Lisa Murkowski

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I am scheduled to be part of a colloquy here in just a couple minutes, but I wanted to make a comment about what the Senator from Washington has shared. I am going to use a term that maybe some people are not familiar with. We are in a ``Morton's fork''--a Morton's fork. We have heard about a fork in the road. Some people know what a Hobson's choice is. But a Morton's fork is a choice between two equally unpleasant alternatives. And if this isn't where we are right now, ladies and gentlemen, I don't know what is. As Senator Murray has outlined, a long-term CR--a long-term CR--when we have already done our appropriations work and we are not able to get to that work and instead we basically give the administration the ability to direct within the funding levels but direct as they will see fit through the end of September is something that I think many of us-- certainly this appropriator--do not really feel comfortable with. I spent a lot of time within my Appropriations subcommittee, working very hard with the Department of the Interior, to make sure that we knew, whether it was funding for wildland firefighters or what we were doing within the VA or within any of the other Agencies--that we did what people asked and expected us to do. We did those bills, and I think we did a pretty good job. Mine moved out of full committee unanimously, and then they didn't advance. So here we are sitting at a place where we have to take either the choice of a long-term CR and basically give up the work that we have done as a Congress or we move to a government shutdown, an equally untenable and equally unpleasant alternative and one that, quite honestly, we should not be in this position. We should not be in this place where we have two bad choices for our government and for the people of this country. We can do better. I wish--I agree, Senator Murray--I wish that what we were able to advance was a short-term CR that would allow us to move to finish up our appropriations bills, do our work, and then start moving on to fiscal year 2026. I don't know whether it is possible between now and the end of day on March 14, but I, for one, am at a place where I am just beside myself that we are in a place where we feel that we have no good alternatives. We are in a Morton's fork.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I join my colleague from Utah, the chairman of the Energy Committee, in speaking today in clear opposition to S.J. Res. 10, which would terminate the energy emergency that has been declared by President Trump. I think my colleagues here on both sides of the aisle know that I am not afraid to suggest when I think that the President may be heading in the wrong direction. But, folks, on this one, he absolutely, positively clearly hit the mark, and I think that the chairman of the Energy Committee has outlined in pretty good detail how that has come about. We know that our country is blessed with extraordinary-- extraordinary--assets. We have the potential to become the world's leading resource superpower. But in order to do that, we have to be able to produce more energy domestically, and that means we have to be able to extract more minerals. We have to be able to build more transmission lines. We need to be able to overhaul what is clearly a broken Federal permitting process. And we can do this. We can do this in a way that is cheaper, that is more reliable, more clean, really, than any other nation in the world. But we have got to kind of dig out now from where we have been over these past 4 years, where we saw setback after setback for resource-producing States like mine, the State of Alaska. Let me give you a little detail in terms of what we are facing in the State of Alaska--a State that, again, is known for its resource wealth. But right now, in the south central part of the State, we are on the verge of importing LNG to meet the needs of some 75 percent of our population during the colder winter months. I will just repeat that. Alaska, the place where everybody knows we have got extraordinary oil resources--we have extraordinary natural gas potential, not only in the North Slope but down in Cook Inlet. Well, Cook Inlet reserves are on the decline, and we are actually talking about importing LNG from Canada. That ought to just be considered a nonstarter for anyone who knows and understands the extraordinary potential for resource development that we have in our State with the wealth that we have. Right now, in some of our remote communities across the State, residents are truly in what I would describe as an energy emergency. They might not use that term anymore because they have just gotten so used to the fact that they are paying so much to keep their lights on and to keep warm. We have residents in many communities that are spending up to one-half of their incomes on energy just, again, to keep the lights on and to keep warm. Think about what that means when you are spending half of what you make for just the basic necessities. It means that you have less to feed your family, to educate your kids. We have got communities where power costs 10 times the national average, where gasoline can easily exceed $10 a gallon, and that includes diesel as well. And those costs, of course, impact everything--everything--because you have got to move your food, your goods, usually by airplane, sometimes over the water, sometimes you are able to drive it. But when you are paying this much for diesel, for gasoline, for avgas, it impacts everything. So it is not unusual to go into a village store, and if you can find a gallon of milk, see that it costs 18 bucks a gallon. I do my comparison shopping by checking the prices of a box of Tide. People need to be able to wash their clothing just for sanitary purposes. Almost in every village that I am going to, you are looking at prices over $50 a box--$50 for a box of Tide laundry detergent--and it is not because Tide is any more expensive than anything else. It is just the reality of what we are paying here. So I think we have got an energy emergency when it comes to affordability. Right now, in our State, we have an oil pipeline that is one-quarter filled. We have this pipeline that has been pumping oil safely from the North Slope to delivery down in Valdez, going to other parts of the country for refining. That oil pipeline was completed in 1974 and has been producing for America ever since. But right now, it is about one- quarter full. That pipeline starts in, again, one of the most geologically prospective regions on the Earth. But what is happening is you have Federal Government control that surrounds most of the lands there, and it has led to decreased opportunities to expand production up there and a pipeline that, again, is about one-quarter full. I mentioned the benefits of oil here and talked about natural gas, but we also have known deposits of about 50 critical minerals, the building blocks of our modern society and our national security. We have just about everything that our Nation needs to break its deep dependence on China, to be able to rebuild our supply chains. But if you can't access it, you can't produce it, and we can't benefit from it. When we try to build a road from the Dalton Highway to the Ambler Mining District--this is explicitly provided by a 1980 Federal law--we did this as part of a grand compromise. The road corridor was in exchange for the creation of a massive national park and preserve. But we can get that project approved in one administration, only to have the next one come in, reopen it, ignore the law, and then make a political decision to reject it. And then, here in Congress, we run into a partisan wall with some less interested in the rule of law than the whims of the very same environmental groups that pushed this resolution. And then, meanwhile, what is happening when we are not able to produce in our own home States, China is cutting us off from its mineral exports, including the gallium and the germanium that we could produce from the Ambler District, if only the Federal Government would uphold its promise to allow Alaskans to responsibly access it. So, yes, when I look at my home State, when I look at Alaska, I do see an energy emergency--I see several, actually--and I see even more reasons to be concerned nationally. As the chairman of the Energy Committee just noted, electricity demand is growing, and yet we can't permit new powerplants or build transmission lines. We can't build pipelines in the Northeast or almost anything, particularly mines, on Federal lands in the West. And, you know, I guess I am listening to some of the arguments that are being presented here, and maybe I would feel differently if my home State was producing more than 2 million barrels of oil per day, as some are. But we are not, and it is not because we can't. It is because we have been denied the opportunity to do so. And that is why I am very thankful for President Trump and the administration for the focus that they have given to the State of Alaska with a specific Executive order to allow us to unleash Alaska's energy and resource potential. I have shared with the Secretary of the Interior, as well as the Secretary of Energy, that we need to stop treating energy like it is some kind of an evil or a bad thing. We need to recognize that it is good. When I was chairman of the Energy Committee, we had a little bumper sticker, and I summed up my whole policy with ``Energy is good.'' I haven't deviated from that policy. Energy makes us stronger, makes us less vulnerable, and it is an asset, not a liability, like we have seen it treated as such. We need to be unleashing our resources, including--including--all of our renewables, because that is all part of the energy basket as well. So it is not an either-or in my view. It is all of the above. And that is good for our economy. It is good for our security. It is good for our geopolitical power. America's resource production is good for the global environment because, when we are producing our resources--where we stop paying countries that have little to no environmental standards, no interest in reducing their emissions, and that often rely on child or slave labor and that, frankly, don't even like us--so why not seize the opportunities that we have here, benefit our own people, our own economies, and, again, benefit the global environment as well. So if an energy emergency helps us figure this all out, then I am good with that. And if it helps us take the Federal sanctions that we have seen placed on Alaska and return my State to the heart of our national strategy for resource production, then that is also good. I think we will all be better off. I yield the floor.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 79, which was submitted earlier today.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. For the information of all Senators, Senators should expect a procedural vote at 5:30 p.m. in relation to filing cloture on the Patel nomination, followed by the confirmation vote on the Lutnick nomination, and further votes are possible.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn to then convene for pro forma session only with no business being conducted on Friday, February 14, at 9 a.m.; further, that when the Senate adjourns on February 14, it stand adjourned until 3 p.m. on Tuesday, February 18; that following the prayer and pledge, Senator Wicker be recognized to deliver Washington's Farewell Address, as provided under the previous order; and that following his remarks, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate be in a period of morning business for debate only until 5:30 p.m., with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each; finally, that at 5:30 p.m. the majority leader be recognized.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 80, which was submitted earlier today.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be discharged from further consideration of S. 146 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about a century- long dispute. A hundred years plus, there has been a dispute about the Federal designation of North America's tallest mountain. It is a pretty majestic picture, but it does nothing to really convey the amazing grandeur of Denali. It is majestic. It is breathtaking. It is something that as Alaskans and as a lifelong Alaskan, there is not a day when I am able to see Denali and just say--just kind of breathe deep, because it is that extraordinary. And in my hometown of Anchorage, we are about 250 miles away from Denali, and on clear days, when you are on the road, just about a mile from my house, just a little bit of elevation, you can see the mountain. And we talk about it that way. We say: She is out. The mountain is out today. The big one is out today. It is an extraordinary gift from God, really. Snow-blanketed crevasses, the ridges are just gleaming in the sun. How this mountain connects earth to sky beyond, it is just extraordinary. And, again, this picture is beautiful--obviously, on a summer day. There is never a time when she is not covered in snow, but Denali can also be one of the coldest, most treacherous places on Earth. It has storms in the middle of winter. You expect that. But it has storms in the middle of July that obey no rules. It has its own rules. Denali creates its own weather. It literally creates its own weather. I had an opportunity to go up on Ruth Glacier on my birthday. My birthday happens to be the end of May. It was going to be an extraordinary big-ticket item--it was a big-ticket item, but we were chased off that mountain after about 40 minutes because the weather which, when we had arrived at the mountain, was pretty great, and in 40 minutes, she was shutting down, and we were either going to be spending the night there, which was not prime condition to do, or we were getting off in order to get out safely. You respect her. But it is a place where you respect the nature around you because what can be that perfect day can descend with wind and snow into chaos. It falls on you so quickly, you can't see your own footprints in the snow. The lives that have been lost and the legends of the stories told remain, but no matter what happens with the weather, as transitory as all that is, Denali stands resilient and true. For centuries, the Koyukon Athabascans have lived, they have hunted, they have foraged, they have loved, they have died, they have survived in the shadow of this great mountain. They have been on the waterways, in the valleys, on the hills, and in the ridges. Alaska Natives have persevered in one of the most challenging climates, and they have done so in harmony with the food supply and the surroundings around them. Denali is Koyukon for ``the Great One,'' for ``the Great One.'' This is how Native people have always known it, and as the great witness of untold stories from their ancestors. The very first-ever map to label the mountain read ``Tenada,'' and this is a transcription of Denali--again, the Great One. The first mountaineers to summit the peak called it Denali. It is interesting to note that the first individual to actually summit was not the mountaineers who had paid for the climb, but it was the Alaskan Native guide who took them safely and successfully to the top. But it is the same Native people, those same mountaineers that were baffled that anyone would dare to modify the original Native name. And yet, in 1917, the mountain was not named Denali. And there is a fair amount of legend that comes with that as well, that there was a trapper who came out of the woods--this was during the early days of the President McKinley administration--and he said: Out of respect, let's honor the new President. But much like Native lands, health, and culture, you just don't come in and say we are going to disregard, we are going to disrespect the rightful name, the name that had been in place for generations, for thousands of years. And so since that time in 1917, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names has received over 20,000 letters and signatures, most of them--the vast majority of them calling for the name Denali to be restored. This massive mountain commands a reverent name, a steadfast name--not the name of an individual, a person who comes and goes, who may have had an impact for a brief moment in time. But this is ageless, timeless. The Great One, 20,310 feet tall, the tallest mountain in North America. So when you have something that is that significant, that is that connected as part of the land in ways that are beyond just a mere name--but, again, a reverence with which you speak of this piece of land, this geography. When Alaskans leave our home State and boast to outsiders, whether spinning a globe or just talking about it, we say: That is Denali. That is the Great One. She is out today. So that is why today I have introduced legislation that would officially restore the federally recognized name of this quintessential mountain as Denali. Now, this is not the first time I have done this. This is actually the fourth Congress that I have introduced this legislation. Maybe I am persistent; I think Alaskans are just very resilient, and we will continue to be. We will continue to be because this magnificent mountain is something that each of us holds in our hearts, that we hold dear. For these last 100 years or so, we have continued to call our great mountain Denali, regardless, and will continue to do that 100 years going forward. Denali existed before any person, and it will remain long after we are dust. So I share this with my colleagues today, letting you know that we put this legislation out there. My introduction follows on the actions of the Alaska State Legislature--both the house and the senate have moved a resolution urging us in Congress to move forward with this and officially restore the federally recognized name, and so I am pleased to be able to begin that process today.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about a century- long dispute. A hundred years plus, there has been a dispute about the Federal designation of North America's tallest mountain. It is a pretty majestic picture, but it does nothing to really convey the amazing grandeur of Denali. It is majestic. It is breathtaking. It is something that as Alaskans and as a lifelong Alaskan, there is not a day when I am able to see Denali and just say--just kind of breathe deep, because it is that extraordinary. And in my hometown of Anchorage, we are about 250 miles away from Denali, and on clear days, when you are on the road, just about a mile from my house, just a little bit of elevation, you can see the mountain. And we talk about it that way. We say: She is out. The mountain is out today. The big one is out today. It is an extraordinary gift from God, really. Snow-blanketed crevasses, the ridges are just gleaming in the sun. How this mountain connects earth to sky beyond, it is just extraordinary. And, again, this picture is beautiful--obviously, on a summer day. There is never a time when she is not covered in snow, but Denali can also be one of the coldest, most treacherous places on Earth. It has storms in the middle of winter. You expect that. But it has storms in the middle of July that obey no rules. It has its own rules. Denali creates its own weather. It literally creates its own weather. I had an opportunity to go up on Ruth Glacier on my birthday. My birthday happens to be the end of May. It was going to be an extraordinary big-ticket item--it was a big-ticket item, but we were chased off that mountain after about 40 minutes because the weather which, when we had arrived at the mountain, was pretty great, and in 40 minutes, she was shutting down, and we were either going to be spending the night there, which was not prime condition to do, or we were getting off in order to get out safely. You respect her. But it is a place where you respect the nature around you because what can be that perfect day can descend with wind and snow into chaos. It falls on you so quickly, you can't see your own footprints in the snow. The lives that have been lost and the legends of the stories told remain, but no matter what happens with the weather, as transitory as all that is, Denali stands resilient and true. For centuries, the Koyukon Athabascans have lived, they have hunted, they have foraged, they have loved, they have died, they have survived in the shadow of this great mountain. They have been on the waterways, in the valleys, on the hills, and in the ridges. Alaska Natives have persevered in one of the most challenging climates, and they have done so in harmony with the food supply and the surroundings around them. Denali is Koyukon for ``the Great One,'' for ``the Great One.'' This is how Native people have always known it, and as the great witness of untold stories from their ancestors. The very first-ever map to label the mountain read ``Tenada,'' and this is a transcription of Denali--again, the Great One. The first mountaineers to summit the peak called it Denali. It is interesting to note that the first individual to actually summit was not the mountaineers who had paid for the climb, but it was the Alaskan Native guide who took them safely and successfully to the top. But it is the same Native people, those same mountaineers that were baffled that anyone would dare to modify the original Native name. And yet, in 1917, the mountain was not named Denali. And there is a fair amount of legend that comes with that as well, that there was a trapper who came out of the woods--this was during the early days of the President McKinley administration--and he said: Out of respect, let's honor the new President. But much like Native lands, health, and culture, you just don't come in and say we are going to disregard, we are going to disrespect the rightful name, the name that had been in place for generations, for thousands of years. And so since that time in 1917, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names has received over 20,000 letters and signatures, most of them--the vast majority of them calling for the name Denali to be restored. This massive mountain commands a reverent name, a steadfast name--not the name of an individual, a person who comes and goes, who may have had an impact for a brief moment in time. But this is ageless, timeless. The Great One, 20,310 feet tall, the tallest mountain in North America. So when you have something that is that significant, that is that connected as part of the land in ways that are beyond just a mere name--but, again, a reverence with which you speak of this piece of land, this geography. When Alaskans leave our home State and boast to outsiders, whether spinning a globe or just talking about it, we say: That is Denali. That is the Great One. She is out today. So that is why today I have introduced legislation that would officially restore the federally recognized name of this quintessential mountain as Denali. Now, this is not the first time I have done this. This is actually the fourth Congress that I have introduced this legislation. Maybe I am persistent; I think Alaskans are just very resilient, and we will continue to be. We will continue to be because this magnificent mountain is something that each of us holds in our hearts, that we hold dear. For these last 100 years or so, we have continued to call our great mountain Denali, regardless, and will continue to do that 100 years going forward. Denali existed before any person, and it will remain long after we are dust. So I share this with my colleagues today, letting you know that we put this legislation out there. My introduction follows on the actions of the Alaska State Legislature--both the house and the senate have moved a resolution urging us in Congress to move forward with this and officially restore the federally recognized name, and so I am pleased to be able to begin that process today.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate be in a period of morning business for debate only, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I want to shift gears for just a moment. Colleagues know that I am the chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. I have been on this committee since I came to the Senate, and it is a position that I hold very close. I represent a constituency of Alaskan Natives back in my home State. We have over one-half the Tribes in the United States of America, and so my responsibility to them as their Federal representative is one, again, that I take very, very seriously. There has been a fair amount of confusion, I think, uncertainty that has been brought about by many of the Executive orders, some of the Federal actions that we have seen, whether it is funding freezes or programs that are being put on pause. But one area that I want to make very, very clear to colleagues, as I have sought to make clear to those who are part of the incoming administration, that when we are speaking about our Indian Tribes and our Tribal programs, and the Federal funding that they receive, they do not fall into the category, if you will, of diversity, equity, inclusion. And so when the Executive order was announced in the very first week of the Trump administration, there was confusion as to whether or not Indian and Tribal programs were impacted, and in that confusion, I think, a lot of undue stress and anxiety. And so I immediately asked the OMB--I met with Mr. Vought personally, and I asked him to take steps immediately to reaffirm the unique treatment, the programs and services to Indian Tribes based on their political and their legal status, which is recognized in our U.S. Constitution, in our treaties, under many Federal laws and policies, to ensure that there is no disruption to our Federal Tribal programs. We know--our Supreme Court has affirmed our Indian Tribes are a unique political class--this is not a racial one--and their sovereignty and their trust relationship with the Federal Government must be upheld. And I shared this in a letter to the Acting Director of OMB. We have seen, at least in a couple of the Departments already, that they clearly understand this distinct legal and political relationship. The Department of the Interior very quickly moved to add clarification. On January 30, the Department of the Interior issued a Secretarial order that acknowledges that nothing in their order should be construed to affect the activities that implement the legal requirements, independent of the EOs, including the statutory authorities, treaty, and/or trust obligations of the Department to our Tribal nations and to our Native Hawaiian community. And so I appreciated that very clear message coming out of the Department of the Interior so early. I think that it can be used as that model, that template, for other Federal Agencies because it is not just within Interior that we see Tribal programs, it is in other areas. We have just recently seen, out of the Department of Health and Human Services, that they recognize that as well. We are working, again, to make sure that any Tribal program has the clarity that they need and assurance that they and the beneficiaries will not be impacted. We have a trust responsibility. We have an obligation that is clear. So avoiding any confusion, misunderstanding, or anxiety is something that I think we owe to our indigenous peoples across the country, and I am thankful that many within the new administration have stepped up to work with us to clear up any confusion that may be out there. I yield the floor.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Rules for the 119th Congress be printed in the Record.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I want to thank and acknowledge Senator Schatz, as well as his team on the Indian Affairs Committee, for their work as we have sought to advance S. 1723, the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act. I also want to acknowledge Senator Warren for her help on this and, of course, the Native American Boarding School Coalition and so many of the advocates that really, really have helped us advance this. As the chairman of the committee has noted, we have worked this legislation over a long period of time, and it is a priority for us in the committee because, for too long--for far too long--this dark legacy of the Indian boarding school era has just kind of sat in the corner, unrecognized and unacknowledged. From 1819 to 1969, the U.S. Government forcibly removed Native children from their families and Tribes and placed them in boarding schools. These Indian boarding schools, as they came to be called, were not just education institutions, but, oftentimes, they were viewed as tools to eradicate Native cultures, languages, and traditions to ``civilize'' Native American children--again, a very dark era within our government. So what we seek to do with this bill is to create a commission to bring light to the generational trauma caused by this time of Indian boarding schools. By allowing people's stories to be heard, we can help honor the experience of victims and their families, facilitate healing, and foster greater understanding and empathy among all people. I think this is a good step and an important step in helping the survivors of Indian boarding schools and the families and communities that were impacted, to help them find healing. We have heard stories--I have heard stories--of many in my State who attended boarding schools, some in the State of Alaska, some outside the State of Alaska, in the listening sessions that Secretary Haaland led, as Secretary of the Interior, on this very important issue. Again, these are stories that must be recognized. And, again, I thank those who have shared them because, at many times, they were very painful, uncovering scars from the past. But how we can offer ways to pursue healing is what this commission is all about. Again, my thanks to Chairman Schatz for being such a great partner on this legislation, as well as on so many other matters that we have been able to advance successfully through the committee. And my thanks to the chairman's team and to mine, as the ranking member on the committee. We have done good work. It has been a successful year for the committee. I am hoping--hoping--that there is a path somehow and that this legislation will actually be able to be taken up by the House of Representatives and signed into law. That would be a good and a fitting ending.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, or (KBNERR), has enhanced appreciation and understanding of Alaska's Kachemak Bay ecosystem for a generation, allowing for tremendous research, partnerships, and educational programs to develop. Given it is the 25th anniversary of the Reserve, it is appropriate to acknowledge the importance of protecting and studying the area, while also commending the work done across the National Estuarine Research Reserve System. The establishment of this Reserve in 1999, which is the largest in the system, has ensured that 372,000 acres of Kachemak Bay's coasts and estuaries are studied through place-based learning and locally driven research questions. Research and long-term monitoring of the bay's complex ecosystem and surrounding watershed provide communities the information they need to be stewards of natural resources in the region and respond to changing conditions. Additionally, as a sentinel site for the Gulf of Alaska, work done at KBNERR informs natural resource management across Alaska and the Nation. As part of the University of Alaska Anchorage's Alaska Center for Conservation Science, KBNERR researchers actively participate in community outreach and, through training and education programs, ensure that scientific information is available to decision-makers, the public, and younger generations. KBNERR and its NERRS counterparts have contributed greatly to habitat protection and economic growth. Across the country, these Reserves have produced thousands of jobs and research positions, protected millions of acres of land, and secured the continued vitality of fisheries and natural infrastructure. Thank you to the university and KBNERR staff and communities surrounding Kachemak Bay who make it possible to enhance our appreciation and understanding of Alaska's coastal lands and waters, ensuring our natural resources remain healthy and productive well into the future.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I am really glad to see we can pass eight bills by unanimous consent here. I want to thank my colleague from California Senator Padilla, my colleague from Oregon Senator Merkley, and my colleague from Ohio Senator Brown for helping to work to develop these pairs and to move them forward. I also want to acknowledge the cloakroom teams--thank you very much; we appreciate that--as well as the ranking member and the chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee--Chairman Manchin and Ranking Member Barrasso--and their committee for their assistance. We have now passed a total of five Alaska lands-related bills in the past couple days. Just last night, my friend Senator Hirono graciously offered a pair that included my legislation to sunset an outdated requirement in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act for Native village corporations to help convey lands to the State of Alaska to be held in trust for municipal uses. By sunsetting this requirement and allowing our village corporations to regain title to these lands, it will help free up lands for pressing needs such as housing. I hear it all the time when I am out in the villages. We were able to move that measure. We paired it with a bill from Congresswoman Radewagen to allow American Samoa to more easily make amendments to its territorial constitution. I was out in American Samoa with a group of Members a couple of months ago, and this was a priority for the Congresswoman and for the Governor. So it is good news for them as well. The four bills that we just moments ago passed are important as well. We have legislation to amend ANCSA to ensure that when aged, blind, or disabled Alaska Natives receive dividends from their settlement trusts, they do not inadvertently become ineligible for certain Federal assistance programs. We have another bill that settles Cape Fox's remaining land entitlement to remedy an injustice limiting where they can select lands. This has been going on for more than half a century here, so very important to the people down in the Cape Fox region. Then we have my legislation to reauthorize the National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System, to provide for critical research and monitoring systems, upgrade existing networks, and install new detection technology. This helps in a State like mine or a State like Hawaii, where we have people who are living around volcanos. We included legislation led by my colleague from Alaska Senator Sullivan to extend the Alaskan Native Vietnam Veterans Allotment Program for an additional 5 years. This is to ensure that eligible individuals and their heirs can receive their rightful lands. These are individuals who stood up, answered the call, served in Vietnam, and during their service were unable to make their Native selections. So remedying this has been a long cause of both mine and Senator Sullivan. So we recognize that this is the end of the year, and all of these measures that have just passed all start with an S-dot, which means they are Senate bills. They are going to go to the House. They may not become law this year. We get that, although hope springs eternal around this place. But I am hopeful that the House can pass potentially some more bills by suspension. If they can't, we can revisit these in the new year, which are absolutely not controversial, but to get them across the finish line in this body is important. I know there are a lot of folks in these communities that are waiting for final action on that. So I am pleased to be able to actually do some legislating here this evening. I yield the floor.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported amendments, where applicable, be agreed to; that the bills as amended, if amended, be considered read a third time and passed; that the committee-reported title amendment to S. 3790 be considered and agreed to; that the title of S. 3790, as amended, be considered and agreed to; and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. As if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the following bills en bloc: Calendar No. 128, S. 623; Calendar No. 626, S. 4451; Calendar No. 635, S. 4974; Calendar No. 298, S. 2020; Calendar No. 606, S. 3617; Calendar No. 632, S. 4851; Calendar No. 608, S. 3790; and Calendar No. 591, S. 2784.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about commitment--commitment across our Nation--in each of our States and towns and cities and in the villages in Alaska, and the men and women who have made a commitment to their neighbors and to strangers and to the broader community. These are our teachers. They are our nurses. They are our firefighters, emergency responders, and police--public servants who manage applications for Federal and State benefits like SNAP, unemployment, and disaster assistance. They ensure that our elections are well run. They get our streets paved and plowed. They have made their commitment to serve. And for many of these public servants, their States have opted out of Social Security, and so they are not paying into the system. But many of them have had other jobs in the past or will have other jobs in the future. These are jobs that will require them to contribute into Social Security. In many cases, they have contributed to Social Security for an entire career before taking on a job in public service. And then, when they retire--when folks retire, you assume that the Social Security benefits that you have paid into you are going to be receiving. These are benefits that people are entitled to receive, benefits that they are entitled to as the spouse or the survivor or both. But for decades now, the commitment that these public servants have given to their communities and to our Nation has been returned with two acronyms that have had devastating consequences for, unfortunately, far too many Americans: GPO and WEP. For many in my State of Alaska, these are like swear words--GPO and WEP, government pension offset and windfall elimination provision. The Social Security benefits of spouses, widows, and widowers were first cut by the GPO in 1977. Then, in 1983, Congress went after the benefits of the retirees themselves with the WEP. These two provisions have been responsible for reducing Social Security benefits from hard- working Americans who have earned them and then from their spouses, widows, and widowers. And it is in Alaska where the highest number per capita of teachers and public employees are impacted. So when you look at the map of the United States and those areas where you have the highest negative impact from the WEP provision and the GPO provision, it is, unfortunately, in my home State of Alaska. And it might not sound like a lot--15,156 Alaskans who are impacted by either GPO or WEP or both. These are all their stories. These are all individual Alaskans who have stories about how this has impacted them--like the retired teacher who is just one paycheck away from homelessness because, after serving for years as a teacher, she lost two-thirds of her earned Social Security benefits because of WEP; or the young Alaska widow who is in dire financial straits following her husband's recent unexpected death, simply because of GPO or WEP; or the senior citizen who taught for over 25 years, then turned to commercial fishing, and then he worked for BLM and the U.S. Forest Service--this is a career track that you see with a lot of Alaskans. His Social Security was cut by over 30 percent. So now, at 82 years old, he is still working to make ends meet. This is not retirement, folks. These aren't hypotheticals. These are real stories from Alaskans who have reached out to me asking me, as their Senator, to help them. I have been hearing from these folks for the entire tenure that I have been here in the U.S. Senate--hearing about the disparate impact on Alaskans, hearing about the inequity, the unfairness: I have earned these benefits, and yet I am not able to receive the full benefit. Where is the fairness in that? And so I have not just listened to my constituents; I have responded and stepped forward. In every single Congress since I have been here in the U.S. Senate, I have cosponsored legislation to eliminate GPO and WEP, and proudly so. But it has been very frustrating because, over these 22 years now, I have got constituents who are saying: This is happening to me in realtime right now. And I have to say: This is hard. This formula is not right. We get it. We have got to address it, but this is going to be expensive. So until we are able to do more wholesale reforms, I don't know how we are going to be able to help you in the Senate. That is not a satisfying answer to that teacher, to that firefighter, and to that widow. So I was so pleased to be able to cast my vote yesterday to move to passage of the Social Security Fairness Act. I am proud that 72 of us here in the Senate joined together, and I am truly looking forward to final passage of this important measure before I return home. And when I get home, I will be able to tell school districts that you are going to have a better chance. It is going to be a little bit easier for you to recruit and retain good teachers and principals because the disincentive to work in a State that is impacted by GPO and WEP is going to be gone for us in Alaska. I will also be able to tell firefighters and the police and EMS responders that they are not going to have the burden of knowing that their retirement is going to be less secure or their spouse's retirement will be less secure after years of putting themselves on the line in service to our communities. And I will be able to tell my neighbors and the folks I meet in the grocery store and in the community meetings that their service is not more of a sacrifice than it should be. I am proud of the work that we have been able to do on behalf of Alaskans and for over 800,000 Americans in other States who are affected by GPO and the over 2 million people in the States who are impacted by WEP. In the next Congress, it is going to be up to all of us to look at Social Security's solvency from a larger perspective, to work on it, debate on it, and vote on ways to ensure that this vital retirement program is going to continue to ensure that Americans are able to retire with dignity and security. With that, I yield the floor.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, on March 6, 2021, almost a year to the day after communities across America--and Alaska--shut down in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19, this body was voting on the third COVID relief bill, the American Rescue Plan. Unfortunately, this was a wholly partisan exercise. Rather than advancing a bipartisan consensus effort, one side unilaterally pushed forward the largest spending package Congress had ever advanced, which I was not able to support. However, in the midst of that bogged down, partisan exercise, there was a bright spot of cross-aisle collaboration that brought together Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. In fact, it was one of only three amendments that passed with unanimous support during a contentious process where over 40 votes were taken. I am speaking of my amendment with Senators Manchin, Portman, Sinema, Collins, and Sullivan to designate $800 million of the K12 education funds in the bill to be used for identifying, supporting, and educating children and youth experiencing homelessness. I offered this amendment because the first two COVID relief packages did not include any dedicated funding to support this vulnerable population, who were arguably the most negatively impacted by school closures. At that time, 2,578 Alaskan children and youth were identified as experiencing homelessness. That number grew to 3,554 in the next school year. Unfortunately, we are on pace to break records this school year. Homelessness has far-reaching impacts on young people, affecting both their personal development and education. Living without a stable home means increased stress, insecurity, and trauma, leading to mental health challenges such as anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. The tolls of their living situation also affects their physical health, increasing the risk of illness, obesity, diabetes, and hunger. Many youth struggle with regular sleep without a consistent place to rest their head. And many turn to substance abuse to cope with hardships. For youth in school, homelessness often results in frequent school absences, difficulty concentrating, and lower academic achievement, as the instability of their living conditions makes it hard to focus on learning. The likelihood of dropping out of school rises dramatically, and so does the risk of being involved in the juvenile justice system. Homeless youth may lack access to essential resources like school supplies, quiet study spaces, and nutritious meals, further widening the achievement gap. Now I am probably not breaking any news to those of us in Congress, who have heard too many stories of young people enduring these incredibly trying conditions. But I am here today to share some incredible news on this front from the bipartisan work done on this floor to help our youths in crisis. In my home State of Alaska, we received $2.35 million in these funds, more than eight times its usual allocation. To see the impact that these funds have had makes my heart sing. What was really incredible was seeing how each district used these funds creatively to meet the unique and specific needs of the kids they serve. By providing districts flexibility in their spending, schools were able to provide everything from school supplies to cell phones to clothing and food. In the Kenai Peninsula School District, they used funds to help a student access mental health services. This particular student had experienced homelessness and housing instability for the majority of their time in public education. After falling off the radar of the school, the student became an unaccompanied homeless youth due to parental substance use disorder and incarceration. These homeless youth funds were a lifeline in providing critical mental health services to support this student, giving them tools for coping, and helped place them on a path to sustained stability at a time when they were experiencing incredible uncertainty and didn't have someone in their life to help guide them. In Anchorage, the school district used these funds to provide Wi-Fi hot spots, since the subsidized broadband internet was no longer available. These funds enabled the purchase of 15 Wi-Fi hot spots for families last school year and 10 more for this year. You can imagine that for families and youth who are moving from place to place--motels, cars, couches--access to reliable internet to complete homework and communicate with teachers is a particular challenge. No other district program is able to support homeless students this way. ASD's Migrant Education, Indigenous Education, and English Language Learners departments see this as a big need but one they cannot address. In addition to hotspots, Anchorage School District's program was able to provide car repairs. Now, that might seem like a strange way to help those experiencing homelessness, but districts discovered that car repairs made more economic sense than providing cab services for young people trying to attend classes. By providing $200 on car repair costs, the district ultimately saved money on transportation, and families had more reliable car services. Both districts also used funding to bring on additional staff designated to work with homeless students. The Child in Transition Program in the Anchorage School District was able to hire two full-time staff for remote sites and five part-time staff in high schools to support students on campus and connect them to services. These staffers are connecting students and families with identification efforts, checking in on attendance and grades, monitoring and supporting academic progress, and facilitating referrals with community partners. In fact, one of these staffers was able to build rapport with a student experiencing homelessness who was interested in applying for a job, but didn't know how to start the process. By having a dedicated staff member, who they knew and trusted, the support and resources were there for this student to apply for the position and prepare for their interview. Today, that young person is employed. These real-life examples highlight what this funding is actually doing on the ground and the incredible, real world benefits it has in the lives of youth and families experiencing homelessness. We know that the No. 1 risk factor for adult homelessness is the lack of a high school education or equivalent. The challenges and hardships that youth experiencing homelessness face can set them on the wrong path, severely limiting future opportunities for employment and healthy lifestyles. These funds are still directly supporting students so they can attend school and have the resources to successfully complete their education. This funding is helping young people get out of the homelessness cycle permanently. I am proud to stand here with my colleagues to share the impact of this American Rescue Plan provision. I was disappointed that we were not able to get a clean 1-year extension done so that we can continue to hear good stories of the work being done in our communities to identify and support homeless youth. There were a number of reasons that States and local education agencies were not able to fully spend down their funds--from local education agencies not even being aware of the additional flexible funds, to delayed guidelines from the Department of Education on allowable uses. So without an extension, some States will be returning funds. And make no mistake: These are funds that are still critically needed in our communities. The youth experiencing homelessness in our States still need our support, and we expect to see continued increases in homeless youth. To be clear, there is more work to be done with homelessness on the rise. I urge my colleagues to work with us to address these issues.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I have come to the floor this morning to speak about the nomination of Dr. Michael Sfraga. He is an Alaskan, and he has been nominated to be our Nation's very first Ambassador at Large for the Arctic. We are going to have this vote very shortly, and my hope is that colleagues will see not only the imperative for an Arctic Ambassador at this moment in time but also to recognize that this nominee, Dr. Sfraga, is absolutely impeccable in terms of his qualifications for this position. He is one who is known widely throughout Arctic circles as our Arctic expert and the expert in everything from research to policy, to national security. We are the only Arctic Nation that lacks an Arctic Ambassador. I think colleagues are at that point in time where they recognize it is past time that we have that representation in the room when issues are as contentious as they are. Let me just share with you a few reminders about what is happening in the Far North. We were all made aware, on July 24, when Russian and Chinese bombers flew a joint patrol for the first time off the coast of Alaska. What was unusual was not the fact that Russia and China were flying together, but it was the fact that it was the first time they had done it jointly in the Arctic. We see the Russians regularly fly into our air defense identification zone--or ADIZ--but this was the first time to see the Chinese flying in this area with a joint mission. And we have just seen events continue to unfold throughout the summer. Just a couple of weeks ago, September 10, Russia began a massive, weeklong, worldwide ``Ocean-24'' exercise with hundreds of warships, more than 100 aircraft, and nearly 100,000 troops. This exercise is the largest since the fall of the Soviet Union, but it also had Chinese participation. Between its start and end, NORAD and the air forces stationed in Alaska detected, tracked, and intercepted four different Russian incursions into our Alaska ADIZ. So we have come to expect incursions throughout the year, usually about six or seven. Think about that. In just 5 days, our air defenses were tested as much as they tend to be tested in any given year. So we are now way ahead on publicly reported intercepts this year, up to 10. We have got 3 months left. There has also been an unprecedented level of naval activity off the coast. We saw the U.S. Coast Guard detect four Russian naval vessels 50 miles northwest of Point Hope. Just take it back a couple of years when Russian warships chased Alaska fishermen out of an area within our EEZ. That was back in August of 2020. Those are not isolated incidents either. Last August, the Coast Guard detected and shadowed a Russian intelligence ship operating off of the Aleutians. This July, the Coast Guard detected and shadowed a Chinese surface action group within our EEZ and the Bering Sea. We all remember the Chinese surveillance balloons that transited above Alaska and the Arctic last year. And then just last night, I received notification from NORTHCOM of yet further intercepts of four Russian aircraft. I hope that we can all agree that this is an unprecedented time for the region. Normally, we think of the Arctic as ``High North, Low Tension,'' but right now it is ``High North,'' and it is ``Rising Tension.'' One thing that is missing is a Senate-confirmed diplomat who will spend his or her time focused on Arctic issues, working with our allies, engaging our adversaries, and sending these very clear messages that we will protect America's interest in the Arctic. I had a chance to talk to Dr. Sfraga just literally hours ago. We were talking about this very intercept and what we are seeing. He wanted to issue a statement as to his concern regarding what we are seeing with these air incursions into our ADIZ and into our EEZ off of Alaska shores. He says as follows: If confirmed as the U.S. Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs, I commit to do everything in my power to relentlessly push back against these malign actors in this new era of authoritarian aggression and press for more military assets and infrastructure in the Arctic region to protect America's economic and security interests. So it is clear, we need an Arctic Ambassador. And we need this individual, Dr. Mike Sfraga, to be that Arctic Ambassador. He was nominated in February of last year. His nomination was reported out of the Foreign Relations Committee in March, and today we have got an opportunity to confirm him. I have mentioned that I think his qualifications are second to none. All you need to do is look at this gentleman's background: 30 years focused on the Arctic, a career of service in this area. He is an accomplished geographer, a researcher, a teacher with a Ph.D. from the University of Alaska. He helped establish the University of the Arctic. He co-created, co-led the State Department's Fulbright Arctic Initiative. He established the Polar Institute at the Wilson Center, which has become the Arctic Public Square for high-level conversations about the Far North. He chairs, currently, the US Arctic Research Commission, which advises us in Congress and the President on international research in the Arctic. When I spoke to him--he is in Helsinki, and he is going be to attending the Helsinki Security Conference. Next week, he is going to be at the Warsaw Conference. This man is in every conversation--every conversation--that surrounds the Arctic. He has the respect of those within the military, within the academic community, within policy. He is the person who knows the Arctic best. And his vast experience means that he knows how to handle our adversaries like Russia and China--across the interagency process with allies and partners--and doing it through a position of strength. Some have argued that perhaps his past interactions with regional players disqualify him from serving in this role. He is an Alaskan. We share a maritime border with Russia. We used to have regular nonstop air service to Russia, believe it or not. That is part of a time when, obviously, relations were better and Putin hadn't decided to invade Ukraine. But it wasn't uncommon for Alaskans to visit and work and know people who live there. He has also been criticized for attending international forums. Remember, he is not the only American or U.S. Government official in attendance at these meetings. I can't count the number of times I have gone as the U.S. representative to these meetings, and Mike Sfraga is there in the room, leading the conversation. Another area of criticism is that he failed to disclose fully before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when his application came forward. Keep in mind, he is at every conference on the Arctic happening out there. I am told--I am told--that attendance on panels or conferences are not required for inclusion in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee questionnaire. When the committee came back and said: We know that there are other conferences you have attended. You have failed to disclose these. He went back, and he fully--fully--amended his disclosure to make sure that there were no omissions. So he then, when he submitted that to the committee, realized, through looking at his airline records, that he had failed to disclose yet another conference. So he went back voluntarily to do it. He has made sure that everything that has been asked has been provided. I tell you, the criticisms that Dr. Sfraga has faced, I think, are a great way to ensure that the United States never has an Arctic Ambassador or that we ultimately have to confirm an individual who has never even been there, who knows very little about it, and won't do anything to protect or advance our strategic interests. That would be a loss because the Arctic is no longer this isolated, distant region. It is the place of strategic importance, economic potential, and growing competition. And the United States must be prepared to lead. We have to be sitting at the table. We have to have that representation that we have lacked-- that we have lacked. Personnel is policy, and Dr. Sfraga is ready to take this on. So I urge the Senate to see through the challenges, the attacks, I think, on Dr. Sfraga. There is nothing in his past or in his file that is disqualifying. We know exactly what we are getting. He has been a public figure. He has shared his views on the Arctic for years, and he continues, to this day, to do just that. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in voting yes to confirm Dr. Sfraga. I yield the floor.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, I wanted to take just a couple of minutes here at the close of the evening to speak to an anniversary. Today is the 40th anniversary of the Arctic Research and Policy Act. It is known as ARPA. We use the acronym ``ARPA'' around here quite frequently. We talk about ARPA-E and ARPA-H. But the original ARPA was the Arctic Research and Policy Act. It was legislation that was actually drafted by the previous Senator Murkowski from Alaska. It was one of the first pieces of legislation that Frank Murkowski introduced and got passed into law. It was signed by President Reagan. It was cosponsored by the likes of Ted Stevens and Scoop Jackson, Warren Magnuson; on the House side, Congressman Young. It was significant in that it laid a foundation for the policies that we are seeing put in place today and over these past 40 years. It has been laying out much of the knowledge and the understanding and the policy for Alaska. I talk a lot about the Arctic, coming from the State that makes us an Arctic nation, but I think it is important to recognize that many of our allies around the world--many of those who are not our friends around the world--are also talking about and taking a keen interest in the Arctic. There is a lot of focus on this week because we are seeing levels of engagement from the Russians up in the Alaska ADIZ and the area in the high north. We have seen joint exercises with the Russians and the Chinese, both in the air and on the waters in our northern waters. There is a level of focus and intensity about what may be heating up in a cool place--not something that we like. But it is important to recognize that when we speak about the Arctic, it is not just its geostrategic location on the globe that makes it such a key place for defense and strategic defense. It is the role that the Arctic plays when it comes to just the health of our planet. Some describe it as kind of the big thermostat up north. And we see down here on the east coast and parts of the country where, when you have Arctic weather coming down, pushing things in different directions, everything kind of goes out of whack. And we are all starting to pay attention to what is going on with the weather and where it is coming from. Well, the science that comes to us in better understanding what is happening in the Arctic, much of this came about through the development of the Arctic Research and Policy Act. So leading in these areas has been important for all the right reasons, whether it has been environmental; whether, again, it has been just from a geostrategic perspective; whether it has been a focus on the health and the well-being of indigenous peoples; whether it is understanding the extraordinary science that is unique to the area, understanding the impacts of a thawing permafrost and what that may mean, understanding the impacts within our ocean. But it is also better understanding that geography. With the mapping that we have seen that has been spurred from both NOAA and USGS, we have been able to identify an area north of the shore of Alaska--an area, well, two times bigger than the State of California--that we identify as part of our Outer Continental Shelf, allowing us to submit claim to that territory. The real-world advances that we are seeing in understanding more about the Arctic come about because of good legislation that began so many years ago. There is a reception probably going on right now with many of those who have been involved with the U.S. Arctic Research Commission over the years and their partner Agencies. There are some 18 partner Agencies that participate. Several of the commissioners who have served currently and who have served in the past are present and are speaking about the contributions. Two of the former commissioners, heads of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission--actually, both former Lieutenant Governors for the State of Alaska, Fran Ulmer and Mead Treadwell--came together and penned a joint op-ed that ran in the Anchorage Daily News last month. And I want to read just one paragraph from that op-ed because I think it really is a sum of what we have seen as a result of the framework from this law. It states: Our nation's long-running Arctic research programs in . . . NOAA and the . . . USGS provided the essential data to enable America to recently claim new rights to an offshore land area larger than two Californias. The law has added momentum to efforts to build new, powerful icebreakers and to increase our Arctic presence as Russia and China increase theirs. It laid the groundwork for safe shipping and resource development in the Arctic by identifying methods to reduce risk. It helped evolve our understanding of continental drift, and the plate tectonic evolution of the Arctic Ocean basin. Arctic health research is informing policy to improve health outcomes and to reduce disparities. Forty years of purposeful, coordinated U.S. Arctic effort, involving national resources, partners across the Arctic region, and Alaskans is something to celebrate and take pride in. So I just wanted to include just, again, a few short moments in the Congressional Record today about this anniversary, with a recognition that it is important to recognize the accomplishments of what we have built and the foundation that guides our science and informs our policy, which we use to benefit our people and our Nation. But it also needs to be a push for us, an impetus to keep our foot on the gas, so to speak, to keep moving forward, because we need to be more than a nation in the Arctic that has the title. We need to be that active participant. We need to be the leader in the Arctic space. So what more does that mean? It means confirming our nominee to be the first-ever Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs, a gentleman by the name of Mike Sfraga, Dr. Mike Sfraga, who is currently the head of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. He has been nominated by the President. He has gone through the committee. We need to get him confirmed because of the immediacy of so many of these Arctic issues that are playing out now. Every time we have national conferences and other Arctic ambassadors are there, there is a void in the U.S. space. We need to make progress on matters that have been longstanding. It has been decades now-- decades--that several of us have been working to advance progress on ratification of the Law of the Sea treaty. Some on my side still have a little bit of older history, at a time--actually, during the Reagan years--when there were some concerns about ratification. I think we have tried to address them over the years. But the world has changed up there. When I say the world has changed, the world is opening up in the Arctic: the levels of commerce that we are seeing; again, the levels of engagement from a national security perspective; other countries--China--looking to the Arctic waters for resources there, whether it be fisheries or whether it be minerals. It has changed, and so our active participation as a member of that important treaty, I think, needs to be an imperative. We have got to figure out icebreakers. We have got to do better. We have authorized six icebreakers. We have funded--we have appropriated to three, and we still have nothing, nothing that is moving forward fast enough to satisfy anybody out there. Other nations are not sitting still while we are trying to literally get our act together on this. This is an area where we have to keep moving. We have to keep building out our Arctic infrastructure. We are moving forward with a deepwater port in Nome that is critically important. There are other aspects of infrastructure that we cannot assume are in place, whether it is adequate housing, water, wastewater, broadband--all of the infrastructure that is so important to live in a cold and remote area--and then recognizing the situation of the people who live and work and raise their families there and have since time immemorial and want to do so for generations going forward, making sure we are paying attention to education, to healthcare, housing, economy, jobs. So today I have introduced legislation that would amend the Arctic Research and Policy Act with the very fancy title ``Arctic Research Policy Amendments Act of 2024.'' I don't go for the big acronyms in the titles. What we are doing is we are broadening the scope of the act to account for the Arctic's increasing role in national homeland defense; to strengthen climate and environmental research; to establish an annual award for excellence in Arctic research--we need to support and recognize those who are doing great work; and then to reflect the essential role of the indigenous people, incorporating the wisdom and experience of those who have lived there for millennia. So it is good to work with the Commission. They continue to do great work. It is something that I--I appreciate colleagues here also waking up to the fact that this is the age of the Arctic, and how we embrace it, how we embrace our leadership role, is critical.