.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, I pay tribute to my friend, the Senator from Utah, President pro tempore of the Senate, who is retiring after 41 years of service. Senator Hatch is known as a Senator's Senator. He has had more legislation signed into law than any other living Member of this body, and he has chaired the Finance, Judiciary, and Labor and Human Resources Committees with great distinction. Today we call that Labor and Human Resources Committee the HELP Committee. We all recall the friendship Mr. Hatch had with the late Senator from Massachusetts, Mr. Kennedy. This relationship was responsible for some of the most impactful legislation of our time. The State Children's Health Insurance Program, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Ryan White Act, to name a few, and when Senator Kennedy suffered from life's difficulties, Senator Hatch was there to support him as a friend. On June 28, 2017, Senator Hatch published a very important column in TIME Magazine, entitled, ``I am recommitting myself to civility.'' Written in the wake of the attempted massacre of colleagues who were practicing for the annual congressional softball game, a racially motivated stabbing in Portland, and dueling political rallies in Berkeley that turned violent, Senator Hatch observed, ``Civility is the indispensable political norm.'' I would like to quote a few sentences from Mr. Hatch's column because they bear repeating, now more than ever. ``Civility--it is the public virtue that has greased the wheels of our democracy since its inception. Without it, little separates us from the cruelty and chaos of rule by force. For decades, civility has acted as the levee protecting our society from its own worst impulses. But that levee now shows signs of strain as political passions spill over into open violence.'' If our Nation paid greater heed to Mr. Hatch's wisdom, horrors like the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting might well have been avoided. Orrin, you have been a steady hand in troubled times. While you may have chosen to retire from this body, your work is hardly done, and I hope that your retirement does not mark a retreat from your commitment to keep our Nation and your colleagues on a steady course. You are indeed a Senator's Senator and a true patriot.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, today I wish to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Community Health Aides in the State of Alaska. All across rural Alaska, there are women and men who devote their time and energy to ensure their communities remain healthy, have sufficient care, and provide basic health education. These are our Community Health Aides, working each and every day with all ages. As a result of lack of access to healthcare in rural Alaska, the Community Health Aide Program, CHAP, was developed. Since 1968, CHAP has received congressional funding and recognition for the tremendous work they do. This program has allowed for a greater relationship between the State and Federal Government, as they coordinate with many of our Tribal health organizations, such as the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. Alaska has seen outbreaks of tuberculosis, high incidence of infant mortality, and high rates of serious injuries that simply could have been prevented had there been specific community leaders whose role was to educate and provide for the community's health needs. Currently, there are approximately 550 Community Health Aides and Practitioners, CHA/Ps, in more than 170 rural communities across Alaska. CHA/Ps are truly the people on the frontlines providing firsthand treatment and serving as the link to primary care providers, regional hospitals, and specifically the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage. For those times that the patients cannot travel, the CHA/ Ps will coordinate specialized nurses and practitioners to visit their village quickly and efficiently. CHA/Ps receive ongoing training and education, following their initial 3 to 4-week training period. There are four training centers in Alaska--Anchorage, Bethel, Nome, and Sitka--and it is at these centers where they receive the skills necessary to ensure the highest quality care is administered in rural regions of Alaska. This is a critical role in our communities. I am grateful for the CHAP program and for the men and women who are changing the outcomes of many Alaskans' lives each and every day. In this 50th year, Alaskans in communities across the State, from Nuiqsut, Ester, Klawock, Illiamna, to Dutch Harbor, have taken time to celebrate their valued community health providers, giving them the honor they surely deserve. Thank you.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to recognize a truly exceptional individual who has been a member of my staff for many years. It is bittersweet to stand before you today to recognize the well-deserved retirement of Connie McKenzie, of my Juneau, AK, office. Connie isn't originally from Alaska, but you would never know it. She moved to our great State in the summer of 1987 to take a seasonal job in Skagway with a cruise ship tour company, but those few weeks in the Alaskan summer soon turned into a home. She has been in Alaska ever since, and that summer job quickly turned into a successful career in the tourism industry in southeast Alaska, giving Connie the opportunity to work closely with community members, interact with local businesses and to help grow the regional economy. She is a people person to her core and someone we all quickly relate to, a valuable trait for any career. Connie soon gained a reputation as someone to go to when you needed something done. She is a problem-solver who doesn't know the word no. From the beginning, her ability to find solutions, showcase her region, and quickly develop professional contacts made her a well-respected member of the community. For more than 20 years, she has been a dedicated volunteer and officer of local and statewide political groups, including the Capital City Republican Women, district cochair, and the Republican State Central Committee. She has been active in Beta Sigma Phi and a variety of community service projects. Connie's local involvement eventually opened doors for a new career, one in public service. In 2001, Connie began working for the Alaska Congressional Delegation. She first started working for Congressman Young, now the Dean of the House. She was a natural fit and soon was running a joint office for the entire congressional delegation. It was my good fortune to join the U.S. Senate with a seasoned staff member like Connie. Her regional knowledge and work experience have, no doubt, helped me represent the unique needs of Alaskans, particularly those in southeast. After serving in this role for many years, Connie left the office in 2013 to work for the State administration under then-Governor Sean Parnell, but she just couldn't stay away, nor could we last too long without her. Thankfully, in 2015, she came back to us and has served our Juneau office in service to Senator Sullivan and me. She has been a dedicated public servant, and I know I speak on behalf of so many Alaskans when I say we will be sad to see her go. Congressman Young said of Connie that she ``is one of the rare gems that comes along rarely in a Congressional career. From the moment I hired her she has been the embodiment of a perfect staff. She is the person who the people of Southeast Alaska have come to rely upon for sound policy advice, every kind of constituent service and has gone above the call of duty to serve as a counselor for the mentally ill and homeless population. She faced any challenge with a positive demeanor, rock solid ethics and made it all look easy. Her guidance to me has been a godsend and a large part of my own success in not only Southeast Alaska but statewide. Whether employed directly by me, the Congressional delegation or any other entity, Connie has always been a stalwart supporter, volunteer and overall great person. Connie, we will sorely miss you!'' I couldn't agree more with Don's words. Connie has done a great job representing the Alaska Congressional Delegation. She brings new meaning to the term professional. Regardless of what side of the political spectrum you are on, you know you will get a straight and fair answer from Connie. Constituents appreciate her work, other elected officials are comfortable working with her, and the office staff is always asking for and depending on her expertise. In my office, she is our informal office trainer. If you want to know how to do something, Connie is the one to ask. She has provided hundreds of Alaskans with casework assistance on nearly the same amount of issues, from taxes to immigration to forest management, you name it. Connie has handled it. People that work with Connie will always find a brilliant, caring person that demonstrates a good sense of comradery and teamwork. This is what her colleagues and friends say about her, and I couldn't say it better myself. Connie's departure will certainly create a loss for me and my team, but I know Connie won't be at a loss for things to do. She is an avid outdoors woman, enjoying skiing, hiking, and biking with her husband Mitch and dog Brodie whenever possible. No hill is too steep, no trail is too long, she tackles each adventure with enthusiasm and a deep love for the outdoors. Often when I would travel to her region, Connie somehow found time in my otherwise packed schedule to fit constituent meetings into a hike through the Tongass or some other outdoor adventure, giving us a chance to fill our lungs with fresh air while we worked. I will miss those hikes together, but now, I will just have to schedule them with her rather than the other way around. Connie may be retiring from her career of public service, but I have no doubt she will continue to remain engaged in her community. It is in her blood. Connie leaves behind a legacy of hard work, humor, and commitment to Alaska that will forever be remembered. I wish her all the best in the next chapter of her life. Connie; I'll see you on the trails.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, on December 2, 2018, Bettye Davis, a former Alaska legislator and community leader, passed away at the age of 80. The passing of Bettye Davis attracted national media attention, which is unusual, when an Alaska legislator passes. Bettye Davis was not only a historic figure in the State of Alaska, but also in the broader African-American community. She was the first African- American to be elected to the Alaska State Senate. Bettye Davis was born in Homer, LA, and graduated from high school in Bernice, LA. She earned her bachelor's degree in social work in 1972 from Grambling, one of America's great Historically Black Colleges and Universities. She also held a certificate in nursing from St. Anthony's College. Bettye's husband, Troy, was transferred to Alaska by the Air Force. Bettye came along. She recalled no way did she ever intend to live in Alaska, but when she arrived, she discovered that she loved the land, she loved the people, and the people of Alaska welcomed her. That was 45 years ago, and it led Bettye to conclude that Alaska was her home. She often analogized her story to that of Ruth in the Bible--arriving in a foreign land, accepting the people, finding acceptance, and committing her life to serve the people of her new homeland. Bettye began a brilliant career in her adopted home State as a State civil servant. It began as a nurse at the Alaska Psychiatric Institute and subsequently as a social worker for the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, retiring in 1986. She served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 1990-1996 and then in the Alaska Senate from 2001-2013. Bettye served as both majority whip and minority whip during her time in the Alaska House. She was the first African-American woman to serve in the Alaska House of Representatives. In between her periods of State legislative service, Bettye served on the Alaska State Board of Education, which she chaired from 1998-1999. Although she was defeated in a reelection bid to the Alaska Senate, her public service career continued on. Bettye joined the Anchorage School Board where she served from 2013 until 2018, when she resigned to attend to health issues. This was her third stint on the Anchorage School Board. Altogether, she served 11 years on the school board. Her community engagements were many and varied. She was a proud and active member of the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, the NAACP, the Alaska Black Leadership Conference, Common Ground, the League of Women Voters, Delta Sigma Theta, and the Zonta Club of Anchorage. She was inducted into the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame. In her induction speech, Bettye said she wanted to be remembered as someone who fought a good fight, did good work, and won the battle. Every day, she got up with a mission of doing something for somebody, somebody who couldn't speak for themselves, somebody who couldn't express themselves, somebody who just needed a kind word. Bettye Davis was all of that and more to the people of Alaska. Friends described her as a fortress, a champion for Alaska's children and the poor, a shining example of the best of politics, and the conscience of the legislature. It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the loss of this exceptional Alaska public servant on the floor of the U.S. Senate. While her voice will be sorely missed, her legacy of leadership sets an example for generations of Alaska leaders to come. On behalf of my Senate colleagues, I extend my condolences to Bettye's surviving family and all of her friends and colleagues who hold Bettye's memory dear.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. I believe there is an objection to the request.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, on behalf of Chairman Hatch, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the lands package bill. I further ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I think it is important to recognize that while the text, in fairness to my friend from Utah, was just laid down this morning, these are bills, these are measures, these are matters that have not only been before our committee but have been before the subcommittee on which the Senator is the chairman, and he has had an opportunity to have heard many of those public lands bills. This was a very highly negotiated process by the four corners--not only by Senator Cantwell and me on this side but by our colleagues on the House side--to see what could be put together by way of a package, in terms of the contours of that package. Colleagues will remember that around this body, unfortunately, when it comes to public lands matters, many of these are very, very parochial in nature. Whether it is a conveyance that allows for a water utility to be able to proceed or whether it is a conveyance that will allow for a school to have a facility there, it is pretty parochial. These don't come to the floor for debate and passage. Typically and traditionally, what happens is--and it might not be a perfect process--we bundle them up at the end of the year. What we have done is to have provided--and not only to members of the committee--the bills that we have had an opportunity to have heard. We have outlined what that universe is. In fairness to my colleague and his comment, it was not until the very end that we knew exactly what was going to fall in based on the negotiations with our House colleagues and with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle. Yet what I would offer up to Members is that this has been an extraordinarily collaborative process in terms of those priorities that we see represented within this bill. Just on our side of the aisle alone, there are some 43 Members who either have bills that they have authored or are the cosponsors of with regard to matters that are important to their States and matters that are, perhaps, more globally important, like the LWCF, and I understand the Senator's position on the LWCF. We also recognize that there are a great number of Members on the Republican side and on the Democratic side who are very supportive of some form of reauthorization of the LWCF. We have a sportsman package in here that many, many of us have been working on. In fact, this is the fourth Congress now in which we have tried to advance these priorities for many of the sports men and women in the country. So we have attempted to work through some of the issues that my colleague from Utah has raised. We have offered to withdraw very significant legislation that our Presiding Officer himself has offered. That is not something that I really willingly wanted to do, but in an effort to try to get a broader lands package that would recognize the needs of so many, we made some significant offers. Now, my colleague has asked for two simple words. I happen to believe, as one who comes from a State where we have said no more to the Antiquities Act without some limitations, I understand the concerns, and I understand the effort that he has made repeatedly. I also understand that the politics on this side of the aisle and in the other body are such that it was not an acceptable offer or an acceptable amendment. So we are where we are now, and I come before you to make the offer to allow us an opportunity to vote on this lands package, to move it over to the House, and to finish this off. I understand that we do not have that consent. What we have come to this evening is a recognition that there is a desire amongst Members in this body to see this package through. The leader has committed and the minority leader has committed that when we return in January, this will be--if not the first order of business--a matter that will be before this body within the first couple of weeks. We will turn to it, and it will be a package that we will not have begun all over, but it will be something that Members can look to tonight. This will be an opportunity to study every single page that you want because we will have an opportunity to vote on that with a thumbs up or a thumbs down in early January when we return. Again, this is something that I wish we had been able to resolve. In fairness, I wish that we would have been able to have provided for there to have been a greater opportunity for Members to have reviewed this before these final hours. In fairness, this is just Wednesday night. We will now continue until after the new year. We probably could have had another couple of days to have worked on it, but that didn't work in our favor, and I regret that. I thank those who have worked doggedly on both sides to try to come to an agreement so that we could resolve this finally and fully. So many of these issues are so important to people back in their counties and their municipalities and their boroughs and their States. We are going to put it on hold for yet another month, but we will be back at the first of the year, and we will continue to address these issues that are so important when it comes to our public lands, our waters, our conservation priorities, as well as the priorities of our sports men and women.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I know my colleague from Montana wishes to speak, But before the Senator from Washington departs, I also want to acknowledge the good work of both of our staffs--and not just our staffs, but working with our colleagues on the House side and with so many Members. When you are going through the volume that we are talking about--some 114 different bills on the House side and the Senate side--it is extraordinarily tedious and difficult work, and I think we owe them all a great deal of thanks. But I also want to rise and thank Senator Cantwell, because in this next Congress she will be moving to another position as ranking member and I will not be working side-by-side with her as we have. I think it is important to note that on the difficult things that came before us, we didn't always start off in agreement, but we slogged through it and our teams stuck with it and slogged through it, and we got to where we are tonight. While it is not a good ending from my view, in that we weren't able to provide these counties, these communities, these people that have worked so hard the satisfaction they are seeking, the commitment to continue this until we are done is real, it is in place, it is intact, and it was agreed to tonight, and we are going to be moving forward in the first few weeks of January. I want to thank Senator Cantwell for the working relationship we have had over these past couple of years moving through important matters for your State, for my State, and really for the good of the country when it comes to energy. So I just appreciate your courtesies and our opportunity to work together and that of our staffs.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, the second piece of legislation I am introducing is the Shipping and Environmental Arctic Leadership Act of 2018--the SEAL Act--which establishes a congressionally chartered seaway development corporation in the Arctic. So this Arctic Corporation will work with representatives from NOAA, from the State Department, from the Coast Guard, and from DOT, as well as representatives from the State of Alaska, the Alaska business community, Alaska coastal and subsistence communities, and the Alaskan Maritime Labor Organization to help to develop an Arctic shipping union whose leadership will advocate for safe, secure, and reliable Arctic seaway development and further ensure that the Arctic becomes a place of international cooperation rather than competition or conflict. The capacity to get maritime and shipping services funded by means of international cooperation is not a new concept. We have seen it done, and it exists with the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation in the United States. This is one example where countries that share a large maritime border--the United States and Canada--are able to develop a seaway system--one that is safe, secure, and reliable for its users. I have people stop me and say: Well, this is so many years off from when we are going to see levels of commercial activity in the Arctic. There is no real need to move on this, is there? Well, again, I will just remind you of some of the charts we have seen. The multiyear ice that once made the Arctic impassable and shielded our northernmost border year-round is diminishing, again, due to climate change. Because of this, shipping in and around the Arctic traffic will increase. So when you appreciate where we are with the Northwest Passage here, the Northwest Passage, by 2025, is intermittently open, but the for pathway, if you are going from the Bering Strait, right off of Alaska here and through Rotterdam, you are going to have an opportunity to basically be cutting through there. For the northern sea route, following through Russia, by 2025, they anticipate that this sea lane will be open for a full 6 weeks. The transpolar route, going more directly over the pole, by 2025 will have 2 weeks of open shipping. So, yes, shipping is going to increase. When you can figure out a quicker way to get from Asia to Europe, when you can shave off days, when you can use less fuel, you are saving money. So this is, from a trade perspective, hugely significant. But this looming increase in commercial vessel traffic also translates to greater demand for services and processes necessary to ensure that Arctic shipping can be reliable and safe for shippers that need to transport goods from one place to another on a timetable. This last chart that I am going to share is just a reminder of not today's reality, but this is the number of vessels that were tracked between year 2014 and 2015. So this is the Aleutians right down here. This is where the Great Circle route ships come through. It is so black here that you can't even tell that these are lines, but this demonstrates the level of existing traffic that we have here. Even 3 years ago, the number of vessels that transited up to the Arctic, whether it was to go over into the Beaufort or the Chukchi in the Arctic Ocean or to go through the northern sea route in that direction--this is here, and this is now. This is what is happening in the Arctic. So what we are seeking to do with this SEAL legislation is to help to fund a system of Arctic ports--not just one port but a system of Arctic ports--ports of refuge for ships in trouble and ports to send, receive, and transship goods and people, private aids to navigation, all-weather tugs that can help ships that may have lost power or steerage, and to provide a commercial architecture to support the private sector investments in and use of icebreakers that can help ships that may be boxed in because of the ice. That happens. So as we talk about this proposal that we are laying down in this legislation, I have likened it to Uber for icebreakers. It helps people kind of understand what it is that we are looking at here. Port infrastructure will also benefit rural Arctic communities and bring down costs for delivering fuel, groceries, and other necessities which, in my State at this time, are just extraordinarily high. I think this legislation can help the United States to organize and attract investment opportunities for ports and icebreakers, for our own safety and for that of commercial vessels that are venturing into the Arctic, as well as, again, for those who live there. So these two bills, building on the strategic efforts of the Department of Defense and the strides that have been made in the NDAA, can provide the legislative direction needed to help to develop that aspirational plan that Secretary Carter recognized that we need. While I will be introducing these now, I am also going to be reintroducing them in the next Congress, and I certainly look forward to working with any and all of my colleagues and interested parties, as well as the executive branch, to refine them in the hopes that we can truly reclaim America's leadership role in the Arctic in this next Congress.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that privileges of the floor be granted to my military fellow, Juan Ramirez, for the remainder of his fellowship, through June of 2019.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, there has been a lot of discussion this evening by my colleague from New Jersey and by my colleague from Rhode Island about the issue of climate change and its impact. I come from a part of the country where climate change is there; it is with us; it is real. It is something that we look to as Alaskans with a reality of this world view. I spend a lot of my time here in the Senate focused on not only the U.S. Arctic but the Arctic as a whole, the eight Arctic nations that we intersect with. So I would like to take a few minutes this evening to speak about the happenings in the Arctic--our new reality--as we are seeing greater opportunities but also greater challenges in an area that I find to be an extraordinary place on our globe. It was maybe a little more than 150 years ago when Massachusetts Senator and the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the time, Charles Sumner, argued the geostrategic importance of Alaska to our young Nation at the time. Senator Sumner spoke about how the Aleutians represented this gateway to Asia. This was a maritime route to the west coast that was roughly 1,000 miles shorter than the southern route through the Sandwich Isles, which was popular at the time. It was about 70 years later that Gen. Billy Mitchell, who was the father of the Air Force, testified before Congress and said that he believed that in the future, whoever controls Alaska controls the world. He thought it was the most strategic place in the world. Then we had World War II, the Japanese, who also recognized the strategic importance of the Aleutians, and they briefly seized and occupied the islands of Attu and Kiska. While the war in the Aleutians may be forgotten by many here at home, the world continues to remember the strategic significance of the North. Although General Mitchell saw the strategic geographic location of Alaska, he could not have imagined the environmental changes that would make sea routes accessible to commerce year-round, nor could he have imagined the rich mineral wealth beneath the Arctic. He might have been able to have imagined that Russia would take a major interest in the Arctic. Given its proximity from the Bering Strait region of Alaska, one can indeed see Russia from one's window. There are not too many people on Little Diomede, but I have been there. Big Diomede sits just about 2\1/2\ miles across the water, but I doubt that General Mitchell would ever have been able to have imagined that nations like China or India would have taken an interest in the very remote and often forbidding North, less that they would be fielding icebreakers in 2019 and 2020, as China and India are. He might also wonder why Singapore would take such an interest to justify observer status on the Arctic Council. While places like Singapore seek observer status, the United States has passed the chairmanship of the Arctic Council and, with it, most of our diplomatic efforts towards the Arctic. The Arctic Executive Steering Committee and other institutions within the executive branch that are focused on the Arctic have, in my view, just kind of wasted away just when the rest of the world has redoubled its focus on the Arctic. The Department of Defense clearly gets it. It is starting to recognize what General Mitchell did back in 1935. Before the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee back in May 2016, I asked Secretary Carter whether we were doing what we needed to do from a defense standpoint to address changes in the Arctic. His response was pretty frank and, I think, very revealing. He told me that the Arctic is going to be a major area of importance to the United States strategically and economically in the future. I think it is fair to say that we are late to the recognition of that, but I think we have the recognition. Now you are asking what comes in behind that recognition. I think a plan that is more than aspirational is needed, and I would be happy to work with you toward that end. At that time, Secretary Carter's candor was refreshing, if not long overdue, but I have to tell you that we are still waiting for a plan that is more aspirational in the Arctic--not just a plan but a plan that is fully resourced. As an appropriator, I know full well how difficult that is to achieve. Sometimes around here, like a tree that falls in the forest when there is nobody there to listen, it seems like official Washington doesn't recognize that something new and very real is occurring until it reads about it in the New York Times or perhaps in the Washington Post. Well, on Thanksgiving Day of this year, the Washington Post really laid it out. It had a special section--some 16 pages--which is entitled ``The New Arctic Frontier.'' I would like to quote from the cover of this special section. It reads: As the Arctic slowly thaws, the United States, Canada, Russia, China and other interested nations are reconsidering how they strategically approach the region. Corporations have launched new missions to search for oil. Commercial fishing continues to evolve. Shipping and luxury cruise lines alike are planning to send more vessels north. Coastal erosion has prompted questions about how some Alaskan villages will survive and how the U.S. government should react. Against this backdrop, militaries are increasingly preparing for potential conflict in the Arctic. The United States is shifting forces to the north, planning to build a new class of icebreaker ships and cultivating stronger relationships with Nordic militaries. Russia, meanwhile, is investing in ice-capable vessels and infrastructure improvements, and China has declared itself a ``near Arctic state.'' This really sums up where we are today. Truth be told, General Mitchell has been proven to be correct in ways that he probably could not have imagined when he said Alaska was the most strategic place in the world. For example, right now, here today, Anchorage has the fifth busiest cargo airport in the world--not in the country but in the world. So we are sitting here in Anchorage, AK. We are less than 9\1/2\ hours from 90 percent of the industrialized world. So whether you are going to Singapore, London, Mexico City, we are less than 9\1/2\ hours from 90 percent of the industrialized world. So many carriers, such as FedEx, UPS, Alaska Airlines, Atlas Air, and others, are already using Anchorage as a cargo hub because of this very, very central location and these very real opportunities for commerce. We are also looking to regain the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport position as a hub for international passenger travel. Now we are getting ready for the holiday season, for Christmas. I think Santa had this figured out a long time ago. He knew that the shortest way to get around the globe, whether you were going to Fiji or to London or to Los Angeles or to Seoul, was over the Pole. Even Santa understood the geostrategic position of the Arctic. But it is Alaska. It really is Alaska, sitting right up there, which is the gateway to America's Arctic, that is at the center of all of this. That is not just bragging, not just my being parochial about it as Alaska's Senator. It is real, it is compelling, and it is demanding of attention and action. I know it is not easy. The Washington Post's editors observed that the Arctic portends great opportunities and great challenges, so let's get to work on this. That is my central message today. It is time that we get to work and move ahead with a plan that fits the challenge that the Arctic represents for America. We talk a lot about aspiration. The time for aspiration is over--it is time for action. That starts by fully funding the first of the Coast Guard's Polar Security Cutters, whose purpose is to provide assured, year-round access to our polar regions. These are platforms that can project sea power anywhere, at any time, and are fully interoperable with interagency and international stakeholders to carry out national defense operations. These cutters will include sufficient space, weight, and power to conduct multimission activities that support our Nation's current and future needs in the Arctic. The Polar Security Cutter will allow us to continue to engage with our fellow Arctic nations and our allies and our strategic competitors. I share with you a picture of our existing Polar icebreaker, but when you look around the world at the various flags, here we are sitting in the United States--one of eight Arctic nations--and we have two icebreakers. I say two--maybe that is all we need. One of them is currently in dry dock in the Seattle-Tacoma area. She is never going to see activity again. The other one, Polar Star, is on her second life. She is working hard, but she is down in Antarctica, and she will be in Antarctica until she, too, is retired. Then where does that leave us? Where does that put us? We have a medium-strength vessel, the Healy. She does great work, but that is what the United States has. Canada has nine government-owned, either operating or under construction. China has four--China, which has just determined they should be a ``Near-Arctic State.'' Russia has 34, and when you count those that are nongovernment-owned, it is well over 40. Here we are, the United States of America, an Arctic nation, and we are down to about one icebreaker. We have some work to do here. Over the past several years, funds have been secured through the Navy to get started on building a new Polar Security Cutter. This year, the administration wisely decided--and I thank them for working with us-- that it is time to lock in the project by budgeting the remaining funds necessary to complete the project. It is about $750 million. That is a lot of money. That is a lot of money, but I would submit that this investment in the Polar Security Cutter is a small price to pay for the ability to project U.S. sea power in the Arctic. The question of whether we follow through on this very important step is going to be determined this week, or perhaps next week, as we complete the fiscal year 2019 appropriations project. I would dare to suggest that our competitors in the Arctic are watching very, very closely whether we have the resolve to follow through on the first of these Polar Security Cutters. Bringing the Polar Security Cutter online will give us capacity--we appreciate that--but the next and perhaps even more difficult challenge is to build the infrastructure to support the next phase of U.S. sea power in the Arctic. Most critical for that is the development of a deepwater port in the Bering Sea. Our reality right now is that the Alaska deepwater port nearest to the Arctic is located in the Bering Sea. Dutch Harbor is almost 1,000 miles away from the Arctic. I am looking at my imaginary Alaska map here, but when you are down in the Aleutians--that is the nearest deepwater port--it is 1,000 miles to get to Point Hope, to Barrow, and that area. A port is a critical piece of infrastructure that is needed, and it will serve many, many uses. It can support the Navy, the Coast Guard, and NOAA's research missions. It will support search and rescue activities that may be necessitated by increasing commercial vessel traffic in the Arctic, and it will provide a platform for the United States to harvest some of the economic upside of the vessel transits. RADM Jon White, U.S. Navy, retired, is President and CEO of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership. At a recent event, which was sponsored by the Wilson Center, he characterized the requirement for a deepwater port in the Arctic as a ``no-brainer.'' He went on to say: ``Unfortunately, it's not a no-coster.'' Last summer, Navy Secretary Spencer looked at various sites, potential sites for a deepwater port. He is very engaged in seeing how we can work together to bring the funding partners to make this happen. We look forward to working with him toward this endeavor. His engagement is so greatly--greatly--appreciated. He clearly understands the potential here. All of these developments are very, positive, far more positive than we have seen in recent years. I am grateful for that. They are building blocks. The race to protect America's strategic interest in the Arctic demands attention on more than just defense; it will take coordination. That is why I am going to introduce today two pieces of legislation that are designed to reinvigorate America's national and commercial strategic efforts. For well over a decade now, you have heard me talk about how the diminishing Arctic sea ice presents both opportunities and concerns. If you look at this map here, you are looking at planet Earth from the perspective that most of us in Alaska view, which is from the top on down. You have the U.S. Arctic here with Alaska. You have the Canadian Arctic here. Here is Russia coming all the way around to Iceland, and Greenland is down in this area. As I mentioned at the beginning of my comments, we recognize the impact that climate change is having on the Arctic--rapid impacts, clearly--more so than in any other part of the United States. The latest report from the U.S. Global Change Research Program underscored this fact. Since the early eighties, the annual Arctic sea ice extent has gone down by about 4 percent per decade. The decrease for September sea ice extent--this is the time of year where we have had the least amount of ice. This time period has been even more pronounced at somewhere between 10.7 and 15.9 percent per decade in terms of the decrease in the sea ice. What does all of this mean? According to that report, it means we are likely to experience a sea ice-free Arctic summer before this century is out. Again, when you are looking at the top of the globe, looking at the Arctic here, all of the area in the light blue--you can't see the red around it--was all of the extent of the September sea ice back in 1979. In 2015--3 years ago--the extent of that September ice is here in the pink. As you can appreciate, as you are losing this throughout more parts of the year, it does point to a reality that we are likely to see in the not too terribly distant future--a sea ice-free Arctic summer. Loss of sea ice in the Arctic, of course, goes hand in hand with overall temperature warming. Over the last several years, it has been somewhat common to refer to the Arctic and include the fact that it is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the country. This latest climate report shows us that this is not exactly right. In fact, the North Slope of Alaska--this corner right there--is warming at 2.6 times the rate of the continental United States. Much of the rest of Alaska is warming at more than twice the continental U.S. rate as well. So it is not just twice as fast; it is more than twice as fast. Again, we are paying attention. I face this reality. I hear about this reality every time I step off an airplane in a rural community. I listen to the people there, particularly the elders, as they share their knowledge. Record low extent of Arctic sea ice threatens many of our indigenous communities because of threats of coastal erosion. With less ice, waves build up, beat against the shore, and erode it. It is more than just coastal erosion; it is the impact on their traditional ways of life--food security issues, hunting, access to resources to basically exist. We are very in tune. It is not just through the eyes of the people who are living there; this is abundantly clear in both the scientific data that is collected by our State and our Federal Agencies, as well as the experience of rural Alaska Natives. According to this most recent report, the cost of infrastructure damaged from a warming climate in Alaska alone--we had our own chapter in the report--could range from $110 to $270 million per year. So changes to our air, our water, our soil, our food security, our disease ecology directly and directly resulting from our warming climate are going to impact the lives and the health of every Alaskan. On the one hand, the future in the Arctic looks increasingly challenging for our rural communities. Then, on the other hand, the future also represents a new frontier. There are opportunities out there, whether they are in construction, in tourism, in energy, in minerals, in shipping, or in community development. You have challenges, and you have opportunities. For some time now, my team and I have been working on two pieces of Arctic legislation to support responsible investment and development in the U.S. Arctic. It hasn't been easy to meet the expectations and the needs of rural and indigenous communities that are most impacted by climate change in the U.S. Arctic, while, at the same time, focusing on economic development, environmental stewardship, human security, but we have really been trying to mesh these all together. I believe these two bills that I am introducing, along with Senator Sullivan--the Arctic Policy Act of 2018 and the Shipping and Environmental Arctic Leadership Act of 2018; that is, the SEAL Act--I think are steps in the right direction, helping us move closer to meeting these objectives. The first bill, the Arctic Policy Act of 2018, will statutorily establish the Arctic Executive Steering Committee under the Department of Homeland Security and provide the coordination necessary to advance a truly integrated plan for the Arctic. By reinvigorating the central coordinating body for Arctic issues, the legislation will provide a venue to deliver the type of plan America needs and, more importantly, a place to work that plan into action across Agencies. As it stands now, everybody has a little bit of a piece of something when it comes to the Arctic, but it doesn't really seem as though there is any coordinating entity. When you don't have anybody who ultimately has that responsibility, oftentimes, it is hard to see the progress. We know Federal policy does not exist in a vacuum, so in addition to establishing the Arctic Executive Steering Committee, the legislation would also establish an Arctic Advisory Committee to ensure that residents of the Arctic and Alaska Native people have a seat at the table for the development of policy. They don't want to be sitting back and being told what is happening; they want a seat at the table. As the indigenous peoples of the region, they fully have that right. Further, the legislation calls for the establishment of regional Tribal advisory groups, starting with the Bering Sea Regional Tribal Advisory Group to advise the Federal Government as it shapes national priorities within the region. These Tribal advisory groups will be empowered to provide advice on specific challenges or regionally important issues. I would like to say that if you go to rural Alaska, if you go to a small village, you are not going to find a lot of Ph.D.s out there, but what they do have is a Ph.D. in Arctic living. They know what is going on. Their very lives and survival depend on understanding and appreciating the world around them. In the Arctic, we have an opportunity to show the world how to integrate indigenous knowledge and voices into policy and science. That is why the legislation will also update the Arctic Research and Policy Act of 1984. This was legislation my father introduced when he was here in the Senate. We will update this to include more Native voices at the Arctic Research Commission and thereby push to include traditional knowledge and community coordination in our Nation's scientific efforts in the Arctic, especially our efforts to study and understand climate change.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, the second piece of legislation I am introducing is the Shipping and Environmental Arctic Leadership Act of 2018--the SEAL Act--which establishes a congressionally chartered seaway development corporation in the Arctic. So this Arctic Corporation will work with representatives from NOAA, from the State Department, from the Coast Guard, and from DOT, as well as representatives from the State of Alaska, the Alaska business community, Alaska coastal and subsistence communities, and the Alaskan Maritime Labor Organization to help to develop an Arctic shipping union whose leadership will advocate for safe, secure, and reliable Arctic seaway development and further ensure that the Arctic becomes a place of international cooperation rather than competition or conflict. The capacity to get maritime and shipping services funded by means of international cooperation is not a new concept. We have seen it done, and it exists with the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation in the United States. This is one example where countries that share a large maritime border--the United States and Canada--are able to develop a seaway system--one that is safe, secure, and reliable for its users. I have people stop me and say: Well, this is so many years off from when we are going to see levels of commercial activity in the Arctic. There is no real need to move on this, is there? Well, again, I will just remind you of some of the charts we have seen. The multiyear ice that once made the Arctic impassable and shielded our northernmost border year-round is diminishing, again, due to climate change. Because of this, shipping in and around the Arctic traffic will increase. So when you appreciate where we are with the Northwest Passage here, the Northwest Passage, by 2025, is intermittently open, but the for pathway, if you are going from the Bering Strait, right off of Alaska here and through Rotterdam, you are going to have an opportunity to basically be cutting through there. For the northern sea route, following through Russia, by 2025, they anticipate that this sea lane will be open for a full 6 weeks. The transpolar route, going more directly over the pole, by 2025 will have 2 weeks of open shipping. So, yes, shipping is going to increase. When you can figure out a quicker way to get from Asia to Europe, when you can shave off days, when you can use less fuel, you are saving money. So this is, from a trade perspective, hugely significant. But this looming increase in commercial vessel traffic also translates to greater demand for services and processes necessary to ensure that Arctic shipping can be reliable and safe for shippers that need to transport goods from one place to another on a timetable. This last chart that I am going to share is just a reminder of not today's reality, but this is the number of vessels that were tracked between year 2014 and 2015. So this is the Aleutians right down here. This is where the Great Circle route ships come through. It is so black here that you can't even tell that these are lines, but this demonstrates the level of existing traffic that we have here. Even 3 years ago, the number of vessels that transited up to the Arctic, whether it was to go over into the Beaufort or the Chukchi in the Arctic Ocean or to go through the northern sea route in that direction--this is here, and this is now. This is what is happening in the Arctic. So what we are seeking to do with this SEAL legislation is to help to fund a system of Arctic ports--not just one port but a system of Arctic ports--ports of refuge for ships in trouble and ports to send, receive, and transship goods and people, private aids to navigation, all-weather tugs that can help ships that may have lost power or steerage, and to provide a commercial architecture to support the private sector investments in and use of icebreakers that can help ships that may be boxed in because of the ice. That happens. So as we talk about this proposal that we are laying down in this legislation, I have likened it to Uber for icebreakers. It helps people kind of understand what it is that we are looking at here. Port infrastructure will also benefit rural Arctic communities and bring down costs for delivering fuel, groceries, and other necessities which, in my State at this time, are just extraordinarily high. I think this legislation can help the United States to organize and attract investment opportunities for ports and icebreakers, for our own safety and for that of commercial vessels that are venturing into the Arctic, as well as, again, for those who live there. So these two bills, building on the strategic efforts of the Department of Defense and the strides that have been made in the NDAA, can provide the legislative direction needed to help to develop that aspirational plan that Secretary Carter recognized that we need. While I will be introducing these now, I am also going to be reintroducing them in the next Congress, and I certainly look forward to working with any and all of my colleagues and interested parties, as well as the executive branch, to refine them in the hopes that we can truly reclaim America's leadership role in the Arctic in this next Congress.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. With that, I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, there has been a lot of discussion this evening by my colleague from New Jersey and by my colleague from Rhode Island about the issue of climate change and its impact. I come from a part of the country where climate change is there; it is with us; it is real. It is something that we look to as Alaskans with a reality of this world view. I spend a lot of my time here in the Senate focused on not only the U.S. Arctic but the Arctic as a whole, the eight Arctic nations that we intersect with. So I would like to take a few minutes this evening to speak about the happenings in the Arctic--our new reality--as we are seeing greater opportunities but also greater challenges in an area that I find to be an extraordinary place on our globe. It was maybe a little more than 150 years ago when Massachusetts Senator and the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the time, Charles Sumner, argued the geostrategic importance of Alaska to our young Nation at the time. Senator Sumner spoke about how the Aleutians represented this gateway to Asia. This was a maritime route to the west coast that was roughly 1,000 miles shorter than the southern route through the Sandwich Isles, which was popular at the time. It was about 70 years later that Gen. Billy Mitchell, who was the father of the Air Force, testified before Congress and said that he believed that in the future, whoever controls Alaska controls the world. He thought it was the most strategic place in the world. Then we had World War II, the Japanese, who also recognized the strategic importance of the Aleutians, and they briefly seized and occupied the islands of Attu and Kiska. While the war in the Aleutians may be forgotten by many here at home, the world continues to remember the strategic significance of the North. Although General Mitchell saw the strategic geographic location of Alaska, he could not have imagined the environmental changes that would make sea routes accessible to commerce year-round, nor could he have imagined the rich mineral wealth beneath the Arctic. He might have been able to have imagined that Russia would take a major interest in the Arctic. Given its proximity from the Bering Strait region of Alaska, one can indeed see Russia from one's window. There are not too many people on Little Diomede, but I have been there. Big Diomede sits just about 2\1/2\ miles across the water, but I doubt that General Mitchell would ever have been able to have imagined that nations like China or India would have taken an interest in the very remote and often forbidding North, less that they would be fielding icebreakers in 2019 and 2020, as China and India are. He might also wonder why Singapore would take such an interest to justify observer status on the Arctic Council. While places like Singapore seek observer status, the United States has passed the chairmanship of the Arctic Council and, with it, most of our diplomatic efforts towards the Arctic. The Arctic Executive Steering Committee and other institutions within the executive branch that are focused on the Arctic have, in my view, just kind of wasted away just when the rest of the world has redoubled its focus on the Arctic. The Department of Defense clearly gets it. It is starting to recognize what General Mitchell did back in 1935. Before the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee back in May 2016, I asked Secretary Carter whether we were doing what we needed to do from a defense standpoint to address changes in the Arctic. His response was pretty frank and, I think, very revealing. He told me that the Arctic is going to be a major area of importance to the United States strategically and economically in the future. I think it is fair to say that we are late to the recognition of that, but I think we have the recognition. Now you are asking what comes in behind that recognition. I think a plan that is more than aspirational is needed, and I would be happy to work with you toward that end. At that time, Secretary Carter's candor was refreshing, if not long overdue, but I have to tell you that we are still waiting for a plan that is more aspirational in the Arctic--not just a plan but a plan that is fully resourced. As an appropriator, I know full well how difficult that is to achieve. Sometimes around here, like a tree that falls in the forest when there is nobody there to listen, it seems like official Washington doesn't recognize that something new and very real is occurring until it reads about it in the New York Times or perhaps in the Washington Post. Well, on Thanksgiving Day of this year, the Washington Post really laid it out. It had a special section--some 16 pages--which is entitled ``The New Arctic Frontier.'' I would like to quote from the cover of this special section. It reads: As the Arctic slowly thaws, the United States, Canada, Russia, China and other interested nations are reconsidering how they strategically approach the region. Corporations have launched new missions to search for oil. Commercial fishing continues to evolve. Shipping and luxury cruise lines alike are planning to send more vessels north. Coastal erosion has prompted questions about how some Alaskan villages will survive and how the U.S. government should react. Against this backdrop, militaries are increasingly preparing for potential conflict in the Arctic. The United States is shifting forces to the north, planning to build a new class of icebreaker ships and cultivating stronger relationships with Nordic militaries. Russia, meanwhile, is investing in ice-capable vessels and infrastructure improvements, and China has declared itself a ``near Arctic state.'' This really sums up where we are today. Truth be told, General Mitchell has been proven to be correct in ways that he probably could not have imagined when he said Alaska was the most strategic place in the world. For example, right now, here today, Anchorage has the fifth busiest cargo airport in the world--not in the country but in the world. So we are sitting here in Anchorage, AK. We are less than 9\1/2\ hours from 90 percent of the industrialized world. So whether you are going to Singapore, London, Mexico City, we are less than 9\1/2\ hours from 90 percent of the industrialized world. So many carriers, such as FedEx, UPS, Alaska Airlines, Atlas Air, and others, are already using Anchorage as a cargo hub because of this very, very central location and these very real opportunities for commerce. We are also looking to regain the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport position as a hub for international passenger travel. Now we are getting ready for the holiday season, for Christmas. I think Santa had this figured out a long time ago. He knew that the shortest way to get around the globe, whether you were going to Fiji or to London or to Los Angeles or to Seoul, was over the Pole. Even Santa understood the geostrategic position of the Arctic. But it is Alaska. It really is Alaska, sitting right up there, which is the gateway to America's Arctic, that is at the center of all of this. That is not just bragging, not just my being parochial about it as Alaska's Senator. It is real, it is compelling, and it is demanding of attention and action. I know it is not easy. The Washington Post's editors observed that the Arctic portends great opportunities and great challenges, so let's get to work on this. That is my central message today. It is time that we get to work and move ahead with a plan that fits the challenge that the Arctic represents for America. We talk a lot about aspiration. The time for aspiration is over--it is time for action. That starts by fully funding the first of the Coast Guard's Polar Security Cutters, whose purpose is to provide assured, year-round access to our polar regions. These are platforms that can project sea power anywhere, at any time, and are fully interoperable with interagency and international stakeholders to carry out national defense operations. These cutters will include sufficient space, weight, and power to conduct multimission activities that support our Nation's current and future needs in the Arctic. The Polar Security Cutter will allow us to continue to engage with our fellow Arctic nations and our allies and our strategic competitors. I share with you a picture of our existing Polar icebreaker, but when you look around the world at the various flags, here we are sitting in the United States--one of eight Arctic nations--and we have two icebreakers. I say two--maybe that is all we need. One of them is currently in dry dock in the Seattle-Tacoma area. She is never going to see activity again. The other one, Polar Star, is on her second life. She is working hard, but she is down in Antarctica, and she will be in Antarctica until she, too, is retired. Then where does that leave us? Where does that put us? We have a medium-strength vessel, the Healy. She does great work, but that is what the United States has. Canada has nine government-owned, either operating or under construction. China has four--China, which has just determined they should be a ``Near-Arctic State.'' Russia has 34, and when you count those that are nongovernment-owned, it is well over 40. Here we are, the United States of America, an Arctic nation, and we are down to about one icebreaker. We have some work to do here. Over the past several years, funds have been secured through the Navy to get started on building a new Polar Security Cutter. This year, the administration wisely decided--and I thank them for working with us-- that it is time to lock in the project by budgeting the remaining funds necessary to complete the project. It is about $750 million. That is a lot of money. That is a lot of money, but I would submit that this investment in the Polar Security Cutter is a small price to pay for the ability to project U.S. sea power in the Arctic. The question of whether we follow through on this very important step is going to be determined this week, or perhaps next week, as we complete the fiscal year 2019 appropriations project. I would dare to suggest that our competitors in the Arctic are watching very, very closely whether we have the resolve to follow through on the first of these Polar Security Cutters. Bringing the Polar Security Cutter online will give us capacity--we appreciate that--but the next and perhaps even more difficult challenge is to build the infrastructure to support the next phase of U.S. sea power in the Arctic. Most critical for that is the development of a deepwater port in the Bering Sea. Our reality right now is that the Alaska deepwater port nearest to the Arctic is located in the Bering Sea. Dutch Harbor is almost 1,000 miles away from the Arctic. I am looking at my imaginary Alaska map here, but when you are down in the Aleutians--that is the nearest deepwater port--it is 1,000 miles to get to Point Hope, to Barrow, and that area. A port is a critical piece of infrastructure that is needed, and it will serve many, many uses. It can support the Navy, the Coast Guard, and NOAA's research missions. It will support search and rescue activities that may be necessitated by increasing commercial vessel traffic in the Arctic, and it will provide a platform for the United States to harvest some of the economic upside of the vessel transits. RADM Jon White, U.S. Navy, retired, is President and CEO of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership. At a recent event, which was sponsored by the Wilson Center, he characterized the requirement for a deepwater port in the Arctic as a ``no-brainer.'' He went on to say: ``Unfortunately, it's not a no-coster.'' Last summer, Navy Secretary Spencer looked at various sites, potential sites for a deepwater port. He is very engaged in seeing how we can work together to bring the funding partners to make this happen. We look forward to working with him toward this endeavor. His engagement is so greatly--greatly--appreciated. He clearly understands the potential here. All of these developments are very, positive, far more positive than we have seen in recent years. I am grateful for that. They are building blocks. The race to protect America's strategic interest in the Arctic demands attention on more than just defense; it will take coordination. That is why I am going to introduce today two pieces of legislation that are designed to reinvigorate America's national and commercial strategic efforts. For well over a decade now, you have heard me talk about how the diminishing Arctic sea ice presents both opportunities and concerns. If you look at this map here, you are looking at planet Earth from the perspective that most of us in Alaska view, which is from the top on down. You have the U.S. Arctic here with Alaska. You have the Canadian Arctic here. Here is Russia coming all the way around to Iceland, and Greenland is down in this area. As I mentioned at the beginning of my comments, we recognize the impact that climate change is having on the Arctic--rapid impacts, clearly--more so than in any other part of the United States. The latest report from the U.S. Global Change Research Program underscored this fact. Since the early eighties, the annual Arctic sea ice extent has gone down by about 4 percent per decade. The decrease for September sea ice extent--this is the time of year where we have had the least amount of ice. This time period has been even more pronounced at somewhere between 10.7 and 15.9 percent per decade in terms of the decrease in the sea ice. What does all of this mean? According to that report, it means we are likely to experience a sea ice-free Arctic summer before this century is out. Again, when you are looking at the top of the globe, looking at the Arctic here, all of the area in the light blue--you can't see the red around it--was all of the extent of the September sea ice back in 1979. In 2015--3 years ago--the extent of that September ice is here in the pink. As you can appreciate, as you are losing this throughout more parts of the year, it does point to a reality that we are likely to see in the not too terribly distant future--a sea ice-free Arctic summer. Loss of sea ice in the Arctic, of course, goes hand in hand with overall temperature warming. Over the last several years, it has been somewhat common to refer to the Arctic and include the fact that it is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the country. This latest climate report shows us that this is not exactly right. In fact, the North Slope of Alaska--this corner right there--is warming at 2.6 times the rate of the continental United States. Much of the rest of Alaska is warming at more than twice the continental U.S. rate as well. So it is not just twice as fast; it is more than twice as fast. Again, we are paying attention. I face this reality. I hear about this reality every time I step off an airplane in a rural community. I listen to the people there, particularly the elders, as they share their knowledge. Record low extent of Arctic sea ice threatens many of our indigenous communities because of threats of coastal erosion. With less ice, waves build up, beat against the shore, and erode it. It is more than just coastal erosion; it is the impact on their traditional ways of life--food security issues, hunting, access to resources to basically exist. We are very in tune. It is not just through the eyes of the people who are living there; this is abundantly clear in both the scientific data that is collected by our State and our Federal Agencies, as well as the experience of rural Alaska Natives. According to this most recent report, the cost of infrastructure damaged from a warming climate in Alaska alone--we had our own chapter in the report--could range from $110 to $270 million per year. So changes to our air, our water, our soil, our food security, our disease ecology directly and directly resulting from our warming climate are going to impact the lives and the health of every Alaskan. On the one hand, the future in the Arctic looks increasingly challenging for our rural communities. Then, on the other hand, the future also represents a new frontier. There are opportunities out there, whether they are in construction, in tourism, in energy, in minerals, in shipping, or in community development. You have challenges, and you have opportunities. For some time now, my team and I have been working on two pieces of Arctic legislation to support responsible investment and development in the U.S. Arctic. It hasn't been easy to meet the expectations and the needs of rural and indigenous communities that are most impacted by climate change in the U.S. Arctic, while, at the same time, focusing on economic development, environmental stewardship, human security, but we have really been trying to mesh these all together. I believe these two bills that I am introducing, along with Senator Sullivan--the Arctic Policy Act of 2018 and the Shipping and Environmental Arctic Leadership Act of 2018; that is, the SEAL Act--I think are steps in the right direction, helping us move closer to meeting these objectives. The first bill, the Arctic Policy Act of 2018, will statutorily establish the Arctic Executive Steering Committee under the Department of Homeland Security and provide the coordination necessary to advance a truly integrated plan for the Arctic. By reinvigorating the central coordinating body for Arctic issues, the legislation will provide a venue to deliver the type of plan America needs and, more importantly, a place to work that plan into action across Agencies. As it stands now, everybody has a little bit of a piece of something when it comes to the Arctic, but it doesn't really seem as though there is any coordinating entity. When you don't have anybody who ultimately has that responsibility, oftentimes, it is hard to see the progress. We know Federal policy does not exist in a vacuum, so in addition to establishing the Arctic Executive Steering Committee, the legislation would also establish an Arctic Advisory Committee to ensure that residents of the Arctic and Alaska Native people have a seat at the table for the development of policy. They don't want to be sitting back and being told what is happening; they want a seat at the table. As the indigenous peoples of the region, they fully have that right. Further, the legislation calls for the establishment of regional Tribal advisory groups, starting with the Bering Sea Regional Tribal Advisory Group to advise the Federal Government as it shapes national priorities within the region. These Tribal advisory groups will be empowered to provide advice on specific challenges or regionally important issues. I would like to say that if you go to rural Alaska, if you go to a small village, you are not going to find a lot of Ph.D.s out there, but what they do have is a Ph.D. in Arctic living. They know what is going on. Their very lives and survival depend on understanding and appreciating the world around them. In the Arctic, we have an opportunity to show the world how to integrate indigenous knowledge and voices into policy and science. That is why the legislation will also update the Arctic Research and Policy Act of 1984. This was legislation my father introduced when he was here in the Senate. We will update this to include more Native voices at the Arctic Research Commission and thereby push to include traditional knowledge and community coordination in our Nation's scientific efforts in the Arctic, especially our efforts to study and understand climate change.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XX, all postcloture time on the McNamee nomination expire at 12 noon on Thursday, December 6; further, that if the nomination is confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action. I further ask that following disposition of the nomination, the Senate resume consideration of the Kraninger nomination and the time be equally divided in the usual form until 1:45 p.m.; further, that following the use or yielding back of that time, the Senate vote on the Kraninger nomination as under the previous order; finally, that if the nomination is confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.