Lisa Murkowski

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, we are officially on day No. 2 of the second tranche of an appropriations package. We have before us the Interior Subcommittee's appropriations bill, the Financial Services, the T-HUD--Transportation, Housing and Urban Development--and Agriculture. So it is a good combination. It is a good package. It is a strong package. It is a series of appropriations bills that moved through the full Appropriations Committee several months back. Most of these bills advanced either unanimously, as the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee's bill did, or with a strong bipartisan show of support out of committee. For those who have followed the appropriations process over the years, you know it is somewhat unprecedented to be able to advance these spending bills through the full committee process, much less to do so in a manner that surely shows the bipartisan approach this committee has taken in this fiscal year. I acknowledge and recognize the work of Chairman Shelby and his vice chairman, Senator Leahy from Vermont, for the truly collaborative process they have encouraged all of us to work toward. There was an agreement, an understanding, that our appropriations process had not been the model of good governance, of legislating, that we would have liked it to have been, that we would expect it to be, and that our colleagues--much less the American public--would expect it to be. With a very determined effort, the group of appropriators who came together earlier made a very strong and firm commitment that we were going to get this process back on track. With the leadership of the chairman and the vice chairman, that is exactly where we are. We were able to move a smaller minibus, if you will, a month ago. That is now moving through that conference process. It is not an easy process, we recognize, but nothing around here is easy. If it is worth doing and doing well, it is going to take a little bit of work. We have done that work, and to be here on the 25th of July--to be at a place at which the Senate is poised to advance seven of the appropriations bills out of the Senate--is really quite unprecedented. In my remarks on the floor on Monday evening, I noted that this was the first time since 2010 we had seen an Interior Appropriations Subcommittee's bill being brought to the floor of the U.S. Senate. That is a long time. That is too long a time not to have had a fulsome process, a process wherein we not only demonstrate the good work that we as appropriators have done but wherein our colleagues who are not on the committee also view that good work, weigh in, offer their thoughts, offer their amendments, and are a part of the broader, whole process. How did we get here from there--from a point at which we, effectively, were not legislating as we knew we were capable of doing? There was an agreement, a commitment, that we were going to stand down on some of the more controversial riders--in other words, those initiatives that were not actual appropriations but were more in line with authorizing within the appropriations bill. There has been a history around here of seeing a level of authorization, and sometimes that level of authorization on an appropriations bill has created enough controversy that it has ground the whole process to a halt. So standing down on some of these initiatives, on some of these riders, has been an important part of how we have come to be where we are today. We talk about the need to keep out the poison pills. We have joked-- it is not really a joke; it is the reality--that one Member's priority is another Member's poison pill. So how do we work our way through that process? We will have an opportunity to take up, at least for discussion, some of those priorities that may be significant, and Members have a great deal of desire to see them advance. Members on the other side will look at that and say that is too toxic--you can't go there; you can't do that. How we navigate through that will take a little bit of legislating. I would ask Members--I would urge Members--to please come to us as their bill managers, whether for the Interior appropriations issues or for the Financial Services issues. Senator Lankford is the chairman of that committee. Go to Senator Hoeven on Ag and to Senator Collins on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development--T-HUD. I would urge Members to come to us with their issues, their concerns, their amendments. Let's work through them. Let's get them through the process. Yesterday, we were able to advance four amendments. Some might say, well, that is not very much, but I would suggest to you that we are getting started. We are getting started in a good way, in a positive way, in an encouraging way, and we want to encourage that good, forward activity. We all know the most prized commodity around here is time and floor time. We don't have unlimited time on the floor to take up this package of measures. So help us get to the point at which we can work through those issues that we need to in order to bring to the floor that which will require a vote. We will help you and do so in a way that, I think, will do honor to the appropriations process, do honor to the legislative process--again, what we know around here to be regular order. Unfortunately, I think we have seen that regular order has been less and less regular. It has become extraordinary because we just don't practice it enough. We want to get back to that, and we have the opportunity to do so. We have demonstrated that with one package, and we are in the midst of demonstrating that this week. I look forward to the full cooperation of Members as we advance. I see my friend and colleague, the vice chairman of the Appropriations Committee, is on the floor. Again, I acknowledge his great leadership in working with the chairman of the full committee, in really getting us back to a place where we can be proud of our process. With that, I yield to my friend, the Senator from Vermont.

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

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

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 499, S. 2779.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported amendment be withdrawn, the Flake amendment at the desk be agreed to, and the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the bill.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I will just take a few moments as we are waiting for greater discussion about our appropriations package that is on the floor. Tribute to Marge Mullen Mr. President, the community of Soldotna, AK, in South Central Alaska--what we call the Kenai Peninsula--is going to be celebrating their Progress Days this weekend. On Friday, we have a homestead community barbecue, where a very special individual will be recognized as the first female homesteader in Soldotna. Now, when most of us around here think about homesteading, we might go back to when President Lincoln signed the 1862 Homesteading Act. This enabled over 1.6 million people to stake their claim on Federal lands. Perhaps, if you are an Alaskan, you recall that homesteading became legal back in 1898. That was when President McKinley signed legislation to extend homesteading to what at that time was still the District of Alaska. It was not until decades later that we became a State. What most people do not realize is that while the days of the wild West are certainly over here in the lower 48, the tradition of homesteading is still very, very much alive, and certainly we see that in Alaska. So I would like to take just a couple of minutes this morning to share the story of an Alaskan homesteading icon, Marge Mullen. Again, it is Marge who will be recognized this weekend at Progress Days in Soldotna. In fact, on July 27, she will be recognized by the mayor of Soldotna, Mayor Anderson. July 27 will be recognized as ``Marge Mullen Appreciation Day.'' Marge was born in Chicago in 1920. According to the Peninsula Clarion, the local newspapers there on the Kenai Peninsula, Marge claims that she remembers seeing an article on Alaskan homesteading in the Chicago Daily News back in 1947. The idea must have seemed really appealing to her because after she read that article, she and her husband Frank, who was a pilot during World War II, bought a small plane, and they headed north to plant their roots. That was quite a trek back in the late 1940s, to fly in a small aircraft. They landed in Alaska. They walked 65 miles through some pretty tough terrain. They then settled their homestead on Soldotna Creek, making Marge the first woman to live in Soldotna under the Homestead Act. It wasn't too many years after they arrived in Alaska that, sadly, Marge lost her husband Frank to polio. It certainly would have been easier at the time for her to just pack up and head back to Chicago, but Marge was a pretty independent, strong-headed woman, and she made that brave choice to remain on her homestead. Just to kind of paint a picture of what we are talking about back in the early 1950s, to make sure everybody understands the significance of a decision like that, you can either stay out there in some pretty open and still very wild areas or you can go back to Chicago. Homesteading has always been a lifestyle that is based on self-sufficiency. You have to be able to handle things on your own. It is a difficult task anywhere. It was difficult, as we saw, for the initial homesteaders around the lower 48 States, but there are some additional challenges, perhaps, in Alaska. There are some pretty tough winters that people go through. Temperatures are somewhat unforgiving in the winter months, as we know. Marge faced a cost of living that was three to four times higher than she knew down in the lower 48. When you are out there, you live every day knowing that wildlife is just right outside your door, and that if something goes wrong, there is not a lot of help. There is no aid in the event of an emergency. So whether it is a bear that has threatened you and your family or whether it is just the rigors of living on your own with no assistance and no help, it can be a lonely life, but it can be a very life-building experience, and Marge certainly developed that. Marge learned to hunt on her own, to chop wood, carry water, and grow food to safeguard the health, the warmth, and the safety of herself and her four children. Trust me when I say that Marge overcame challenges that many of us-- even some hearty Alaskans--could not imagine. But she overcame those challenges in an Alaska that was far less modern than the Alaska our visitors see today. While Marge is widely known as a pioneer homesteader, she is also known throughout the community of Soldotna for many other contributions. She began the town's first roadside litter pickup program. She was involved at a lot of different levels. She served as the chair of the local planning commission. She helped to establish the Kenai Peninsula Conservation Society. She eventually became its president. In 2010, Marge was honored for her accomplishments when she was rightly inducted into the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame. Marge's contributions continue today. She is 98 years old. She is revered as Soldotna's unofficial historian. She acts as the chair of the local historical society. You have to figure that she knows everything that went on in the region. She was part of everything that went on in the region. She is really history in the flesh, bringing the early days of Soldotna to life through her teachings and digital lessons. Again, as I mentioned, the Soldotna city mayor has proclaimed July 27 as ``Marge Mullen Appreciation Day.'' As the community of Soldotna comes together to celebrate Marge's legacy, I think it is only appropriate that we in the Senate should come to know a little bit of her history as well and join in the recognition. I offer my thanks and my best wishes to Marge Mullen as she continues influencing her community and the State of Alaska. I thank my colleagues for letting me share this tribute this morning. I see that no Members are on the floor yet. Again, I would encourage folks to take a look at the bills that we have in front of us--the Interior, the Financial Services, the Agriculture, and the T-HUD. Let's have an opportunity to consider the amendments that we can take up and allow for the process to go forward in a fulsome and a constructive way. With that, I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following amendments be called up en bloc and reported by number: Schatz amendment No. 3407; Kennedy amendment No. 3430. I further ask consent that following the remarks of Senators Baldwin, Durbin, Schatz, and Kennedy, the Senate vote in relation to the Schatz and Kennedy amendments in the order listed and that there be no second-degree amendments in order to the amendments prior to the votes.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, for the information of all Senators, we expect these votes to occur shortly after 6 p.m.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is buzzing with activity all year long. It connects our military posted in Alaska with their families in the Lower 48, welcomes business visitors from around the world, and takes Alaskans to the Lower 48 for a weekend of cheering the Seahawks in Seattle, a shopping trip, or simply a break from the Alaskan winter. The Anchorage airport is the truly a crossroads for our friends in rural Alaska coming and going from meetings and medical appointments in Anchorage. Its gates are places where Alaskans congregate--catching up with old friends or connecting with State legislators and an occasional U.S. Senator. Look to the left as your plane pulls into the gate, and you see cargo planes from around the world. The Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is our State's premier transportation hub, a cargo hub of global renown. For most of my adult life, the Anchorage airport was a pretty utilitarian place. The walls were tan, the gate and baggage claim signs had white lettering on a blue background. If you were picking up a rental car, you rolled your bag through the snow because most were parked outside. The return lot was outside too. But it worked. It was a place to come and go, not a place to linger. Mort Plumb had another vision. He foresaw the boom in tourism that would come to Alaska and believed that our State needed a gateway airport as beautiful and inspiring as the State itself. Mort was the father of today's Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. A showplace for Native arts and crafts with huge picture windows and vistas of the Chugach mountain range that cause our visitors to wonder whether they really want to leave this unique place, a portal to the Great Land. Mort's vision has paid off; 2018 could be a record year for tourism in Alaska, and seat capacity on out-of-state flights this year is up 5.6 percent. That translates into the opportunity for an additional 43,000 visitors to enjoy what Alaska has to offer. Sadly, in February, Mort passed away at the age of 74. Born in Pennsylvania, he came to Alaska like many of our finest do: in the service of our country. He served 27 years in the Air Force, and we are indeed grateful that the Air Force chose to send Mort and his family to Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage. As a colonel, Mort served as director of operations for the Alaskan Command, chief of staff for the 11th Air Force, and vice commander for the 11th Air Force. He retired from the Air Force in 1994. Mort's retirement didn't last long, as he was quickly recruited by Governor Tony Knowles to direct the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. He took that job in 1995 and remained until 2008. All told, he served under three Governors: Democrat Knowles and Republicans Frank Murkowski and Sarah Palin. Mort Plumb served with great distinction. After retiring from the airport, Mort was hardly done with his career. He took on new responsibilities as chief operating officer of the First National Bank of Alaska and continued to serve on a host of nonprofit boards. One of his favorites was the Fisher House of Alaska, which cares for military family caregivers and veterans in town for medical appointments. Mort was active in the civilian and military community and was also an avid runner, golfer, and skier. He was a devoted husband, attending most every community event with his wife, Ann, by his side. He was also a loving father and doting grandfather. To his family and friends, know that the legacy and service of Mort Plumb will long be remembered. We appreciate our friend Mort, and we miss him.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 3400.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I thank my colleague, the ranking member on the Appropriations Committee again. We don't get to the place where we are today or to a level of consensus without getting a lot of good, hard work done. I appreciate his commitment in working through it and the relationship we have built. So thank you. Thank you very much.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 2353 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. I know of no further debate on the bill.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. I ask unanimous consent that the Alexander substitute amendment at the desk be agreed to and the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that privileges of the floor be granted to my second session summer interns Max Varela, Nathaniel Baring, Tanner Dey, Jode Sparks, Sydney Cox, Janet Taylor, Hannah Villanueva, Piper Cooper, Bridget Nalam, Brynn Morse, Denae Benson, Sterling Gingerich, Kaiwi Eisenhour, Michael McCambridge, Alexandra Bender, Selia Butler, and Johnathan Slife for the remainder of their session in July.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m., Tuesday, July 24; 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; further, that following leader remarks, the Senate resume consideration of H.R. 6147; finally, that the Senate recess from 12:30 p.m. until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly conference meetings.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Murkowski amendment at the desk be agreed to and the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the bill.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 404, S. 2503.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 405, H.R. 589.