Lisa Murkowski

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to reintroduce legislation, cosponsored by my colleague Mark Begich from Alaska, that represents an important step in the conversion to renewable energy sources in rural Alaska. Today I introduce the Kantishna Hills Renewable Energy Act of 2011. The Kantishna Roadhouse, owned by Doyon Tourism, Inc., is located 100 miles inside Denali National Park and Preserve. The settlement of Kantishna was founded in 1905 as a mining camp near the juncture of Eureka and Moose Creeks. Gold in the region brought a flurry of prospectors in the early days, but as the gold began to run out, so did interest in mining the Kantishna Hills. The original roadhouse at Kantishna was built in the early 1900s, serving as a private residence, a community center, post office, and informal hotel accommodations for those who visited Kantishna in Denali Park. The Roadhouse, like many structures within Denali National Park, is entirely off the grid and generates all of its electricity needs with a diesel generator. As a result, all guests and supplies, including diesel, are trucked through the Park to the Roadhouse over National Park roads. The construction of the micro hydro project would allow the Roadhouse to cut down their diesel usage by approximately 50%, which would result in a decrease in diesel truck traffic on the Park Road, improved local air quality, and less sound pollution in this remote area, as well as reduce disturbance and vehicle impacts on park wildlife, allowing for an enhanced visitor experience for tourists within the National Park. My bill will authorize the National Park Service to exchange roughly 10 acres of National Park land for an equivalent amount of land currently owned by Doyon Tourism, and would allow the National Park Service to obtain the highly desired Galena tract of land, located just off the Park Road in the Kantishna region. Doyon Tourism would obtain land over which the hydro project would be implemented. In the interim period, prior to completion of the land exchange, the National Park Service will issue a permit to allow Doyon Tourism, Inc., to construct the micro hydro unit. I want to emphasize how important I believe that this bill is. The benefit to the citizens of Alaska, especially rural Alaska, of reducing their dependence on expensive diesel generation through access to renewable and clean sources of energy is enormous. This type of Micro- Hydro project within Denali provides an excellent blueprint for others around the State to follow suit. I would like to thank Senator Begich, an original co-sponsor of this bill, for his and his staff's hard work in moving this bill forward. It is our hope that this bill will receive quick but careful consideration as the very short construction season in Alaska lasts only from May through September.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to reintroduce legislation, cosponsored by my colleague Mark Begich from Alaska, that represents an important step in the conversion to renewable energy sources in rural Alaska. Today I introduce the Kantishna Hills Renewable Energy Act of 2011. The Kantishna Roadhouse, owned by Doyon Tourism, Inc., is located 100 miles inside Denali National Park and Preserve. The settlement of Kantishna was founded in 1905 as a mining camp near the juncture of Eureka and Moose Creeks. Gold in the region brought a flurry of prospectors in the early days, but as the gold began to run out, so did interest in mining the Kantishna Hills. The original roadhouse at Kantishna was built in the early 1900s, serving as a private residence, a community center, post office, and informal hotel accommodations for those who visited Kantishna in Denali Park. The Roadhouse, like many structures within Denali National Park, is entirely off the grid and generates all of its electricity needs with a diesel generator. As a result, all guests and supplies, including diesel, are trucked through the Park to the Roadhouse over National Park roads. The construction of the micro hydro project would allow the Roadhouse to cut down their diesel usage by approximately 50%, which would result in a decrease in diesel truck traffic on the Park Road, improved local air quality, and less sound pollution in this remote area, as well as reduce disturbance and vehicle impacts on park wildlife, allowing for an enhanced visitor experience for tourists within the National Park. My bill will authorize the National Park Service to exchange roughly 10 acres of National Park land for an equivalent amount of land currently owned by Doyon Tourism, and would allow the National Park Service to obtain the highly desired Galena tract of land, located just off the Park Road in the Kantishna region. Doyon Tourism would obtain land over which the hydro project would be implemented. In the interim period, prior to completion of the land exchange, the National Park Service will issue a permit to allow Doyon Tourism, Inc., to construct the micro hydro unit. I want to emphasize how important I believe that this bill is. The benefit to the citizens of Alaska, especially rural Alaska, of reducing their dependence on expensive diesel generation through access to renewable and clean sources of energy is enormous. This type of Micro- Hydro project within Denali provides an excellent blueprint for others around the State to follow suit. I would like to thank Senator Begich, an original co-sponsor of this bill, for his and his staff's hard work in moving this bill forward. It is our hope that this bill will receive quick but careful consideration as the very short construction season in Alaska lasts only from May through September.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to reintroduce legislation, being cosponsored by my colleague Senator Mark Begich from Alaska, to clarify Federal mining law and remedy a problem that has arisen from the extension process for ``small'' miner land claims. Under revisions to the Federal Mining Law of 1872, 30 U.S.C. 28(f), holders of unpatented mineral claims must pay a claim maintenance fee originally set at $100 per claim by a deadline, set by regulation, of September 1st each year. Since 2004 that fee has risen to $125 per claim. But Congress also has provided a claim maintenance fee waiver for ``small'' miners, those who hold 10 or fewer claims, that they do not have to submit the fee, but that they must file to renew their claims and submit an affidavit of annual labor, work conducted on the claim, Dec. 31st each year, certifying that they had performed more than $100 of work on the claim in the preceding year, 30 U.S.C. 28f(d)(1). The waiver provision further states: ``If a small miner waiver application is determined to be defective for any reason, the claimant shall have a period of 60 days after receipt of written notification of the defect or defects by the Bureau of Land Management to: cure such defect or defects or pay the $100 claim maintenance fee due for such a period.'' Since the last revision to the law last decade, there have been a series of incidents where miners have argued that they submitted their applications and affidavits of annual labor in a timely manner, but due to clerical error by BLM staff, mailing delays or for unexplained reasons, the applications or documents were not recorded as having been received in a timely fashion--and that BLM has then moved to terminate the claims, deeming them null and void. While mining claim holders have argued that the law provides them time to cure claim defects, BLM has argued that the cure only applies when applications or fees have been received in a timely manner. Thus, there is no administrative remedy for miners who believe that clerical errors by BLM or mail issues resulted in loss or the late recording of claim extension applications. There have been a number of cases where Congress has been asked to override BLM determinations and reinstate mining claims simply because of the disputes over whether the claims had been filed in a timely manner. Congress in 2003 reinstated such claims in a previous Alaska case, and claims in another incident were reinstated following a U.S. District Court case in the 10th Circuit in 2009 in the case of Miller v. United States. Legislation similar to this provision actually cleared the Senate in 2007, but did not ultimately become law. This bill is intended to short circuit continued litigation and pleas for claim reinstatement by clarifying the intent of Congress that miners do have to be informed that their claims are in jeopardy of being voided and given 60 days notice to cure defects, including giving them time to submit their applications and to submit affidavits of annual labor, should their submittals not be received and processed by BLM officials on time. If all defects are not cured within 60 days--the obvious intent of Congress in passing the original act--then claims still are subject to voidance. The transition rule included in this measure will solve two pending cases in Alaska, one where a holder of nine claims on the Kenai Peninsula, near Hope, Alaska, has lost title to claims that he had held from 1982 to 2004. In this case, John Trautner had a consistent record of having paid the annual labor assessment fee for the previous 22 years and the local BLM office did have a time-date-stamped record that the maintenance fee waiver certification form had been filed weeks before the deadline, but just not a record that the affidavit of annual labor had arrived. In the second case Don and Judy Mullikin of Homer, Alaska, lost title to nine claims on the Seward Peninsula outside of Nome in Alaska because the Anchorage BLM office has no record of them receiving the paperwork, even though the owners have computer time stamps of them having completed the paperwork 5 months before the deadline, but no other evidence of filing to meet BLM regulations. They lost their appeal in late 2009. These are claims that have been worked in Alaska yearly since 1937 and are the main livelihood for the Mullikins. This legislation, supported by the Alaska Miners Association--S. 3175 in the 111th Congress--clearly is intended to remedy a simple drafting error in congressional crafting of the small miner claim defect process. While only a few cases of potential clerical errors have occurred over the past decade, it still makes sense for Congress to clarify that claim holders have a right to know that their applications have not been processed, in time for them to cure application-claim defects prior to being informed of the loss of the claim rights forever. Simple equity and due process requires no less. Given the minute cost of this administrative change to the Department of the Interior, but its big impact on affected small mineral claim holders, I hope this bill can be considered and approved promptly this year.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation that would make a minor technical change to a provision that this Congress approved in 2004 to further construction of an Alaska natural gas pipeline system to move Alaska's conventional gas to market. In 2004 Congress approved two pieces of legislation to help facilitate construction of an Alaska natural gas pipeline. In Public Law 108-324 Congress approved a Federal loan guarantee program, streamlined regulatory processes and approved a worker training program to guarantee a domestic labor supply for construction of the largest private-sector capital infrastructure project in the world's history. In a separate bill, Public Law 108-357, Congress also approved tax changes to provide accelerated depreciation for the pipe and a related gas conditioning plant needed for the project. A pipeline to move Alaska's 35 trillion cubic feet of known gas reserves, and its likely 315 trillion cubic feet of additional Arctic gas reserves from lands and Arctic waters would have a host of benefits to the Nation. Being able to market only the known gas reserves at the Prudhoe Bay field will involve construction of a pipeline system estimated to cost between $26 and $40 billion. It is expected to produce 38,000 direct job-years of labor in Alaska and up to 31,000 direct jobs at the peak of construction. According to the National Defense Foundation it will produce direct employment of 172,369 jobs nationwide when related steel, pipe, valve and equipment jobs are included, not counting many more indirect jobs. At current prices it will generate about $100 billion in Federal tax revenues, not counting $40 billion in Alaska State revenues and $30 billion in Canadian tax revenues over its first 20 years of operation. Recent estimates, however, indicate that development of gas from the offshore Arctic that a gas line will permit to occur, would add an average of an additional 54,700 new jobs in the U.S.--91,500 at peak employment. That would provide $145 billion in total payroll--$82 billion to workers in the Lower 48--and provide $167 billion in tax and royalty revenues to the Federal Government, $15 billion to the State of Alaska and total revenues of $193 billion at forecast gas prices. In the intervening 7 years since the gas line loan-permitting package became law, it has become clear that changes are needed. While those changes include revisions in the loan guarantee program, they also involve changes in the construction worker training provisions. In the 2004 act, Sect. 113, the bill authorized $20 million for worker training programs, with at least 15 percent of those funds going to pay for ``design and construction of a training facility to be located in Fairbanks, Alaska.'' But language in the bill has prevented that training center from moving forward. This proposed bill would authorize Federal funding to be released immediately upon the request of the Governor of Alaska, to fund construction of the training center, and to broaden the center to permit it also to train oil, besides gas field workers, and environmental response employees. According to the Alaska Department of Labor, the demand for skilled workers for gas and oil line projects on Alaska's North Slope grew by 50 percent from 2005 to 2009 to nearly 12,000 workers. At the same time, the average age of Alaska's skilled workforce is now 53, meaning that Alaska needs to train 1,000 new construction and pipeline workers annually simply to maintain the State's existing skilled workforce. Since it takes roughly 5 years to train a skilled construction/ pipefitter, it is imperative that such training begin far in advance of estimated pipeline construction. According to State data, there are only about 2,130 plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters working in Alaska and another 1,004 welders, solderers, brazers, and machine setters. Past estimates by one of the two consortia proposing to build an Alaska gas pipeline are that the gas line alone will require 1,650 welders/helpers, 2,000 equipment operators, 418 inspectors and 90 UT technicians, just to build the Alaska sections of the pipeline. That means there is an urgent need for the pipeline training center now. The Fairbanks Pipeline Training Center's core mission is to provide a highly trained workforce that will meet the needs of the entire oil/ gas/pipeline/refining industry; which is a significant component of Alaska's economy, providing 80 percent of the State's industrial tax base, 74 percent of all resources produced in the State, and 85 percent of State revenues) and a crucial component of the Nation's domestic energy supply, currently 13 percent of all domestically produced oil, while the proposed overland gas line will produce 7 percent of the Nation's total estimated gas demand in 2020. The necessity for this workforce is further emphasized because it is clear that an aging infrastructure will require an accelerated repair, replacement, and maintenance regime if production requirements and safety standard are to be met. The training center is an innovative statewide collaboration between labor, industry, and local, State, and Federal Governments. Additionally, it is understood that as alternative fuel technologies emerge and are commercialize, a highly skilled, highly trained, highly motivated workforce will be required. Again, through collaboration with others: the University of Alaska, the Cold Climate Housing Research Center, United Technologies Corporation, General Electric, and Alaskan commercial interests, requisite evolving workforce needs are understood and can be met. The facility needs to be located in Interior Alaska, because the climate will permit workers to be fully trained in the real-world conditions they will face on the job. In order to complete the training center and thereby meet anticipated labor demand in a timely manner, funds must be secured in the upcoming budget cycle. Federal funding needed includes: $5.5 million for Central Facility classrooms and shops, $1.5 million for a Construction Camp Facility, $1.0 million for a Pipeline Coating Training Facility and for corrosion control training, $0.5 million for civil work improvements to the Field Training Site, and $1.5 million for pipeline and transportation/ logistical equipment. The bill's changes will permit the creation of a domestic energy workforce that is stable, productive, and encourages safe working practices that will help to protect Alaska's environment and wildlife, while producing the energy that America needs. The proposal does not expand the size of the funding authorization approved in 2004. It simply makes it more likely that American workers will benefit from a gas line project when it proceeds--an important fact when the national unemployment rate remains at 9.4 percent. I hope that this Congress will consider this bill for quick consideration and passage.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to reintroduce legislation, being cosponsored by my colleague Senator Mark Begich from Alaska, to clarify Federal mining law and remedy a problem that has arisen from the extension process for ``small'' miner land claims. Under revisions to the Federal Mining Law of 1872, 30 U.S.C. 28(f), holders of unpatented mineral claims must pay a claim maintenance fee originally set at $100 per claim by a deadline, set by regulation, of September 1st each year. Since 2004 that fee has risen to $125 per claim. But Congress also has provided a claim maintenance fee waiver for ``small'' miners, those who hold 10 or fewer claims, that they do not have to submit the fee, but that they must file to renew their claims and submit an affidavit of annual labor, work conducted on the claim, Dec. 31st each year, certifying that they had performed more than $100 of work on the claim in the preceding year, 30 U.S.C. 28f(d)(1). The waiver provision further states: ``If a small miner waiver application is determined to be defective for any reason, the claimant shall have a period of 60 days after receipt of written notification of the defect or defects by the Bureau of Land Management to: cure such defect or defects or pay the $100 claim maintenance fee due for such a period.'' Since the last revision to the law last decade, there have been a series of incidents where miners have argued that they submitted their applications and affidavits of annual labor in a timely manner, but due to clerical error by BLM staff, mailing delays or for unexplained reasons, the applications or documents were not recorded as having been received in a timely fashion--and that BLM has then moved to terminate the claims, deeming them null and void. While mining claim holders have argued that the law provides them time to cure claim defects, BLM has argued that the cure only applies when applications or fees have been received in a timely manner. Thus, there is no administrative remedy for miners who believe that clerical errors by BLM or mail issues resulted in loss or the late recording of claim extension applications. There have been a number of cases where Congress has been asked to override BLM determinations and reinstate mining claims simply because of the disputes over whether the claims had been filed in a timely manner. Congress in 2003 reinstated such claims in a previous Alaska case, and claims in another incident were reinstated following a U.S. District Court case in the 10th Circuit in 2009 in the case of Miller v. United States. Legislation similar to this provision actually cleared the Senate in 2007, but did not ultimately become law. This bill is intended to short circuit continued litigation and pleas for claim reinstatement by clarifying the intent of Congress that miners do have to be informed that their claims are in jeopardy of being voided and given 60 days notice to cure defects, including giving them time to submit their applications and to submit affidavits of annual labor, should their submittals not be received and processed by BLM officials on time. If all defects are not cured within 60 days--the obvious intent of Congress in passing the original act--then claims still are subject to voidance. The transition rule included in this measure will solve two pending cases in Alaska, one where a holder of nine claims on the Kenai Peninsula, near Hope, Alaska, has lost title to claims that he had held from 1982 to 2004. In this case, John Trautner had a consistent record of having paid the annual labor assessment fee for the previous 22 years and the local BLM office did have a time-date-stamped record that the maintenance fee waiver certification form had been filed weeks before the deadline, but just not a record that the affidavit of annual labor had arrived. In the second case Don and Judy Mullikin of Homer, Alaska, lost title to nine claims on the Seward Peninsula outside of Nome in Alaska because the Anchorage BLM office has no record of them receiving the paperwork, even though the owners have computer time stamps of them having completed the paperwork 5 months before the deadline, but no other evidence of filing to meet BLM regulations. They lost their appeal in late 2009. These are claims that have been worked in Alaska yearly since 1937 and are the main livelihood for the Mullikins. This legislation, supported by the Alaska Miners Association--S. 3175 in the 111th Congress--clearly is intended to remedy a simple drafting error in congressional crafting of the small miner claim defect process. While only a few cases of potential clerical errors have occurred over the past decade, it still makes sense for Congress to clarify that claim holders have a right to know that their applications have not been processed, in time for them to cure application-claim defects prior to being informed of the loss of the claim rights forever. Simple equity and due process requires no less. Given the minute cost of this administrative change to the Department of the Interior, but its big impact on affected small mineral claim holders, I hope this bill can be considered and approved promptly this year.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to reintroduce legislation that I first offered in 2009 to authorize a right-of-way for construction of an Alaska in-state natural gas pipeline. The bill is being co-sponsored by my colleague from Alaska, Sen. Mark Begich. The pipeline would run along the State's main highway from Fairbanks to Anchorage, including 7 miles of highway through Denali National Park and Preserve. While many in this body are familiar with plans for a large-volume natural gas pipeline to run from the Prudhoe Bay oil fields to the Lower 48 States, there is concern that the large-diameter pipeline will not be finished in time to provide needed gas to Southcentral Alaska-- gas that is vital for electric generation in Anchorage, the Mat-Su Borough, and Kenai Peninsula. Currently, electricity in Alaska's southern Railbelt, as it is called, is largely generated by burning natural gas produced from the gas fields in Cook Inlet, south of Anchorage. Cook Inlet production has been falling for years and businesses have been forced to close as a result. Serious concerns exist regarding the region's ability to produce sufficient gas for electric generation and home heating for Alaska's most populated area as early as the winter of 2014-15. Given the pace of planning for construction of the main line, it is unlikely that a larger Alaska natural gas pipeline will be able to deliver gas until 2020 or later--6 or more years too late to aid Southcentral Alaska's growing need for natural gas. Thus, to provide a reliable natural gas supply, Alaska is considering investing in a smaller pipeline to meet medium term demand. There are two proposals for small-diameter, 24-inch, in-state pipelines. One would run along the Richardson and Glenn Highways to the east, tying into existing transmission systems near Palmer, Alaska. The other ``bullet'' line, is the pipeline of concern in this legislation. It would run from Alaska's North Slope region, past Fairbanks, along the Parks Highway to the Mat-Su Valley near Anchorage, bringing about 500 million cubic feet of gas a day to Southcentral Alaska. This project would be completed well in advance of when a larger-diameter pipeline might be in service to deliver 4 to 4.5 billion cubic feet a day to Lower 48 markets. The shortest and most logical route for a pipeline through or around the roughly 10-mile bottleneck of the Nenana River Canyon and Denali National Park and Preserve follows the existing highway, 7 miles of which pass through the Park. This route causes the least environmental and visual impact due to its location in an existing corridor, and provides a route that is easily accessible for routine pipeline maintenance. This route would be the least expensive to construct and operate. Moreover, it would offer several environmental advantages. Building the pipeline along the existing, previously disturbed Parks Highway right- of-way, would allow for electricity generation from natural gas in the park facilities at Denali. For the first time, reasonably priced compressed natural gas, CNG, would be available to power park vehicles. Currently, National Park Service permitted diesel tour buses travel 1 million road miles annually. Converting the buses to CNG would significantly reduce air emissions in the park. Another benefit is that in order for the pipe to cross the Nenana River, a new bridge will need to be built. The bridge would provide a pedestrian access/bicycle path for visitors who otherwise must walk along the heavily traveled highway. For these reasons, 8 environmental groups have expressed support for pipeline construction along the existing highway right-of-way through Denali Park. These groups are the National Parks and Conservation Association, the Alaska Conservation Alliance, the Denali Citizens Council, The Wilderness Society, Cook Inlet Keeper, the Alaska Center for the Environment, the Wrangell Mountain Center, and the Alaska Wildlife Alliance. Last year, the State of Alaska finished a preliminary study of the project. It continues to consider whether to permit and facilitate a ``bullet'' line project, compared to other options, in order to meet future Southcentral power needs. Alaska state regulators and financial markets will ultimately decide which pipeline projects will go forward. It is my desire, however, to introduce legislation that would clear legal impediments to planning for the Parks Highway route. Approval of the right-of-way would remove a key unknown and provide greater certainty in the cost estimates and the timing for a project. Eliminating the uncertainty of permitting and regulatory delays will enable the Parks Highway route to compete on a level playing field with other pipeline projects. In 2009, this bill was modified to meet concerns voiced by the environmental community, congressional staff, and the National Park Service. The version reintroduced today was approved unanimously by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and added to the American Clean Energy Leadership Act that passed from the Committee on June 17, 2009. The provision, according to the Congressional Budget Office, had nominal fiscal impacts when scored as part of the larger bill--S. 1462. With the pressing need of Southcentral Alaskans in mind for natural gas, I implore this body to quickly approve this legislation in the 112th Session.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation that would make a minor technical change to a provision that this Congress approved in 2004 to further construction of an Alaska natural gas pipeline system to move Alaska's conventional gas to market. In 2004 Congress approved two pieces of legislation to help facilitate construction of an Alaska natural gas pipeline. In Public Law 108-324 Congress approved a Federal loan guarantee program, streamlined regulatory processes and approved a worker training program to guarantee a domestic labor supply for construction of the largest private-sector capital infrastructure project in the world's history. In a separate bill, Public Law 108-357, Congress also approved tax changes to provide accelerated depreciation for the pipe and a related gas conditioning plant needed for the project. A pipeline to move Alaska's 35 trillion cubic feet of known gas reserves, and its likely 315 trillion cubic feet of additional Arctic gas reserves from lands and Arctic waters would have a host of benefits to the Nation. Being able to market only the known gas reserves at the Prudhoe Bay field will involve construction of a pipeline system estimated to cost between $26 and $40 billion. It is expected to produce 38,000 direct job-years of labor in Alaska and up to 31,000 direct jobs at the peak of construction. According to the National Defense Foundation it will produce direct employment of 172,369 jobs nationwide when related steel, pipe, valve and equipment jobs are included, not counting many more indirect jobs. At current prices it will generate about $100 billion in Federal tax revenues, not counting $40 billion in Alaska State revenues and $30 billion in Canadian tax revenues over its first 20 years of operation. Recent estimates, however, indicate that development of gas from the offshore Arctic that a gas line will permit to occur, would add an average of an additional 54,700 new jobs in the U.S.--91,500 at peak employment. That would provide $145 billion in total payroll--$82 billion to workers in the Lower 48--and provide $167 billion in tax and royalty revenues to the Federal Government, $15 billion to the State of Alaska and total revenues of $193 billion at forecast gas prices. In the intervening 7 years since the gas line loan-permitting package became law, it has become clear that changes are needed. While those changes include revisions in the loan guarantee program, they also involve changes in the construction worker training provisions. In the 2004 act, Sect. 113, the bill authorized $20 million for worker training programs, with at least 15 percent of those funds going to pay for ``design and construction of a training facility to be located in Fairbanks, Alaska.'' But language in the bill has prevented that training center from moving forward. This proposed bill would authorize Federal funding to be released immediately upon the request of the Governor of Alaska, to fund construction of the training center, and to broaden the center to permit it also to train oil, besides gas field workers, and environmental response employees. According to the Alaska Department of Labor, the demand for skilled workers for gas and oil line projects on Alaska's North Slope grew by 50 percent from 2005 to 2009 to nearly 12,000 workers. At the same time, the average age of Alaska's skilled workforce is now 53, meaning that Alaska needs to train 1,000 new construction and pipeline workers annually simply to maintain the State's existing skilled workforce. Since it takes roughly 5 years to train a skilled construction/ pipefitter, it is imperative that such training begin far in advance of estimated pipeline construction. According to State data, there are only about 2,130 plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters working in Alaska and another 1,004 welders, solderers, brazers, and machine setters. Past estimates by one of the two consortia proposing to build an Alaska gas pipeline are that the gas line alone will require 1,650 welders/helpers, 2,000 equipment operators, 418 inspectors and 90 UT technicians, just to build the Alaska sections of the pipeline. That means there is an urgent need for the pipeline training center now. The Fairbanks Pipeline Training Center's core mission is to provide a highly trained workforce that will meet the needs of the entire oil/ gas/pipeline/refining industry; which is a significant component of Alaska's economy, providing 80 percent of the State's industrial tax base, 74 percent of all resources produced in the State, and 85 percent of State revenues) and a crucial component of the Nation's domestic energy supply, currently 13 percent of all domestically produced oil, while the proposed overland gas line will produce 7 percent of the Nation's total estimated gas demand in 2020. The necessity for this workforce is further emphasized because it is clear that an aging infrastructure will require an accelerated repair, replacement, and maintenance regime if production requirements and safety standard are to be met. The training center is an innovative statewide collaboration between labor, industry, and local, State, and Federal Governments. Additionally, it is understood that as alternative fuel technologies emerge and are commercialize, a highly skilled, highly trained, highly motivated workforce will be required. Again, through collaboration with others: the University of Alaska, the Cold Climate Housing Research Center, United Technologies Corporation, General Electric, and Alaskan commercial interests, requisite evolving workforce needs are understood and can be met. The facility needs to be located in Interior Alaska, because the climate will permit workers to be fully trained in the real-world conditions they will face on the job. In order to complete the training center and thereby meet anticipated labor demand in a timely manner, funds must be secured in the upcoming budget cycle. Federal funding needed includes: $5.5 million for Central Facility classrooms and shops, $1.5 million for a Construction Camp Facility, $1.0 million for a Pipeline Coating Training Facility and for corrosion control training, $0.5 million for civil work improvements to the Field Training Site, and $1.5 million for pipeline and transportation/ logistical equipment. The bill's changes will permit the creation of a domestic energy workforce that is stable, productive, and encourages safe working practices that will help to protect Alaska's environment and wildlife, while producing the energy that America needs. The proposal does not expand the size of the funding authorization approved in 2004. It simply makes it more likely that American workers will benefit from a gas line project when it proceeds--an important fact when the national unemployment rate remains at 9.4 percent. I hope that this Congress will consider this bill for quick consideration and passage.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to reintroduce legislation that I first offered in 2009 to authorize a right-of-way for construction of an Alaska in-state natural gas pipeline. The bill is being co-sponsored by my colleague from Alaska, Sen. Mark Begich. The pipeline would run along the State's main highway from Fairbanks to Anchorage, including 7 miles of highway through Denali National Park and Preserve. While many in this body are familiar with plans for a large-volume natural gas pipeline to run from the Prudhoe Bay oil fields to the Lower 48 States, there is concern that the large-diameter pipeline will not be finished in time to provide needed gas to Southcentral Alaska-- gas that is vital for electric generation in Anchorage, the Mat-Su Borough, and Kenai Peninsula. Currently, electricity in Alaska's southern Railbelt, as it is called, is largely generated by burning natural gas produced from the gas fields in Cook Inlet, south of Anchorage. Cook Inlet production has been falling for years and businesses have been forced to close as a result. Serious concerns exist regarding the region's ability to produce sufficient gas for electric generation and home heating for Alaska's most populated area as early as the winter of 2014-15. Given the pace of planning for construction of the main line, it is unlikely that a larger Alaska natural gas pipeline will be able to deliver gas until 2020 or later--6 or more years too late to aid Southcentral Alaska's growing need for natural gas. Thus, to provide a reliable natural gas supply, Alaska is considering investing in a smaller pipeline to meet medium term demand. There are two proposals for small-diameter, 24-inch, in-state pipelines. One would run along the Richardson and Glenn Highways to the east, tying into existing transmission systems near Palmer, Alaska. The other ``bullet'' line, is the pipeline of concern in this legislation. It would run from Alaska's North Slope region, past Fairbanks, along the Parks Highway to the Mat-Su Valley near Anchorage, bringing about 500 million cubic feet of gas a day to Southcentral Alaska. This project would be completed well in advance of when a larger-diameter pipeline might be in service to deliver 4 to 4.5 billion cubic feet a day to Lower 48 markets. The shortest and most logical route for a pipeline through or around the roughly 10-mile bottleneck of the Nenana River Canyon and Denali National Park and Preserve follows the existing highway, 7 miles of which pass through the Park. This route causes the least environmental and visual impact due to its location in an existing corridor, and provides a route that is easily accessible for routine pipeline maintenance. This route would be the least expensive to construct and operate. Moreover, it would offer several environmental advantages. Building the pipeline along the existing, previously disturbed Parks Highway right- of-way, would allow for electricity generation from natural gas in the park facilities at Denali. For the first time, reasonably priced compressed natural gas, CNG, would be available to power park vehicles. Currently, National Park Service permitted diesel tour buses travel 1 million road miles annually. Converting the buses to CNG would significantly reduce air emissions in the park. Another benefit is that in order for the pipe to cross the Nenana River, a new bridge will need to be built. The bridge would provide a pedestrian access/bicycle path for visitors who otherwise must walk along the heavily traveled highway. For these reasons, 8 environmental groups have expressed support for pipeline construction along the existing highway right-of-way through Denali Park. These groups are the National Parks and Conservation Association, the Alaska Conservation Alliance, the Denali Citizens Council, The Wilderness Society, Cook Inlet Keeper, the Alaska Center for the Environment, the Wrangell Mountain Center, and the Alaska Wildlife Alliance. Last year, the State of Alaska finished a preliminary study of the project. It continues to consider whether to permit and facilitate a ``bullet'' line project, compared to other options, in order to meet future Southcentral power needs. Alaska state regulators and financial markets will ultimately decide which pipeline projects will go forward. It is my desire, however, to introduce legislation that would clear legal impediments to planning for the Parks Highway route. Approval of the right-of-way would remove a key unknown and provide greater certainty in the cost estimates and the timing for a project. Eliminating the uncertainty of permitting and regulatory delays will enable the Parks Highway route to compete on a level playing field with other pipeline projects. In 2009, this bill was modified to meet concerns voiced by the environmental community, congressional staff, and the National Park Service. The version reintroduced today was approved unanimously by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and added to the American Clean Energy Leadership Act that passed from the Committee on June 17, 2009. The provision, according to the Congressional Budget Office, had nominal fiscal impacts when scored as part of the larger bill--S. 1462. With the pressing need of Southcentral Alaskans in mind for natural gas, I implore this body to quickly approve this legislation in the 112th Session.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise to speak to a bill that I am reintroducing, being cosponsored by my colleague Mark Begich from Alaska, to resolve a land conveyance dispute in Northwest Alaska, the Salmon Lake Land Selection Resolution Act. Shortly after Alaska became a State in 1959, Alaska selected lands near Salmon Lake, a major fishery resource in the Bering Straits Region of Northwest Alaska. In 1971, Congress passed the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to resolve aboriginal land claims throughout the 49th State. In that act Congress created 12 regional native corporations in Alaska, providing the corporations with $966 million and the right to select 44 million acres of land in return for giving up claims to their traditional lands. The land and money was to go to make the corporations profitable to provide benefits to their shareholders, the native inhabitants of Alaska. The Bering Straits Native Corporation, one of those 12 regional corporations, promptly selected lands in the Salmon Lake region overlapping State selections promised the State at the time that Alaska joined the Union in 1959. The corporation selected the area around the lake because the waters upstream and downstream from the lake are a prime fishery spawning area and contains fisheries resources of significance to Alaska Natives, in addition to offering land suitable for a variety of recreational activities. For the past 40 years there have been conflicts over the conveyances, delaying land from going to the corporation, harming the economic and cultural benefits of the corporation model for all Native shareholders, and complicating land and wildlife management issues between Federal agencies and the State of Alaska. Starting in 1994, but accelerating in 1997, talks began among the State, Federal agencies and native corporations and towns in the region, located north of Nome--Salmon Lake itself is located 38 miles north of Nome--to reach a consensus on land uses in the region. Those talks reached agreement on June 1, 2007, with a resolution that satisfied all parties. This seemingly non- controversial legislation will implement the land management regime in the area and finally complete the conveyance of ANCSA lands to the Bering Straits Native Corporation--giving the corporation title after surveys to the last of the 145,728 acres it was promised by Section 14(h)(8) of ANCSA nearly 4 decades ago. By this bill the Corporation will gain conveyance to 1,009 acres in the Salmon Lake area, 6,132 acres at Windy Cove, northwest of Salmon Lake, and 7,504 acres at Imuruk Basin, on the north shore of Imuruk Basin, a water body north of Windy Cove. In return the Corporation relinquishes rights to another 3,084 acres at Salmon Lake to the Federal Government, the government then giving part of the land to the State of Alaska for it to maintain a key airstrip near the lake. The Federal Bureau of Land Management also retains ownership and administration of a 9-acre campground at the outlet of Salmon Lake, which provides road accessible public camping opportunities from the Nome-Teller Highway. The agreement also retains public access to BLM managed lands in the Kigluaik Mountain Range. In return for the trade, the Federal Government gains other lands from the State. The bill fully protects recreation and subsistence uses in the area, while providing the Corporation with access to recreational-tourism sites of importance to its shareholders and which might some day produce revenues for the Corporation. The agreement has prompted no known environmental group concerns and seems to be the classic ``win- win-win'' solution that all sides should be congratulated for crafting. After this bill was introduced in late winter 2009, only support for its provisions was voiced by the public and the Administration and Federal agencies during a Senate hearing held by the Senate Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Oct. 8, 2009. After that hearing, the bill was unanimously approved by the full Energy and Natural Resources Committee on December 16, 2009; and it was awaiting passage at the end of the 111th Congress. A nearly identical bill was approved by the full House of Representatives on July 1, 2010 by a unanimous vote of 410-0. According to Congressional Budget Office estimates last year, it would have ``negligible'' costs to the Federal Government during a 10-year scoring window, and it actually will likely reduce Federal outlays since the land's transfer will reduce Federal Bureau of Land Management administrative costs. Passage of this act is certainly in keeping with the spirit of the Alaska Lands Conveyance Acceleration Act that this body passed 7 years ago that was intended to help settle all outstanding land conveyance issues in Alaska by 2009--the 50th anniversary of Alaska Statehood. While the original agreement/extension covering the land exchange among the Federal Government, the State of Alaska and Bering Straits Native Corporation expired in late 2010, it has been extended once again by all parties to give Congress additional time to ratify the land exchange's terms. Ratification will largely complete the land conveyance process in Northwest Alaska. I hope that Congress this year, before the latest deadline passes, will quickly pass this legislation. I particularly hope that the land swap is ratified quickly since December 18, 2011 will mark the 40th anniversary of ANCSA's passage. The shareholders of the Bering Straits region have waited 40 years to finally receive the land and economic benefits promised to them when they relinquished their aboriginal land claims. It is only just that they not be made to wait any longer to enjoy the full benefits of the claims settlement act. This bill is also very important for residents of Nome who utilize the area for recreation and subsistence purposes and for all Alaska Natives who live in the Bering Straits Region.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise to speak to a bill that I am reintroducing, being cosponsored by my colleague Mark Begich from Alaska, to resolve a land conveyance dispute in Northwest Alaska, the Salmon Lake Land Selection Resolution Act. Shortly after Alaska became a State in 1959, Alaska selected lands near Salmon Lake, a major fishery resource in the Bering Straits Region of Northwest Alaska. In 1971, Congress passed the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to resolve aboriginal land claims throughout the 49th State. In that act Congress created 12 regional native corporations in Alaska, providing the corporations with $966 million and the right to select 44 million acres of land in return for giving up claims to their traditional lands. The land and money was to go to make the corporations profitable to provide benefits to their shareholders, the native inhabitants of Alaska. The Bering Straits Native Corporation, one of those 12 regional corporations, promptly selected lands in the Salmon Lake region overlapping State selections promised the State at the time that Alaska joined the Union in 1959. The corporation selected the area around the lake because the waters upstream and downstream from the lake are a prime fishery spawning area and contains fisheries resources of significance to Alaska Natives, in addition to offering land suitable for a variety of recreational activities. For the past 40 years there have been conflicts over the conveyances, delaying land from going to the corporation, harming the economic and cultural benefits of the corporation model for all Native shareholders, and complicating land and wildlife management issues between Federal agencies and the State of Alaska. Starting in 1994, but accelerating in 1997, talks began among the State, Federal agencies and native corporations and towns in the region, located north of Nome--Salmon Lake itself is located 38 miles north of Nome--to reach a consensus on land uses in the region. Those talks reached agreement on June 1, 2007, with a resolution that satisfied all parties. This seemingly non- controversial legislation will implement the land management regime in the area and finally complete the conveyance of ANCSA lands to the Bering Straits Native Corporation--giving the corporation title after surveys to the last of the 145,728 acres it was promised by Section 14(h)(8) of ANCSA nearly 4 decades ago. By this bill the Corporation will gain conveyance to 1,009 acres in the Salmon Lake area, 6,132 acres at Windy Cove, northwest of Salmon Lake, and 7,504 acres at Imuruk Basin, on the north shore of Imuruk Basin, a water body north of Windy Cove. In return the Corporation relinquishes rights to another 3,084 acres at Salmon Lake to the Federal Government, the government then giving part of the land to the State of Alaska for it to maintain a key airstrip near the lake. The Federal Bureau of Land Management also retains ownership and administration of a 9-acre campground at the outlet of Salmon Lake, which provides road accessible public camping opportunities from the Nome-Teller Highway. The agreement also retains public access to BLM managed lands in the Kigluaik Mountain Range. In return for the trade, the Federal Government gains other lands from the State. The bill fully protects recreation and subsistence uses in the area, while providing the Corporation with access to recreational-tourism sites of importance to its shareholders and which might some day produce revenues for the Corporation. The agreement has prompted no known environmental group concerns and seems to be the classic ``win- win-win'' solution that all sides should be congratulated for crafting. After this bill was introduced in late winter 2009, only support for its provisions was voiced by the public and the Administration and Federal agencies during a Senate hearing held by the Senate Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Oct. 8, 2009. After that hearing, the bill was unanimously approved by the full Energy and Natural Resources Committee on December 16, 2009; and it was awaiting passage at the end of the 111th Congress. A nearly identical bill was approved by the full House of Representatives on July 1, 2010 by a unanimous vote of 410-0. According to Congressional Budget Office estimates last year, it would have ``negligible'' costs to the Federal Government during a 10-year scoring window, and it actually will likely reduce Federal outlays since the land's transfer will reduce Federal Bureau of Land Management administrative costs. Passage of this act is certainly in keeping with the spirit of the Alaska Lands Conveyance Acceleration Act that this body passed 7 years ago that was intended to help settle all outstanding land conveyance issues in Alaska by 2009--the 50th anniversary of Alaska Statehood. While the original agreement/extension covering the land exchange among the Federal Government, the State of Alaska and Bering Straits Native Corporation expired in late 2010, it has been extended once again by all parties to give Congress additional time to ratify the land exchange's terms. Ratification will largely complete the land conveyance process in Northwest Alaska. I hope that Congress this year, before the latest deadline passes, will quickly pass this legislation. I particularly hope that the land swap is ratified quickly since December 18, 2011 will mark the 40th anniversary of ANCSA's passage. The shareholders of the Bering Straits region have waited 40 years to finally receive the land and economic benefits promised to them when they relinquished their aboriginal land claims. It is only just that they not be made to wait any longer to enjoy the full benefits of the claims settlement act. This bill is also very important for residents of Nome who utilize the area for recreation and subsistence purposes and for all Alaska Natives who live in the Bering Straits Region.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, today I honor Walter L. Kubley, Sr. On December 14, 2010, Alaska lost this shining star who truly possessed the legendary ``Pioneer Alaskan Spirit.'' Walter, who we called Wally, served Alaska in a long diverse career that ranged from work at the Ketchikan Volunteer Fire Department to the Alaskan Secretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. When Wally was Commissioner of Commerce under Governor Keith Miller, he worked alongside his good friend and Commissioner of Revenue, George Morrison, and took revenues generated from the first oil lease sale in Prudhoe Bay and invested it to create the seeds of what is now known as the ``Permanent Fund.'' This fund evolved and allowed the citizens of our State to share in the bounty of our natural resources. Wally also made an indelible mark on the infrastructure and transportation system of Alaska. His tireless efforts as one of the authors of the legislation that created the Alaska Marine Highway System have continued to act as the integral yarn of the socioeconomic fabric of southeast Alaska. I myself have spent many hours on the beautiful ``roads'' that can be attributed to this caring man. As the ``Father of the Alaskan Highway System,'' Wally often talked of bringing his family along on the maiden voyage of the M/V Malaspina mainline ferry from Seattle to Ketchikan that launched in 1963. Wally also served in the State legislature with Senator Ted Stevens, who he remained close with until his death and served as an honorary pallbearer along with Representative Don Young. Whether his title was as an Alaskan House Representative, Commissioner of Commerce, or Commissioner of Transportation, his lone goal was to help his region, his State, and its people. Wally was born and raised in Ketchikan in 1921 as the third generation of his family in Alaska. After graduating from high school, he studied at Whitman College but withdrew from school and joined the U.S. Coast Guard after the tragic events at Pearl Harbor. With his extraordinary childhood knowledge of the Alaskan coast, he served as captain of a submarine chaser out of Prince Rupert on the lookout for enemy submarines in the waters of southeast Alaska. After the war, he married his beautiful fiancee and the love of his life, Fern, who served as Mrs. Alaska in 1962. They spent 60 wonderful years of marriage together. At a young age, Wally left a cultural mark in the community as he built the world famous Sourdough Bar, the first bowling alley in Ketchikan, the Billiken Bowl, and the Sportsman Bar and Cafe in Ward Cove. Wally's grandson, Wally Jr., is now the owner of the Sourdough Bar and has continued the traditional weekly coffee forum held every Thursday morning up until his passing. As the patriarch of a sixth generation Ketchikan family, Wally will be missed deeply by his loving family and all those who have known his caring nature. Wally's grandfather came to Alaska during the Gold Rush and after a few years prospecting in Hyder moved to Ketchikan in 1904 and set his family's roots. Wally owned a cabin built with hand hewn yellow cedar at Mirror Lake in the Misty Fjords. This later became the Mirror Lake Sportsman's Club where Wally enjoyed relaxing times fishing with his children, grandchildren, and friends. He was never without a smile and his own brand of creative thoughtfulness always shined bright. He is survived by his sons Don and Larry, daughter Kaaren, and his grandchildren. Wally and I shared a common birthplace in Ketchikan and a love for our homeland of Alaska. Without the work that he has done, the state of Alaska would be a different place. I can easily say that Wally helped create the Alaska that future generations will happily inherit. He was the driving force for many Alaskan traditions and we owe him immense gratitude. May he rest in peace.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, when the 111th Congress draws to a close, we will bid farewell to 16 colleagues who have collectively given more than 200 years of service to our Nation through their service in the Senate. These include seven of the Senate's most experienced Members. People like Chris Dodd and Arlen Specter who have each served five terms in the Senate. Kit Bond who has served four terms and Bob Bennett, Byron Dorgan, Russ Feingold, and Judd Gregg, who have each served three terms in this Chamber. When the 112th Congress convenes in January, the ranks of women Senators will be reduced by one. In fact, the 112th Congress will be the first Congress in recent memory in which the total number of women Senators will actually decline. And with the departure of our colleague, Roland Burris, there will not be a single African-American Senator when the new Congress convenes. In January we will feel the loss of the great pitching ace, Jim Bunning, and Evan Bayh, both respected colleagues on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. They are among six of my Energy Committee colleagues who are leaving the Senate this year. Judd Gregg, one of our Nation's foremost experts on the Federal budget leaves us at the end of the year. As this Senate comes to grips with the challenges of a rising deficit and economic stagnation we will miss his firm hand and thoughtful guidance. My neighbor in the Hart Senate Office Building, Arlen Specter, is one of the Senate's most independent voices and perhaps the best friend that the National Institutes of Health, and every American who benefits from its cutting edge research, has ever had on Capitol Hill. Bob Bennett, one of the most thoughtful among us, who draws wisdom from experience as an entrepreneur as well as in public service, will not be among us. I learned much from Senator Bennett during the period that he served as counselor to the Republican leader and I served as vice chair of the Senate Republican Conference. I would also like to acknowledge contributions of Kit Bond, one of the foremost experts on our Nation's transportation and infrastructure needs. I appreciate Senator Bond's interest in understanding the unique transportation and infrastructure challenges that we in Alaska, the largest State in our Union in terms of land mass and one of the youngest must contend with. Senator Bond, like all of us, wears many hats in this institution. He has also earned the undying respect of our Nation's citizen soldiers through his leadership of the Senate National Guard Caucus. One of Chris Dodd's legacies to the Nation is legislation to ensure that the unique needs of children are addressed in our Nation's response to catastrophic disasters. I was honored to partner with Senator Dodd in helping to pass this legislation. Russ Feingold may have earned his place in history for his work on campaign finance reform but I will also appreciate him for his efforts to ensure that members of the National Guard and Reserve do not fall through the cracks when they return home with battlefield injuries. Senator Feingold and I teamed on the Wounded Warrior Transition Act, a portion of which was included in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010. I will continue to pursue the remaining provisions in the new Congress. Sam Brownback has forever earned a place in the heart of our first Americans for his work on the adoption of a joint resolution apologizing to American Indians and Alaska Natives for centuries of ill conceived policies carried out by our Federal Government. He is known around the world as a champion of religious freedom as well. George Voinovich came to the Senate after a distinguished career that included service as Governor of the State of Ohio and mayor of the city of Cleveland. He has made a substantial contribution to the efficient operation of our federal government as a leader of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. I appreciate his support of the effort that Senator Akaka and I advanced, along with others, to make locality pay available to Federal employees in Alaska and Hawaii through the Non-Foreign Act of 2009. I would like to say a few words about my friend Byron Dorgan. In 2007, following the sudden and unexpected death of our friend and colleague Craig Thomas, I was elevated to vice chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Senator Dorgan was the chairman of that committee. Last week both of us had the honor of addressing the National Congress of American Indians at one of the meetings that preceded President Obama's tribal summit. Each of us reflected on that fact that the committee has highly productive during the period we shared the gavel. During our time together the committee laid the groundwork for reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, more than a decade in the making. We reauthorized the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act, we pursued a settlement of the Cobell litigation, and we crafted and introduced the Tribal Law and Order Act, which President Obama signed into law earlier this year. Senator Dorgan has consistently championed adequate funding for the Indian Health Service and he has come to the floor on many occasions to speak to the unacceptable rates of suicide among Native youth. I am pleased to know that he will continue this work after he leaves the Senate. It comes from the heart. As I noted at the outset, 2011 will be the first year in recent memory that the number of women serving in the Senate has actually declined. All of the women of the Senate will miss our dear friend and highly respected colleague Blanche Lincoln. Blanche Lincoln made history in her own right when she became the youngest woman ever elected to the Senate at the age of 38. Senator Lincoln represented the people of Arkansas with distinction for two terms, juggling a demanding career in public service while raising two wonderful twin boys Reece and Bennett. She is truly a wonderful colleague to work with. A centrist who comfortably works across the aisle and votes her convictions. One of the kindest people in the Senate. I expect great things of Blanche Lincoln in the future and I have every confidence she will deliver on that prediction. It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve with each of the people who will leave this Chamber when we adjourn sine die. Each has made substantial contributions to their States, to the Nation and to the Senate during their time here.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, for the past 2 years I have had the honor and the privilege of joining with my colleague from Rhode Island, Mr. Reed, and other colleagues, in bringing before the Senate a resolution honoring those who are serving and have served in Airborne units of our armed services on the occasion of National Airborne Day. Albert Caswell, an employee of the Capitol Guide Service, has penned a poem in honor of a member of the 82nd Airborne Division, SGT Jared Lemon who is recovering from injuries suffered from the detonation of an Improvised Explosive Device while deployed to Afghanistan. I ask that this poem be printed in the Record. The material follows: Airborne Airborne! Men of Honor, who wear that uniform. . . . Strength In Honor, who march on! An Alaskan son. . . a Freedom Fighter, Jared this one Who marched off to war, to do what must be done! All there, walking through the valley of death. . . . Where courage crests! As upon a battlefield of honor, lie dying. . . . With his Brother in Arms Joseph, heroically dead beside him. . . . As with tears he would find then! As on the morning he awoke. . . . As to him his fine heart so spoke. . . . So spoke to him. . . . About living for his fallen brother, whose blood that binds them! As his new battle had begun! To rebuild, as to new heights his great Alaskan heart would run! And even though he had lost an arm, to heights he has flown! For he's Airborne! With a heart so bold, so warm! For no mountain is too big to climb! For there are new frontiers, in his heart which appears. . . . Bringing us all to such tears! For he's Airborne! As yes Jared you so march on! The 82nd, lock and load. . . . As a man who so lives, so lives by such a most heroic code! One of such selfless, as have all of those! America's men and women in uniform! Who are Airborne. . . . As where the face of courage is worn! And if I ever had a son. . . . I but wish, that he could but be as heroic you Jared, the one! For Jared, you will Teach Us, Reach Us and so Beseech Us! For you are Airborne!

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, the loss of our dear friend, Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, last August touched everyone in this body and a great many Members of the Senate's extended family here in the Capitol complex. Albert Caswell, a member of the Capitol Guide Service, has penned a poem in honor and remembrance of this great American, patriot, husband, father and public servant. I ask that Mr. Caswell's poem be printed in the Record. The material follows: A Glacier America. Our Country Tis of Thee . . . Was but built, but by such most patriotic men as he . . . Brave hearts of strength, pioneers of courage and liberty . . . A trail blazer, as Ted was he . . . A Giant . . . A Glacier . . . A mountain of a man . . . A mirror of this great frontier . . . of this great land! A magnificent Alaskan, who to greatness he ran . . . Ted Stevens, is but an Icon of this great land . . . A Founding Father, who helped this 49th State stand . . . One of The Greatest Generation, who helped Save The World . . . as was this man . . . The longest serving Republican Senator, in history . . . `Oh what A Tour `De Force, as upon the Senate floor was he . . . Uncle Ted, was but the very height to which a public servant can be! Don't get even, Get Stevens . . . to succeed! Tough on the outside, but inside such a gentle heart would beat . . . Words like, God, Family, Country, Alaska, Military, Courage, leadership, in his heart we see! A Glacier died this day, as we cried this day . . . Mountains may break apart, and fall to the sea . . . But Glaciers like Ted, your memory will never . . . so be lost in history . . . And all of those giants you walked with like, Dole, Byrd, Inouye, Simpson and Kennedy . . . As your fine life of public service, will upon this floor forever speak! Rise up now to Heaven our fine son, Alaska's and America's great friend . . . For Angel's with Distinguished Flying Crosses, our Lord so needs them . . .

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, on October 27th the Gonzaga College High School and Jesuit community lost a leader and dear friend. Father Allen Novotny served as the president of the oldest private high school in Washington, DC, and led the charge to modernize the school's aging facilities. When I moved my family to Washington, DC, I knew that under the leadership of Father Novotny, my two sons would receive the best education possible at Gonzaga. The school, which is known for its motto ``Men for Others'' encourages students to participate in service projects throughout DC, the country, and the world. During his 16 years at Gonzaga, Father Novotny increased the funding and variety of these essential service projects that gave thousands of young men the opportunity to grow in their faith and serve those in need. Allen Paul Novotny was born in Baltimore in 1952 and received his education at the Sacred Heart of Jesus School in Baltimore and then Loyola High School in Towson. He entered the Society of Jesus at the Novitiate of St. Isaac Jogues in Wernersville, PA, in 1970, and received a degree in history from Fordham University in 1975. He then went on to teach history at his alma mater Loyola, and by 1989 had received three master's degrees in divinity, pastoral counseling, and business administration. These credentials along with Father Novotny's passion to provide a productive learning environment for the young men at Gonzaga resulted in a $30 million campaign to renovate and expand the schools aging cafeteria, classrooms, gymnasium, and other facilities. Along with his tireless efforts to improve the school structurally, Father Novotny also ensured the spiritual and educational improvement of the student body, parents, and faculty. With his calm demeanor and strong faith, he guided the school through times of national tragedy in 2001 when the September 11 attacks took the lives of family and friends in the Gonzaga community and again in 2002 during the Washington DC, sniper shootings. He also led the school to great educational and athletic triumphs. During his tenure, courses offered for college credit at Gonzaga significantly increased and Gonzaga's basketball program has consistently been nationally ranked. Father Novotny had a very personal connection with his students, which I always admired as a parent. He constantly attended the games of Gonzaga's various sports teams and participated with the students in their service projects. In the weeks since his passing, there has been an outpouring of condolences from thousands of former and current students, parents, faculty, and friends who have shared their stories of the influence that Father Novotny had on their lives. Gonzaga will now have to search for a replacement to serve as the school's president, but we will never be able to replace in our hearts such a great leader, mentor, teacher, and friend. May he rest in peace.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, as the granddaughter of a teacher and as a parent, education is one of my passions and priorities. So I rise today to commemorate the start of American Education Week, which seeks to shine a light on the importance of providing every child in America with a quality education so that they are prepared to contribute to our Nation's future as adults. Further, American Education Week gives each of us an opportunity to celebrate the good things that are happening in our schools, rededicate ourselves to help schools improve where improvement is needed, and to honor the parents, educators, students, and education support professionals who strive to do their best to ensure that every child receives a quality education each and every day. Each of the next 4 days will celebrate a different partner in the education of our children. Tomorrow, American Education Week will focus our attention on our children's first and most important teachers--their parents. In my own State of Alaska, parents' contributions to their children's education is so important that we have been called to observe the entire month of November as Parental Involvement Month. This observance is intended to encourage all Alaskans to recognize the importance of and encourage parental involvement in school improvement and student achievement. Other States have proclaimed other months to be Parental Involvement Month. Why? We know instinctively, the day our children are born, that we are responsible for shaping their future. Everything we do influences our children and whether or not they grow up to love learning. When we read to our children before bedtime, as we teach them colors, shapes, right, and wrong, and the value of hard work and honesty and as we help them with homework, book reports, and college applications, our voices and examples are the strongest influences in their lives. If our children see us checking out books for ourselves at the library, if we volunteer at their school and participate in making their school better, they learn from our example that their education is important. If we have high expectations for our children and consistently communicate that, our children can fulfill their potential. Our children want to rise to our expectations. So I call on all of my fellow parents to fulfill your children's expectations of you. On Wednesday, the focus of American Education Week will shift to those too often overlooked individuals who play such important roles in our schools--the education support professionals. These are folks who, day after day and for little pay and less recognition, keep the cogs running smoothly in our schools. They keep our children safe, guide them in their behavior, give out hugs, and provide help when things get tough during the day. Take a moment, Mr. President, to look back on your own school days. Think of the schoolbus driver who made sure everyone was seated and reasonably quiet on the way to school or who would wait as you ran to catch the bus. Think of the nurse who took care of you and called your mom that day you had a fever or the lunch lady who made sure you took a helping of vegetables and didn't forget your milk. Sometimes, if you forgot your lunch money, she would give you lunch anyway if you promised to pay tomorrow. One stern look from any of these good people would set your feet back on the right path, and you loved them for it, just as many children love their teacher's aide who can explain that thorny math problem better than the teacher or the specialist who helps them overcome a physical or learning challenge. Remember, on Wednesday, to think of these good folks who shaped your life, and think good thoughts for those who do so now across our great Nation. On Thursday, community leaders are invited to come into our Nation's classrooms and serve as educators to get a glimpse of what the job is really like. We have all been to school, and we have all known many teachers. Being a teacher looks easy, but it isn't. Teachers need to know how to reach every child, excite every child about learning, and help every child fulfill his or her potential. The best way to do those things is different for every child. Mr. President, we all remember our favorite teachers, and if we traded stories they would go like this: I had this teacher once who was so hard and expected so much, but he cared about me, and he was the best teacher I ever had, or, I had a teacher who really knew what I was about and she really helped me learn that year. Boy, was her class hard, but I loved that teacher. Teaching is both a skill and an art. It is hard work, and it is often thankless work. Too often a classroom will include children who come to school unprepared to learn or who are dealing with serious problems at home. But every single teacher across this Nation wants just one thing--to help every single one of their students to learn. On Thursday, think of your favorite teachers and thank them and make a wish that every student across America has a teacher who is inspiring, skilled, caring, and kind. On Friday, American Education Week calls on us to honor a different kind of educator. They are too often overlooked, forgotten, or, frankly, given a really hard time. I am referring to the substitute teacher. Those hardy, brave souls who go into a different classroom every day to help educate our children deserve our thanks and recognition. Often called before dawn to cover for a teacher who is unexpectedly ill, they can teach kindergarten one day and high school math the next. The best of them have one common characteristic--they can settle a classroom full of strangers down with a glance and inspire their temporary students with a word. Their stories are the stuff of legend. There was the sub who learned in the nick of time that one of her students brought a stink bomb to class because he knew there would be a substitute that day. There was the substitute who learned her students' goal of the day was to make her cry, and she did, but she was back in class with the students after lunch. Then there was the sub whose first day on the job was taking 28 7-year-olds on a field trip to the zoo. Substitute teachers must be disciplined but caring. They must be flexible but adhere to routine. They need thick skin and a great sense of humor. I admire them tremendously. While American Education Week does not specifically highlight the school principal, I am pleased and proud to honor our Nation's principals here today as well. Whatever role the principal plays, from instructional leader, head of maintenance, chief disciplinarian, financial guru, and even part-time recess monitor, the school principal's ability to impact the success of the school cannot be underestimated. The most important of those roles, however, must always be that of instructional leader. Everyone in the school community, from students to the superintendent, from parents to future employers, relies on the principal to run an effective school in which students learn. The skill set for being a principal is not the same as for a teacher. A principal must be able to set the agenda for learning for not only the students but for teachers and other staff as well. He or she is in charge of not only the safety, well-being, and future of the children in the school but must also guide and inspire the staff. The principal must be a diplomat, bring the community into the school, satisfy the taxpayer, and meet the needs of the school. The principal must mediate, command, and inspire any number of groups on any given day. The best of them are often taken for granted because everything just works. So I encourage my colleagues and the Nation to include in their appreciative thoughts this week our schools' hard-working, multitasking educational leaders--our Nation's principals. In closing, as my colleagues here in the Senate consider, applaud, and recognize the hard work of the many Americans who work every day to make our schools the best, I would also encourage them to do their part. As you know, the Senate HELP Committee continues to work toward reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. I look forward to continuing and completing that work next year. We know that this law's goal is to help ensure that every single child in every community across the country has the opportunity and the tools to succeed, that is, that every child will fulfill his or her potential regardless of wealth, ethnicity, disability, or location. We all want that. Regardless of our views on the role or the degree of the role the Federal Government should play in our Nation's schools--whether we think Federal funding should come with the strings of accountability or not and to what degree--I hope we can all agree on one thing, and that is the proud tradition of bipartisanship we and our predecessors have achieved when it comes to education issues. We may disagree about our points of view, but in the end the final product is one most of us have been able to support. I hope that as we observe American Education Week and in the days and months to come our Nation's children as well as the adults can look back at us with pride and say we got something good done for the country through civility, cooperation, bipartisanship, and a genuine love for our Nation.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, on the morning of Tuesday, August 10, in Alaska, in Washington, and around the world, time seemed to stand still. It was then we received word that a floatplane carrying our beloved Senator Ted Stevens had gone down in the remote Bristol Bay region of western Alaska. Senator Stevens traveled to that area, as he did practically each summer for decades, to pursue one of his dearest passions--fishing. Along with Senator Stevens on that flight were several of his closest friends. Sean O'Keefe, the former Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Jim Morhard, who came to the Senate in 1983 as an aide to Senator Pete Wilson of California and retired in 2005 as chief of staff of the Senate Appropriations Committee; Bill Phillips, a distinguished Washington lawyer and former chief of staff to Senator Stevens was on the flight; as was Dana Tindall, one of Alaska's best and brightest who made a career of bringing 21st century telecommunications technology to our vast territory. Three of their children were on the trip as well: Sean's son Kevin, Bill's son Willy, and Dana's daughter Corey. The pilot was Theron ``Terry'' Smith, an accomplished aviator who retired as chief pilot after 25 years with Alaska Airlines in Anchorage. When it became apparent that the floatplane was overdue en route to a remote fishing camp, a massive search was quickly mobilized. The wreckage was located and, thankfully, there were survivors. Sean and his son Kevin, Jim Morhard and Willy Phillips survived the crash. We pray for their swift and full recovery. At the same time our hearts dropped at the news that the crash claimed the lives of Senator Stevens, Bill Phillips, Dana Tindall, her daughter Corey, and pilot Terry Smith. At a later time I will have more to say about the distinguished careers of Bill Phillips, Dana Tindall, and Terry Smith, as well the lost promise of Corey Tindall, a champion debater at South High School in Anchorage and an aspiring doctor. I will also have more to say about the heroes that responded to the crash site. That story begins with the Good Samaritan pilots who located the wreckage, Dr. Dani Bowman, and local first responders who were brought in by helicopter--they cared for the survivors and the dead in poor weather through a long night awaiting rescue--the elite Alaska National Guard and Coast Guard search and rescue teams that accomplished the rescue, the medical teams in Anchorage that tended to the survivors. Today, I would like to devote a few moments in memory of my mentor, a man who stands tall among our Senate family as one of the truly great Senators of all time, my dear friend, Ted Stevens. It would take days and days to enumerate all of Senator Stevens' accomplishments in this body over the course of 40 years. The Senate began the process of chronicling Senator Stevens' place in history in S. Res. 617, which was enacted on August 12. Our colleagues will fill in the details in the coming days. Let me digress for a moment and extend my deepest appreciation, and that of the Stevens family, to our colleagues and the staff--all of those who pulled out the stops--to ensure that S. Res. 617 could be enacted during a brief lull in the recess. The resolution was presented to the Stevens family following the funeral in Anchorage. It was well received. So how to summarize the remarkable career of Ted Stevens in a few moments. Ted Stevens was the longest serving Republican in the Senate's history. He served as President pro tempore and President pro tempore emeritus. He was the assistant Republican leader. At various points during his career he chaired the Appropriations Committee, the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, the Committee on Governmental Affairs, the Committee on Rules and Administration, and the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. He was involved in numerous other leadership roles. He was a dear, dear friend of our men and women in uniform. In the early 1970s he helped to bring an end to the draft and encouraged the All Volunteer military force. He worked diligently to ensure that service members were compensated fairly, that their benefits were not eroded, and that they received the best health care. A family man always, he was deeply concerned about the length of time that service members were separated from their families. And when service members returned from Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from PTSD and TBI, he ensured that funds were shifted from lower defense priorities to address these immediate concerns. He used his key position on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee to make this all happen. During his more than 40 years in the Senate he traveled to visit with service members on the battlefield. He visited Vietnam, Kuwait, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. On those trips he spent time with those in the lowest ranks, asking whether they had the right equipment, how the food was, and how their families back home were coping. Although he will long be remembered as a tireless advocate for the responsible development of Alaska's abundant natural resources, his friends and even his foes readily admit that he leaves a substantial conservation legacy. He was key to the compromise that led to the enactment of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, a leader in fishery conservation through the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the High Seas Driftnet Fisheries Enforcement Act. He was a champion of the Olympic movement, a champion of physical fitness, a champion of amateur athletics. He played a significant role in ensuring that female athletes could compete on a level playing field with their male counterparts. He was one of the best friends public broadcasting could possibly have in Washington. He championed family friendly policies for America's civil servants. These are some of his legacies to the Nation. But to many Alaskans he was known simply as ``Uncle Ted.'' And it was not just for the Federal dollars he brought to the State of Alaska, the energy facilities, hospitals and clinics, roads, docks, airports, water and sewer facilities, schools and other community facilities, although these were substantial. The Almanac of American Politics observed, ``No other Senator fills so central a place in his state's public and economic life as Ted Stevens of Alaska; quite possibly no other Senator ever has.'' Truth be told, Ted Stevens was known as Uncle Ted because so many Alaskans viewed him as a friend of their own Alaskan families. Alaskans treasure the photographs and the letters that Senator Stevens sent them. Some of those photographs and letters were decades old, yet treasured keepsakes. He gave Alaska's young people an opportunity to intern in Washington, inspiring many careers in public service. I am proud to be one of those interns. He hired many young Alaskans, once they graduated college, as junior staff members. He encouraged the best to go to law school and then brought them back as legislative assistants and committee staff. Many went on to accomplish great things in their chosen fields. In the aftermath of Senator Stevens' death, hundreds upon hundreds of Alaskans lined the streets of Anchorage bearing signs that read, ``Thank you, Ted'' as his funeral procession drove by. Makeshift memorial services were conducted in Alaska's Native villages. Why did Ted Stevens' loss shake Alaska so hard? The answer is simple. For generations of Alaskans he had been their Senator for life. Ted Stevens became Alaska's Senator less than 10 years after Alaska was admitted to statehood. I was 11 years old when he first came to the Senate. In so many respects, his elevation to the Senate in 1968 was the culmination of a career of service to Alaska that began in the 1950s. It was, if you will, his second career of service to the people of Alaska. Ted's first career began when he was named the U.S. attorney in Fairbanks. In a 2002 speech to the Alaska Federation of Natives, Ted recalled that this position gave him the opportunity to carry out President Eisenhower's commitment to equal rights for everyone. He traveled throughout the area requesting business owners to take down signs that read, ``No Natives Allowed.'' Ted then moved to Washington to serve as legislative counsel in the Interior Department. He played a key role in the enactment of the legislation that admitted Alaska as America's 49th State. He helped draft that section of the Alaska Statehood Act which committed the Federal Government to the settlement of the Alaska Native land claims. After leaving the Interior Department he opened a law practice in Anchorage. Among his clients was the Native Village of Minto. The State of Alaska was about to select Minto's traditional lands in advance of a land claims settlement. Senator Stevens took on Minto's case pro bono. He invited Alaska Native leaders to his home to explore strategies for a more comprehensive settlement of Alaska Native land claims. Ted Stevens could not have guessed at that point that he would join the U.S. Senate and have the opportunity to make the dreams of Alaska's Native peoples a reality. That was the first order of business when Ted came to the Senate. He began work on the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1969 and on December 18, 1971, the dream that Alaska's Native people would hold title to their ancestral lands became a reality. This December marks the 39th anniversary of the passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act--ANCSA. That landmark legislation returned some 44 million acres of land to Alaska's Native people and created the regional and village Alaska Native Corporations. ANCSA led to a resurgence in Native pride and self-confidence. It gave our Native people unparalleled opportunities to lead. It has proven a valuable legacy for the continuation of Alaska Native culture through the generations. Senator Stevens played a significant role in bringing Alaska's Native people together to create today's great institutions of Indian self- determination. The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and the Southcentral Foundation, which together operate the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage, are just two examples. The Alaska Native Medical Center, Alaska's only certified level II trauma center, has earned national recognition for the quality of its nursing care. It is connected through innovative telemedicine technology to regional Native medical centers in rural Alaska and clinics at the village level. None of this would be possible without Senator Stevens' leadership. Senator Stevens deplored the Third World conditions that stubbornly persisted in rural Alaska, threatening the health of Native children. He helped build showers and laundromats in rural Alaska--we call them washeterias--and he helped construct water and sewer facilities so that our Native people did not have to haul their waste to an open dump site. I am sad to say that this work is far from done. There is that last 25 percent or so that remains to be done. It is often said that a society is judged by the way it treats its most vulnerable members. It is appropriate that we judge the character of our elected officials in the same manner. In Alaska, our Native people are the most vulnerable. For decades, Alaska's most vulnerable people have had no better friend than Ted Stevens. As I noted in my response to Ted's farewell speech on November 20, 2008, ``When I think of all of the good things, the positive things that have come to Alaska in the past five decades I see the face and I see the hands of Ted Stevens in so many of them.'' Not just in rural Alaska but throughout Alaska I think of Senator Stevens whenever an F-22 takes flight from Elmendorf Air Force Base. I think of him when I drive through the front gate of Eielson Air Force Base, which was spared from the 2005 BRAC round largely through his leadership. His face is in the new VA Regional Clinic in Anchorage and in the Community Based Outpatient Clinic in the Mat-Su Valley. I think of Ted when I am fishing on the Kenai River and all of his efforts to help with conservation and restoration of this world class river. These are just a few of Senator Stevens' contributions to Alaska. There is so much more. At the close of his farewell remarks to the Senate, our friend Ted, told us that he had two homes: ``One in this Chamber, the other his beloved State of Alaska.'' He closed his remarks with the phrase, ``I must leave one to return to the other.'' How prophetic. For on the afternoon of August 9, a cold and gloomy day, yet the kind of day when fishing is great, the Lord called our friend Ted Stevens from Alaska to yet a third home. Ted's departure leaves a tremendous hole in the hearts of the people of Alaska, a hole in the collective hearts of his Senate family, and a hole in my heart that will take a long time to heal. On behalf of a grateful Senate and a grateful American people, I extend condolences to Ted's wife Catherine; to his children Susan, Beth, Ted, Walter, Ben and Lily, and to all of the grandchildren. As our friend, the late Senator Robert Byrd, knew and often recounted on the Senate floor--of all of the things that brought Ted Stevens joy, his family brought Ted the greatest of joys. In Ted's words, his family gave him the kind of love, support, and sacrifice which made his 40- year career in the Senate possible and gave it meaning. We thank Ted's family for sharing this remarkable man with Alaska, the Senate, and the Nation. Thank you, Ted. We will never forget you.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation that is very near to my heart, a bill to provide a lasting permanent tribute to former Alaska U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, who died Aug. 9th in a plane crash in southwest Alaska during a fishing trip. The bill actually calls for creation of two permanent tributes to the Senator, the naming of Alaska's currently highest unnamed mountain peak in honor of the Senator, calling the 13,895-foot peak in southern Denali National Park, Mount Stevens, and the naming of part of the State's largest ice field in the Chugach Mountains as the Ted Stevens Icefield. Ted Stevens, a colleague of most of us in this body, and a lawmaker that I interned for more than 30 years ago, truly was Alaska. He was the State's senator for all but 11 years of its current existence as a State. During his more than 40 years in the Senate he played a significant role in the transformation of Alaska from an impoverished territory to a full-fledged State. Senator Stevens, a pilot during World War II, came to Alaska as a U.S. Attorney in the then territory of Alaska in 1956. He later served in the Eisenhower Administration where he was a leading force in writing the legislation that led to the admission of Alaska as the 49th State in the Union on Jan. 3, 1959. In 1961, he moved back from Washington, D.C. to Alaska where he was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives just after the state's great earthquake in 1964. He was subsequently elected as Speaker pro tempore and majority leader until his appointment to the U.S. Senate on Christmas Eve of 1968 upon the death of one of the State's two original senators, E.L. ``Bob'' Bartlett. He was elected in his own right 7 times over the next 40 years, becoming the longest-serving Republican Senator in U.S. history. Stevens was third in line for the Presidency from 2003 through 2007. While he is remembered by all in Alaska for his tireless efforts to win Federal support to develop the young State's largely 19th Century frontier infrastructure, he did so much more for all Alaskans. He worked tirelessly to enact the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act that settled aboriginal land claims and gave Alaska Natives the right to select about 44 million acres of Alaska's 365-million acres to protect their long-term economic, cultural and political future. Ted helped the State develop an economy by authoring the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act, which permitted oil to flow to market from the State's North Slope. He authored the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the High Seas Driftnet Fisheries Enforcement Act that ended the foreign domination of fishing fleets in Alaskan and American waters, allowing the State's commercial fishing industry to rebound. He was a leader in telecommunication policies, leading efforts to pass the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that paved the way to an era of digital television and communications in this country and also launched telemedicine and distance learning. And he attempted to make the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act as workable as possible for the State, while protecting more than 100 million acres of Alaska in parks and refuges--the largest single conservation bill in the Nation's history. Ted was a committed sportsman, who loved outdoor pursuits such as fishing and hunting, and also amateur sports, authoring the Ted Stevens Amateur and Olympic Sports Act, Title IX amendments to encourage women's sports, and the Carol M. White Physical Education Program that did so much to improve physical education in schools and colleges nationwide. He also became a true expert on defense issues, providing unconditional support to the Armed Forces of the United States in his role as chairman and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Defense Appropriations for more than two decades. Ted Stevens truly was a mountain of a man in policy development for the State of Alaska and thus it is a pleasure to seek to name both a mountain and an ice field in his honor. The peak proposed for naming is the peak referred to as South Hunter peak in the climbing community. It is located on the southern side of Denali National Park. At 13,895 feet it is the largest peak still unnamed in the State and also a peak visible on a clear day from the Parks Highway, the main north-south road for travelers between Fairbanks and Anchorage, two cities in Alaska that Ted is most associated with helping develop. The ice field in the uplands of the Chugach Mountains is the base for the Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Matanuska, Nelchina, Tazlina, Valdez and Shoup Glaciers--the Harvard being particularly appropriate to be associated with a man who graduated from Harvard Law School in 1950. The entire Chugach Icefield, at 8,340 square miles, the largest in Alaska, will provide a fitting tribute for a senator whose breadth of knowledge covered all of Alaska's 586,000 square miles and whose love of the State and its residents was even larger. This bill follows proper procedure by directing the U.S. Geographical Place Names Board to name the peak and ice field for the State's former senior senator, it not being done directly by Congress. But to guarantee timely action, it requires the board to act within 30 days of the bill's enactment. While there are a number of facilities in Alaska that bear the name of Senator Stevens, this bill will guarantee that future generations of Alaskans will remember him when they engage in the outdoor pursuits that all Alaskans love, from mountain climbing to fishing in the waters of Prince William Sound and the rivers of South central Alaska, all fueled by the meltwater from the huge ice field that dominates the South central landscape. This is a fitting tribute for a mentor and friend, to whom Alaskans owe so much. I hope for quick passage of this act by this Congress to provide another lasting legacy for Senator Ted Stevens.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, late last month I had the honor and the privilege to be in Sitka, AK, to honor the crew of a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter that went down in the waters off of the State of Washington. That helicopter was based at the Coast Guard Air Station Sitka. On Monday, it was my sad duty to attend yet another memorial service. A service to honor the crew of the Air Force C-17 Globemaster that crashed on Thursday evening shortly after takeoff from Elmendorf Air Force Base. Quite coincidentally, that C-17 aircraft bore the call sign ``Sitka 43.'' The C-17 crash took the lives of four of Alaska's finest airmen. MAJ Aaron Malone, age 36, who went by the nickname ``Zippy.'' MAJ Michael Freyholtz, age 34, CAPT Jeffrey Hill, age 31 and SMSgt Tom Cicardo, age 47. Major Malone, Major Freyholtz and Senior Master Sergeant Cicardo were members of the 249th Airlift Squadron of the Alaska Air National Guard. Captain Hill was active duty Air Force. He served with the 517th Airlift Squadron at Elmendorf. The C-17 mission at Elmendorf is operated as an active Air Force/Air National Guard association. As our colleague Senator Begich noted on the floor, each was exemplary in his own right. Zippy Malone was the unofficial morale officer. Michael Freyholtz began his career in the C-17 right out of pilot training. He was known as the best C-17 demonstration pilot around. But that is hardly his greatest accomplishment. Major Freyholtz flew 608 combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Jeffrey Hill began his career as an enlisted man at Elmendorf. He was known as a phenomenal airman and maintainer. He earned his commission in 2002 and was a top instructor pilot. Yet he never forgot from where he came. An inspiration to the enlisted airmen, he reinvigorated the booster club and motivated young airmen to get and stay fit. Tom Cicardo gave more than 28 years in the service of his Nation. He was a soldier, a marine, and an airman. His peers described him as ``old school.'' He was one of the Air Force's premier loadmasters. During his first 11 years in the Alaska Air Guard he was involved in 58 search and rescue missions in the State of Alaska where he was credited with saving 66 lives. He also flew combat search and rescue missions in Afghanistan and personnel recovery missions in the Horn of Africa. And each of these exemplary servicemembers lived their lives in Alaska to the fullest. Major Malone and Major Freyholtz coached Little League. Captain Hill was always traveling off-road, hunting and fishing, camping and hiking. They leave behind children, spouses, and loved ones. Sitka 43 went down Thursday evening while on a training mission. They were preparing to participate in the Arctic Thunder air show--an open house at Elmendorf Air Force base that draws hundreds of thousands of Alaskans, which was scheduled for last weekend. After consulting with the families, the Air Force decided that Arctic Thunder would go on as scheduled. Alaskans rewarded that decision with a recordbreaking turnout. About 200,000 Alaskans came out to the base. Many stopped to pay their respects to the crew of Sitka 43 at a makeshift memorial erected next to a static display of a C-17 aircraft. They were guardsmen, airmen, wingmen, leaders, and warriors. But above all else that they were aviators. This fact was driven home to all of us at Monday's memorial service by a poster erected between the photos of our fallen airmen and the memorial wreathes. That poster read, ``To most people the sky's the limit. To those who love aviation the sky is home.'' On behalf of all of our Senate colleagues, I extend our Nation's gratitude to the crew of Sitka 43. To their loved ones and to their Air Force colleagues, we extend our deepest sympathies.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, it has now been 99 days since the Deepwater Horizon drill rig caught fire and sank to the ocean floor. That incident--and the millions of barrels of oil that have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico since it began--has made it absolutely clear that our Nation's offshore energy regulations need to be reformed. Even in a Congress as deeply and bitterly divided as this one, the fact that we are living through a terrible environmental disaster, caused at least in part by certain failures of the government, should be more than enough for us to work in good faith and reach consensus on a path forward. For the past 3 months, that is exactly what the members of the Energy Committee have sought to develop. We have been working toward a responsible path that is acceptable to all--or at least most--of the Members of the Senate. We started by holding four major hearings on the gulf spill. This allowed us to build a record within the committee on everything from blowout preventers to certificates of financial responsibility. Our committee worked very hard on this. We spent countless hours working on legislation to repair the failed offshore regulatory system. We concluded our efforts last month, after all these series of hearings, and we unanimously passed legislation, S. 3516, the OCS Reform Act, out of committee unanimously. Around here nowadays, sometimes it is tough to get not only that real good committee work product but then to see that move through committee unanimously. It is not easy, and it is certainly not a perfect bill, but it was a fair and open process. I would like to think that our hard work within the committee and the negotiating that went on, and our very open markup and amendment process--what we did was the best of the Senate. It was an open and fair and a deliberative process. You would think that would go somewhere. But once that bill left committee, it became clear that some people cannot take yes for an answer, and that good committee product was not going to be advanced. About the time we were marking up the MMS bill, we witnessed a deeply misguided effort to tie oilspill legislation to cap and trade. I think this was an attempt to literally convert one disaster into another. We were told that cap and trade was somehow or other going to end our dependence on oil and hold polluters accountable and prevent future spills. Then an analysis of cap and trade from the EPA itself showed that cap and trade would have almost no effect on our Nation's oil consumption--not now and not over the course of the next 40 years. After nearly 19 months of vote counting, I think the majority was forced to admit the obvious: There are not 50 votes, let alone 60, for cap and trade in the Senate. What we now have before us is this coming together, or slapping together, of the Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Company Accountability Act-- the bill that members of the press and the lobbyists received before my staff on the Energy Committee. A draft came out last night around 10 o'clock. I am told it will be officially introduced sometime this morning. Again, this is such a disappointment. Instead of an open and transparent process as we did through our committee, what should and what could have been a bipartisan bill was hashed out in secret, written behind closed doors with very few Members of the Senate, least of all Members from the Gulf States, allowed to provide any level of input. Since its 409 pages of text were released late last night, we have not had time to thoroughly review it, to develop amendments, negotiate improvements, or even decide if it is worth supporting yet. We have instead been told the majority leader is unlikely to allow amendments to be considered--unlikely to allow any amendments to this just- cobbled-together bill. I can only imagine it is because there are provisions that are contained in this bill to which he does not want to draw attention, much less talk about and vote on. The phrase, ``rush to judgment,'' is used a lot around here. I challenge my colleagues to find a more flagrant example of that than what we have in front of us with this bill. We talk around here about why Congress's approval ratings are as low as they are. We are at about 11 percent right now. It is bills such as this--when people look at this and say, How did this come about, what happened to the committee bill--that makes cynics out of all of us, especially when we know there is a very serious problem that demands a quick and robust policy response. Instead of working together to fix the problems, the majority leader's bill would undoubtedly create more problems. The Senate's process and our traditions have just been left in the ditch. Decisions have been made almost exclusively in secret behind closed doors. Republicans were shut out of the room. But, of course, we are going to be blamed for holding up the bill. One has to ask the question, Does anyone honestly believe that we in the Senate can pass something by Friday or perhaps early next week that we did not even see the light of day on until this morning? I suggest that from every procedural vantage point, it seems as if the majority's goal has been to drive a stake into the heart of anything that can attract Republican support. The staging of this bill has been choreographed to ensure partisan opposition so the majority can blame us for the problems they are making even worse, such as the job losses from the moratorium, the increase in reliance on foreign oil--which, of course, we know is coming--the injustice of Federal OCS revenues never reaching coastal States such as in Alaska and the gulf where they derive in the first place. The Democratic caucus can try to pass this bill as introduced without amendment and with almost no debate, but I suggest this will be nothing more than a Pyrrhic victory. Like the stimulus, like health care, like financial reforms, it will give folks something to talk about, but it will only worsen the problems it is meant to deal with. Unfortunately, it will come at the expense of a far better bill, a bill that was introduced last week by the Republican leadership team. Let me talk a couple minutes about the bill that has been introduced. It starts at the root of the problem--the already apparent shortcomings with offshore regulations and at the Minerals Management Service, MMS. It includes the OCS Reform Act that we moved through our committee, reported unanimously by all 23 members of the Senate Energy Committee. Permitting and best available commercial technology requirements are strengthened to enhance the safety and the integrity of offshore operations. We also codify a complete reorganization of MMS. We remove the President's offshore moratorium once new safety requirements have been met. We establish strict liability limits for each project based on a range of risk factors. There is a series of 13 different risk factors that would be relevant. We include a bipartisan commission to investigate what went wrong with Deepwater Horizon. And, finally, we right a longstanding wrong by returning a large share of production revenues to the coastal States. It has been suggested in one of the Hill publications this morning--a Democratic staffer is quoted as saying this Republican package was hastily thrown together. I remind that Democratic staffer or others who are looking at this that almost all of what is contained in this Republican package was introduced 1 month ago today, as a matter of fact, in an oilspill compensation act I introduced. We include that with the component pieces of the OCS Reform Act that was passed unanimously by the committee. To suggest this has been somehow hastily cobbled together, one needs to go back and look at the fact that it has been out there for public review and scrutiny now for almost 1 month. As much as I will push back against the decision to race to finish this bill, we must--we absolutely must--have more debate on these issues. The majority, with very commanding numbers in both Houses and control of the White House, may want to try to somehow blame Republicans for the thousands of lost jobs from Alabama to our State of Alaska as well as the administration's failure to protect and restore the gulf's offshore environment. But that strategy will fail. We are offering a more responsible and dramatically less costly piece of legislation that truly deserves to be considered and passed by the full Senate. I wish the majority would take that same path instead of deciding, judging from the development of the bill and its actual content, that it is time we give up on policy for the year and focus instead on just messaging. We need to look at the terrible toll we all know is taking place as a result of the Deepwater Horizon spill, the obvious failure of our offshore regulatory system, and of the growing economic consequences of the administration's offshore moratorium. It is absolutely crystal clear there is action that needs to be taken. There is policy that needs to be put in place to respond to the oilspill, the environmental devastation, the economic devastation, and the regulatory confusion that was in place. It is not time for the politics or partisan activities. It is not time to roll the dice with our Nation's energy policy. For the continued vitality of an entire region in the United States, it is imperative that we move beyond the message and we provide the policy and the legislative response that is so necessary and so needed. Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

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, today I honor the life and contributions of Pauline Ruth Martens, who recently passed away at the age of 87. Born in Maine and raised near Boston, Pauline came to Alaska soon after World War II with her husband Arnold. Her relationship with the Frontier State began, much as it did with her beloved Arnold, with love at first sight. In many ways, Pauline's life was about taking the next step while never leaving those who were most important behind. The period after WWII was an exciting time in Alaska, and Pauline was an active participant in the development of Anchorage, the Great Land's largest city. While raising their family, Pauline and Arnold worked together to develop both business and residential properties, including the Palm Motel and the Forest Park South subdivision. To Pauline, however, it was her relationships with family and friends--her role in guiding her children and grandchildren and helping her friends and community--that mattered most. In addition to the love she gave to her family, Pauline brought her ideals, her zest for life, and her strong character to bear on helping those in the community around her. Beginning as a Girl Scout troop leader during her daughter's Scouting years, to becoming a board member and chairman of the Susitna Council of the Alaska Girl Scouts, Pauline's contributions to the development of Alaska's young women were significant and positive. As her own children grew, Pauline took on the role of helping other children take positive steps forward as a member of the board of Junior Achievement and Hope Cottages, which serves developmentally disabled children and their families. In whatever endeavor Pauline Martens took on, she was never just a name on a roster. She believed that any undertaking deserved her full participation. So it was no surprise that her commitment to the Republican Party led to her service in roles both ordinary and distinguished. Whether as the ``bouncer'' at the Annual International Food Festival, poll watcher, FREE member promoting the opening of ANWR, State chairman of the Alaska Republican Party, or president of the Alaska Federation of Republican Women, Pauline worked hard for those who shared her beliefs and ideals. Her enthusiasm, hard work, and commitment earned her the title of Woman of the Year in three separate decades from the Anchorage Republican Women's Club, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Republican Party of Alaska. Pauline was a mentor to many young Republican women--including me. She gave encouragement, good counsel, and always a warm smile. I recall many Republican State conventions working side by side with Pauline while she directed so much of the political operations with a graciousness that was appreciated by all. Still, it was Pauline's love for her family and the beauty of Alaska's mountains and lakes that many will remember most. I know that she will continue to guide and inspire her children, grandchildren, and the many Alaskans who loved her. I am certain that each time we glimpse Alaska's majestic mountains, lakes, and rivers we will remember Pauline with a smile.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I submit the following notice in writing: In accordance with rule V of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby give notice in writing that it is my intention to move to suspend rule XXII, Paragraph 2, for the purpose of proposing and considering the following amendment: SA 4517 can be found in today's Record under ``Text of Amendments.''

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, as I mentioned, this has been a very difficult week for our military and our veterans communities in the State of Alaska. On Tuesday of this week we came together in Sitka, at Sitka Air Station, the Coast Guard air station there, to honor the memory of three members of the U.S. Coast Guard who gave their lives in a very tragic accident, the crash of an H-60 Jayhawk helicopter. This was off the coast of Washington on July 7. It was a real tragedy for the Coast Guard families as a whole. The community of Sitka is one that truly embraces the men and the women of the Coast Guard. In addition to being the ones who pluck the fishermen out of the sea when they are in jeopardy or at risk, these are the men and women who are helping in the local churches, helping with Boy and Girl Scouts, coaching the kids. They are truly members of our community. The loss of these three men is very painful for us all. I attended that ceremony on Tuesday in the hangar in Sitka. After I left, I took the flight back to Washington, DC. I took the redeye. When I arrived on Wednesday morning I was informed of the passing of a very dear friend of mine, a gentleman who made a profound contribution to the lives of so many of Alaska's veterans. I am speaking today of an individual by the name of Maurice Bailey. We called him Mo. Mo was from Wasilla, AK, and he was a disabled Vietnam era veteran who fought the VA bureaucracy to obtain his earned benefits. He fought for himself and he was successful in that, but he went beyond that. He devoted the rest of his life to ensuring that the challenges of Alaska's veterans were not forgotten. He focused his efforts on those veterans who live in more than 200 rural communities that are not connected by road to the rest of Alaska or certainly to the continental United States. These are the communities of bush Alaska. In 2003, Mo founded Veterans Aviation Outreach. This is an organization of volunteer pilots who travel to rural Alaska, to the communities that are hundreds and hundreds of miles from the nearest VA facility. He and his other volunteers did what the VA simply was not doing. They sought out those forgotten veterans and helped them in every way they possibly could. When you listen to the stories about what Mo did and what the Veterans Aviation Outreach group did, it was a little bit of everything. They helped the veterans fill out applications for their benefits. Oftentimes it meant volunteering to fly a veteran to Anchorage for a medical appointment or perhaps raising the money for an airplane ticket. In so many of our very rural, very remote communities, there is no road. You don't get in your car and drive. So for the veteran to go for care, they may be traveling hundreds of miles. They don't have the money to do so. So Mo would bring his guys together or he would get in his plane and he would fly out there and pick them up. Sometimes the help meant delivering moose meat, clearly a very desired food staple in rural Alaska. Sometimes it meant building a wheelchair ramp in a veteran's home. This was an all-volunteer operation. It functioned on raffles and bake sales. All too often the money came straight from the pockets of its own volunteers. We are a State that reveres all of our veterans. In Alaska we are home to more veterans per capita than any other State in the Union. We are also known as a very strong State for voluntarism. Support for veterans is clearly the rule. In many of the communities it is difficult to provide for that level of support, but we figure out a way to do it anyway. It is universally acknowledged that there was something exceptional about Mo Bailey. His was a life of selfless service, sacrifice, and humility. He was truly a cut above the rest, and that is a pretty strong statement when you consider the many veterans who call Alaska home. But Mo never sought recognition for himself. He was so humble. But this did not stop his friends from ensuring that he received the recognition he had so honorably earned. In 2007, Mo was awarded with the prestigious Alaska Governor's Veterans Advocacy Award. I do not believe I am overstating when I say today that we mourn the loss of one of our State's most significant veteran leaders. Mo Bailey was born in 1939 and grew up in Memphis, TN, during the Jim Crow era. The story goes he was looking up at the B-17s flying overhead and he told himself: Someday I am going to be flying those. Mo recounted, in a 2009 interview published in the Frontiersman newspaper: Black people there said they didn't think this would ever happen. But at 7 years old I knew this is the United States of America and you can do anything you want to do. That was my heart's desire. Those were Mo's words. Mo enlisted in the Army at the age of 17. I say to the pages down here, he joined the Army at 17. He forged his father's signature on the consent form. Then he served 20 years. He pulled two tours in Vietnam and one in Alaska. He was a helicopter crew chief and a gunner. Then, upon retirement from the Army, he decided to stay in Alaska and get involved in our community. He became a private pilot and a flight instructor. He was a trained Veterans Service Officer and he served as president of the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 903 in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. It was not too long ago that Mo discovered he had leukemia, but he said it was not going to slow him down. In an interview in the Frontiersman newspaper Mo said: I feel as though I'm probably on somebody else's time. But that's OK. There is no quit. No way, no how. I'm never going to prepare myself to die. Never. Mo really did live his life and live it large. I got a call in early January. I was traveling and I got a call from my staff person out in the Mat-Su Valley and he said: Mo has leukemia. He is not doing well. He is in the hospital and this may be it. I called the hospital. A man answered. I asked to speak to Mo. The guy on the other end said, ``Well, this is Mo.'' I said: Mo, you sound pretty healthy. He said: Yes, they tell me I am not going to make it. They tell me I am done. I am in the hospital. But I just don't feel like dying. I don't feel like I am ready. I said: Mo, you don't sound like you are going anywhere. You sound like you have got a lot of fight left in you. Mo said: You know, there are some things I want to do. I have been working on this veterans gathering. It is a big gathering in the valley with so many of our Alaskan veterans. I have got a lot of things to do. I have got some things I want to give you. You know, I am focusing on that. I said: Mo, I will see you in May at the gathering. This was January and he had been told this was pretty much the end. But in May Mo hosted the gathering in Palmer, his annual day-long event that provides Alaska vets across the generations an opportunity to spend time with one another. They listen to music. They donate something to the Veterans Aviation Outreach, and they have a lot of fun. There are some speeches, too. You can't go to any veterans gathering without a speech or so. But at that May gathering, Mo honored me with a Veterans Aviation Outreach jacket. It has my name on it and I am an honorary member of the Veterans Aviation Outreach. Mo stood with me there and we both talked about the fact that, back in January, May looked like it was a long way away. But Mo is a fighter. Mo was not one who was going to go out easy. At those many speeches I told those at the gathering that as much as I can do, as much as I want to do for our veterans, I am here in the Senate to help Alaska's and all veterans. I said: Mo, I will never hold a candle to you, but I sure promise to try. And I promised to try to do more, and today I renew that commitment in Mo's loving memory. Many of us who were gathered there thought that event was going to be Mo's ``last hurrah,'' and indeed that is the way it turned out. But Mo continued to fight right up until the very end on Tuesday evening. I could go on for a while about Mo's work in service to the Alaska veterans community, but I would suggest it is probably a more powerful statement, a more powerful story, if it is done in Mo's own words. I ask unanimous consent that two articles, one from the Vietnam Veterans of America magazine and the other from the Anchorage Daily News, be printed in the Record at the conclusion of my remarks.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

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