Lisa Murkowski

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I want to acknowledge and thank the Senator from North Dakota. She has been a champion for the Native people, the indigenous people around the country, including in my State of Alaska. Whether it is working to address the issues related to childhood trauma, which so many of our young Native children face, or the issues relating to domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking--these are scourges that we see directed, unfortunately, at so many of our Native women in the State of Alaska, in the State of North Dakota, and around the country. She has cited the statistics. I think sometimes we just get numb by the statistics. When you are told that you are four times the national average, that sounds bad. But what does that mean? When you put a face to it, when you hear the tragedy repeated through the stories, these are not just statistics that we are speaking of. These are real women. These are our sisters. These are our neighbors. These are our friends, and these are human beings who deserve to be respected in their lives but also respected in other tragic deaths. How we work to address these difficult issues needs to be a focus and a priority for us. So I appreciate what the Senator from North Dakota is doing in bringing attention to our Nation's lackluster--and that is kind of a polite term here--response to the tragedy of missing and murdered Native women and girls. I am proud to lend my voice to the proposition that Congress, in the exercise of our trust responsibility to our Native peoples, has a responsibility to do more. You would think that that trust responsibility demands us to be paying even closer attention, and yet it seems that we just withdraw from that, that that responsibility is not acknowledged. Now, it is not often here in the United States that we benchmark our treatment of indigenous peoples against Canada, but in this case, there is actually a compelling difference between Canada's national response to the tragedy of missing and murdered Native women and our seeming indifference here in the United States. Down in southeastern Alaska, right across on the Canadian side, lies a town called Prince Rupert. It is in British Columbia. The Alaskan ferry comes in from Washington State and stops in Prince Rupert and then moves into Alaska. Prince Rupert is also the terminus of Highway 16, and the locals refer to Highway 16 as the ``Highway of Tears.'' They refer to it as the ``Highway of Tears'' because it is a road on which Native women and girls have vanished for decades now. The question is, How many? Who is disappearing? Some would say as few as 12 and perhaps as many as 43. CBS News devoted a segment of its news magazine show ``48 Hours'' to the Highway of Tears. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau committed 54 million Canadian dollars to a national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. I will admit that there is some controversy over whether the national inquiry is actually fulfilling its mission, but my point here is that Canada stepped up. They have acknowledged that this is an issue, that this is a problem, and they have responded to the disproportionate victimization of Native women and girls, and they have done so in a tangible way. Here in the United States, as my friend and colleague has noted, we are more than a bit late in acknowledging that the problem even exists. Earlier this year, the Senators from Montana--both Senator Daines and Senator Tester--were successful in designating May 5, 2017, through a resolution, as the National Day of Awareness on Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls. The resolution recites that some Tribal communities face murder rates that are 10 times the national average, as Senator Heitkamp has noted. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, homicide was the third leading cause of death among Native women between the ages of 10 and 24 years and the fifth leading cause of death for Alaska Native women between 25 and 34 years of age. So we are trying to raise attention and awareness. We are trying to shine a spotlight on this issue. I certainly think it is high time that Federal law enforcement answer the question, Why? Why is the murder rate for Native women so high, and why are we not addressing it in a comprehensive fashion? The Senator from North Dakota has pointed out that in many areas, jurisdictional issues are at play, and I agree. That is not an excuse. We acknowledge that we have challenges with jurisdictions. Let's figure this out. Women are disappearing and dying. In Alaska, it is not so much jurisdictional issues; it is the fact that in far too many of our communities, we lack any law enforcement presence. We might have a VPSO--a village safety police officer--but they are not armed. They are very limited in terms of their ability to provide for levels of enforcement. More frustrating than so much of that is that women who have been victimized feel as though reporting doesn't get them anywhere because there is no follow-through. There is no prosecution. There has been no effort that will allow them to have any level of recourse, much less justice, visited upon them. As we talk about these issues of jurisdiction and law enforcement and the rates that we see, I think we need to be clear that the discussion today--the call for justice--is not driven by statistics and rates. It is driven by their faces. It is driven by the loss of people's daughters, people's siblings, people's friends, including Savannah and Stella and Nicole and Mona Lisa. These are all real people, real women with names, with faces, with families. In Alaska, the face we so often associate with the lack of progress when it comes to addressing the issue of missing and murdered Native women is the face of Sophie Sergie. This year marks the 24th anniversary of the death of Sophie Sergie from Pitkas Point. This is a Yup'ik village in southwest Alaska. On August 26 of 1993, Sophie was found dead in the women's bathroom dorm on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus. She was raped. She was shot dead. It is believed that her body remained in that bathroom for some 13 hours before it was found. The murder weapon was never recovered. That case is still a cold case 24 years later. But we don't forget Sophie Sergie, just as we don't forget the women the Senator from North Dakota has shared stories about. We cannot forget these women. Unlike the tragedies along the Highway of Tears, we really don't know how many Native women and girls have gone missing and murdered. That is a big part of the problem. But I will tell my colleagues that if you ask advocates for Native women, the answer comes back: It is no secret. We all know somebody. We all know somebody who has gone missing, somebody who has been murdered. That was the testimony of Tammy Jerue. She is the executive director for the Alaska Native Women's Resource Center, and she testified before a congressional briefing last February. Tammy told the briefing that her organization has documented as many as 50 names of women. When we think about it, numbers on that order were significant enough for Prime Minister Trudeau to commission a national inquiry. So it causes us to ask the question, What about us? What number do we have to get to before there is a call to action, before we wake up and say: This is not acceptable. This is not acceptable that our Native women are disappearing, are being murdered. Native women are asking why Federal law enforcement has no protocol for addressing the crisis in our Indian Country, why there is a lack of coordination among criminal justice agencies in this country to set aside the jurisdictional challenges and investigate these tragedies in an effective manner, and why there is a lack of victim services. In the Indian Affairs Committee, we had a hearing on human trafficking, sex trafficking. It was pretty revealing about the lack of victim services--specific--that could be there to help our Native victims. Right now, the families of missing and murdered Native women in Alaska have to cover the cost of a traditional burial. They have to cover the cost of immediate long-term counseling, and so many other expenses they can't afford. We maintain a victims of crime fund here in this country to address these sorts of costs, but there is no dedicated Tribal funding stream. We have had some pretty bipartisan efforts here in the Senate to establish one, but we haven't even been able to do that bare minimum to provide for the victims. The issue we are discussing today is tragic and frustrating. It is depressing. But to remain silent is to truly further marginalize Native women and girls, and that is unacceptable. Perhaps we are not going to devote tens of millions of dollars to a national inquiry; However, it is high time that we acknowledge a problem that has failed to make headlines in this country, because you first have to acknowledge that a problem exists to make headway in addressing that problem. So, again, I thank the Senator from North Dakota for her strong and steadfast advocacy on behalf of not only our Native women but our Native children, our indigenous peoples across this country. I appreciate all that is being done, and I look forward to working with her again as we try to shine a brighter light on a very tragic situation.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following nominations: Executive Calendar Nos. 323, 324, 325; that the Senate vote on the nominations en bloc, with no intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table en bloc; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action; that no further motions be in order; and that any statements relating to the nominations be printed in the Record.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, it is my hope that we will be able to come to agreement with regard to the nominees whom I have just asked for consideration. These are individuals who have been moved out of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee to be named to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. This is a Commission that has been without a functioning quorum for months on end. They have just recently been able to achieve that quorum, but they are not yet to a full complement. We worked hard to reach an agreement with colleagues so these names could advance so the FERC could get to work in an expeditious manner. There is much to be considered. The work that has piled up, that has cost our economy, that has cost our country over these many months, as we have seen these delays when you don't have a functioning FERC, has been considerable. We want to try to reach agreement, but I am disappointed that we are not going to be able to advance them this afternoon. With that, I yield the floor.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, my colleague from Massachusetts has referred to the tragedy that we all watched unfold late on Sunday evening in Las Vegas, NV--the tragedy, the horror, the shock of so many. Alaska has felt the brunt of that tragedy as well. We lost two Alaskans; at least one other was injured. Mr. Adrian Murfitt from Anchorage, a commercial fisherman, lost his life that evening. Dorene Anderson, who is a mom and self-described hockey promoter, will not be returning to Alaska with her family. Rob McIntosh, who is a realtor from the Fairbanks-North Pole area, was also injured. Our prayers are with him and with all of the families. Whether they are from Alaska or from around the country, the tragedy, the loss, is just a shocking emotion that has been brought to this Nation. It is really horrifying on so many different levels. I express my condolences not only to the families of the Alaskans whom we have lost but to all of those who are suffering.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize one of our Nation's finest literary journals, the Alaska Quarterly Review, now marking its 35th year of literary excellence. Alaska Quarterly Review was first published in 1982 at the University of Alaska Anchorage and has evolved to be a joint publication of the university and the Center for Narrative and Lyric Arts. From the beginning, it was designed to highlight the work of strong literary voices from Alaska and beyond. Publishing fiction, short plays, poetry, photo essays, and literary nonfiction, the journal has an especially strong commitment to promote new and emerging writers. The founding editor and editor-in-chief of Alaska Quarterly Review, Ronald Spatz, envisioned the journal as a way to break through stereotypes and present Alaska to the greater literary community. That goal was far surpassed, as Alaska Quarterly Review has won accolades from some of the most prestigious reviewers and publications in the country. Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Michael Dirda wrote in The New York Review of Books that the Alaska Quarterly Review ``remains one of our best, and most imaginative, literary magazines.'' The New York Times Book Review labeled it ``fresh treasure.'' Alaska Quarterly Review has also been featured and supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Alaska Humanities Forum, Alaska State Council on the Arts, and the Rasmussen Foundation, and honored by Alaska Center for the Book and others. A number of works originally published in the journal have been subsequently selected for inclusion in The Best American Essays, The Best American Poetry, The Best American Mystery Stories, The Best Creative Nonfiction, The Best American Short Stories, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards, The Beacon Best, and The Pushcart Prize: The Best of the Small Presses. In addition to its literary influence on the national level, Alaska Quarterly Review brings a strong focus to the development and importance of Alaska Native and indigenous literatures. Alaska Native language survival and resilience are portrayed as a national and global concern. Mr. Spatz writes that Alaska Quarterly Review ``has been and is of Alaska but not Alaskan. We have a global perspective, and, although we have published primarily American authors, our writers hail from a wide range of nations.'' The journal's 35th anniversary observance in October reaches across the Pacific Ocean by featuring ``In the Footprint of the Crocodile Man: Memories, Myths and Contemporary Art of the Sepik River, Papua New Guinea,'' a reflection of the commonalities of human experience. At the same event, the universal elements of birth and language are celebrated in a beautiful film, ``Shaawatke'es Birth,'' performed in English and Tlingit, one of Alaska's precious indigenous languages. The impact of Alaska Quarterly Review extends far from its origins in my home State and is worthy of celebration by this body and all Americans who recognize the power of the literary arts to shape our thoughts, our ideals, and our country. I commend Alaska Quarterly Review and its editor, Ronald Spatz, its contributors, and its supporters for 35 years of excellence. I hope for many more to come.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that with respect to the Francisco nomination, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate resume consideration of the Emanuel nomination.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, 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 Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 873, which was received from the House.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I wish to take a brief detour and congratulate my colleague who has been working aggressively as we worked to address the issue of marine debris. This is something on which, as members of the Oceans Caucus, we have been working with Senator Sullivan, Senator Whitehouse, and so many. I want to acknowledge the good work that has gone into this particular piece of legislation we have just passed.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Sullivan amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to, the bill, as amended, 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 Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 181, S. 756.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, 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 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be discharged from further consideration of S. 1617 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the Senate's adjournment, committees be authorized to report legislative and executive matters on Friday, August 18, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I understand there is a bill at the desk, and I ask for its first reading.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I now ask for a second reading and, in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to my own request.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 230 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, 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

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, 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

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following Senate resolutions, which were submitted earlier today: S. Res. 247, S. Res. 248, and S. Res. 249.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate in order to hold a Business Meeting on Thursday, August 3, 2017, immediately after the 12 p.m. vote in S-216, the Capitol, in Washington, DC. Committee on Finance Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, August 3, 2017, at 10 a.m., in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing to consider pending nominations. Committee on Foreign Relations I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, August 3, 2017 at 10 a.m., to hold a business meeting. Committee on the Judiciary Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on August 3, 2017, at 10 a.m., in SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct an executive business meeting. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to hold a meeting during the session of the Senate on Thursday, August 3, 2017, at 9:45 a.m. in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. The Committee will hold a Subcommittee Hearing on ``Insurance Fraud in America: Current Issues Facing Industry and Consumers.''

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 123, S. 1141.