Dan Sullivan

Mr. SULLIVAN

Mr. SULLIVAN. The Washington Post has not necessarily been a strong supporter of the Trump administration, but right here in their editorial, they are saying that the Senate needs to confirm Mike Pompeo. They make the point that I am trying to make here in my remarks, which is that rejecting or delaying Pompeo's nomination as Mr. Trump juggles multiple crises around the world without adequate counsel would probably make an already parlous situation worse. ``Mike Pompeo should be deployed to Foggy Bottom''--that is the State Department--``in the hope that he will fulfill his promise to revive and reassert U.S. diplomacy.'' That is from the Washington Post article, and I think it is wise counsel for everybody here-- Republicans, Democrats, all of us. Bipartisanship is important to move things along in the Senate, whether it is the Coast Guard bill or well-qualified nominees in the national security world, and it has certainly been a U.S. tradition with regard to the Secretary of State that not only goes back decades but centuries. I am hoping that my colleagues sit down and talk to Mike Pompeo if they have issues with him, and raise them, but let's get to the floor, and let's confirm him as the Secretary of State because the State Department needs a well-qualified individual to run that important agency, and so does our country. I yield the floor. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SULLIVAN

Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, today I rise, as I like to do at the end of the week, to talk about somebody in my State who has made a real big difference to Alaska and, in many ways, to the country. It is a good opportunity for me to come down on the floor and brag a little bit about Alaska, although my State does a really good job of selling itself anyway. It is what we refer to in my office as the Alaskan of the Week. It is a great opportunity to talk about not just the wonderful things we have in Alaska--the wonderful mountains, oceans, and how beautiful the State is. Right now, the Sun is out again and shining high. The snow is melting. The buds are coming out and birds are coming back. It is a good opportunity for me to talk not just about the natural wonders but the people who make Alaska such a great place. While it doesn't get as much attention as it deserves, there is an incredibly fascinating and sometimes tragic history of my State. It is a good opportunity for me to talk to my colleagues about that and the people who have worked hard and have been part of that history and have helped to heal some of the scars that have been left from that history. Along with talking about the beauty of Alaska every week, we talk about someone who has made a difference. This week, I would like to recognize Dimitri Philemonof and all the work he has done over the decades for his community, for his State, and really for his country. Dimitri was born in 1944 to Erena and Isaac Philemonof on the breathtaking, beautiful St. George Island, one of the two principal islands of the Pribilof Islands in Alaska. Surrounded by the Bering Sea, the Pribilofs are about 750 miles from Anchorage and about 500 miles from the Siberian Coast. The Pribilofs are really one of the Wonders of the World, particularly with the nature that is there-- Steller sea lions, walruses, sea otters, and tens of thousands of fur seals. Depending on the season, more than 2.5 million seabirds call the Pribilof Islands their home. The ``Galapagos of the North,'' it is sometimes called because of this teeming wildlife. You will also find in the Pribilofs the warmest, most resilient people anywhere in the world. The Pribilofs, as well as the entire Aleutian Island chain, has a storied and, to be honest, sometimes painful history in our country--a history that has shaped Dimitri's life. First, when Alaska was a colonial possession of Russia, Russian fur seekers decimated the Aleut Native populations on these islands through warfare, disease, and, yes, even slavery. Then, 75 years after the United States purchased Alaska during World War II, Japan invaded and occupied Kiska and Attu, the westernmost islands of Alaska's Aleutian Island chain. A lot of Americans don't know that American territory was invaded and occupied by the Japanese during World War II. It was the first time since the War of 1812 that American soil had been occupied by an enemy. The Japanese dug in and held these two islands in Alaska until mid-1943, when American forces recaptured Kiska and Attu in a brutal campaign in the cold of Alaska. That campaign to retake Kiska and Attu resulted in the deaths of about 1,500 American servicemen. More than 600 were missing, and almost 3,500 were wounded in action. It was a major battle of World War II. Less well known is the impact this conflict had on the Aleut peoples of Alaska. As a result of the invasion, nearly 900 Aleut civilian residents of the Pribilof Islands and the Aleutian Islands in Alaska were relocated to temporary internment camps in Southeast Alaska. Among those interned were Dimitri's parents, two of his brothers, and a sister who was born in the camp. Dimitri himself jokes and laughs that, in his words, he was actually ``conceived'' in the camp. The treatment of our American citizens--and these are great American citizens. They are patriotic. They serve in the military at higher rates than any other ethnic group in the country. The treatment of these American citizens in these camps is a dark spot in American history that not many Americans are aware of. Camps were basically abandoned buildings. The conditions were awful--crowded, unheated, and unsanitary. Some even died in the camps as a result of these horrendous conditions. These were our citizens in our country. Yet, like so many Alaskan Natives who were not treated well by our government during this time, Dimitri, nevertheless, signed up when he was of age to serve his country in the military. In the 1960s, he joined the Army and served in the Pathfinder Detachment at Fort Rucker in Alabama. He was an Airborne soldier. Eventually, Dimitri made his way back to Alaska. He met his wife Victoria and started a family. He is the proud father of five, and he began to work at the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association. He is now the President and CEO of the Association. The association has had numerous accomplishments under his leadership. Since 1985, it has greatly expanded its programs for the people of the Pribilofs and the Aleutians, and its budget has grown from about $2.5 million to more than $18 million to fund these important service programs under his leadership. For years, he did something that was so important that this body was involved here in the Senate. He worked closely with Alaska's congressional delegation at the time--Senator Ted Stevens, Senator Frank Murkowski, and Congressman Don Young--to work on educating the Congress and the Senate about this difficult history during World War II and to help pass legislation entitled the ``Aleutian and Pribilof Islands Restitution Act,'' which compensated surviving Aleut victims of the internment camps. Again, American citizens were sent by their government during the war to internment camps in Alaska. Not many people know that history. Dimitri not only knew it, he lived it. His family lived it, but what he did was so powerful. He helped heal it. He helped heal it right here on the floor of the Senate. He then helped pass the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands Restitution Trust to oversee money allocated to rebuild some of the buildings and houses in this part of Alaska that were destroyed during the war--in the fierce battles that raged in my State during World War II that not many Americans are aware of. That is a great life and service. Dimitri is also an artist helping to preserve Alaska Native culture through his beautiful drawings-- particularly of Russian Orthodox Churches in the region--churches he has worked tirelessly to maintain throughout Alaska. These are beautiful churches. He also does an incredible Elvis Presley impersonation. He is a man of faith, of perseverance, and kindness. As I have mentioned here, and tried to highlight just a little bit of his life, he has devoted his whole life to his people, to my State, and to this great Nation. In May, he will be recognized by his colleagues for 40 years of humanitarian service and for helping heal the wounds of this country that came about during World War II. We thank him for all he has done in his beloved Pribilofs, in Alaska, in America, and on the floor of the Senate. Dimitri, I want to thank you, once again, and congratulate you on being our Alaskan of the Week.

Mr. SULLIVAN

Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I want to say a few words--I know a number of my colleagues have--before I start my discussion on the very important Coast Guard bill we are debating on the floor. America lost a wonderful example of a strong woman, Mrs. Barbara Bush, yesterday. I think the entire country and I know the whole Senate sends its prayers and condolences to the Bush family. If you want an example of an American citizen who represents strength, dignity, and class, and who really served our Nation so well, it was Barbara Bush. The thoughts and prayers of the Senate are with the Bush family right now. Coast Guard Authorization Bill Mr. President, as the Presiding Officer who sits on the Armed Services Committee with me knows, each year this body, the Congress-- House and Senate--passes the Defense Authorization Act or the NDAA as it is called. It is an important bill. It moves forward the policies and authorizations of spending for the men and women serving in the military. It can be contentious, but at the end of the day for over a half century we have moved that bill forward each year. We always forget one of the branches of the U.S. military--the men and women who serve in the Coast Guard of the United States of America. We don't always move the Coast Guard Authorization Act forward. That is not because they are not as important as the other Members of the military. In some ways, it is just a twist of the organization here in Congress. The Coast Guard is under the jurisdiction of the Commerce Committee not the Armed Services Committee and is under the executive branch jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security, not the Pentagon. It is still an incredibly important organization for all of us, and so today we are going to vote on the Coast Guard Authorization Act, that we should be moving every year just like we move the NDAA because the men and women who serve in the Coast Guard are some of America's finest citizens. I see my colleague from Mississippi, Senator Wicker, joining me on the floor. We have been working on this bill, the Coast Guard Authorization Act, for about 1 year now. We faced a lot of roadblocks, and we have moved forward on a bipartisan basis to finally get this important bill to the floor. As the chairman of the subcommittee in charge of the Coast Guard, I feel it is very important to take a minute on the Senate floor to speak about what the men and women in our Coast Guard do on a daily basis so everybody, the people watching back home and the people in my State, the great State of Alaska, know just how important the Coast Guard is and how we are focusing on them. Many people in the country know the Coast Guard as the heroic Americans who literally come out of the sky to rescue us when we are in trouble, particularly on the high seas. I have heard them described as angels in helicopters with courage and dignity and strength. When they show up, it is certainly America witnessing its very best. Let me give just a few examples of what the Coast Guard does on a daily basis--certainly in my State. Here are a few examples from just the past few weeks: In Oregon, a Coast Guard aircrew rescued four commercial fishermen after their 54-foot fishing vessel capsized off the coast of Rockaway Beach. In Kauai, HI, the Coast Guard is assisting in recovery efforts following a storm dropping more than 27 inches of rain, causing severe flooding. On Sunday, the Coast Guard rescued four people from the water in Blackwater Sound near Key Largo, FL, and they rescued eight people aboard a disabled vessel just a few days ago near Pensacola Bay Bridge, FL. In New York, the Coast Guard crew just medevacked a 25-year-old man from a fishing vessel. In my great State of Alaska, the Coast Guard is vital. Alaska has more coastline than the rest of the country combined. Think about that. Just in the past few weeks, there have been numerous rescues, as there typically are in Alaska given our tough weather, including a 44-year- old man from a fishing vessel outside of Dutch Harbor, a 59-year-old man from the waters off the Aleutian chain, and another 43-year-old man who was stranded on the barrier islands--just in the last couple of weeks. Every one of these individuals--Americans--is alive today because of the Coast Guard. They are someone's father, brother, mother, daughter. They are someone's loved ones, and the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard had the courage to go out and rescue them. All in all, in addition to numerous humanitarian and law enforcement operations, including drug interdictions and coming to the rescue of hundreds of migrants who were on overcrowded and unsafe vessels, the Coast Guard is working 24/7 for us, 365 days a year. Their mission also includes icebreaking, marine and environmental protection, port security, international crisis response--the response to hurricanes that so many Americans saw over the last several months--and readiness to support Department of Defense operations, as they are the fifth branch of the U.S. military. Sometimes we forget that. So this bill that we are debating right now and that we are going to be voting on in a little bit here on the Senate floor is the bill that sets the policies, the spending authorization, and the readiness standards for the entire U.S. Coast Guard. It is enormously important, and I believe it should pass in a bipartisan way--the way it passed out of the Commerce Committee--with a strong vote from Senators, Republicans and Democrats, on both sides of the aisle. The Coast Guard Authorization Act also contains many important items for our fishermen, fisheries, maritime industries, maritime unions, and maritime workers. Let me give some important examples. Included in this legislation is language to permanently fix issues that have plagued our fishermen and our commercial vessel owners and operators in the maritime industry and the workers in that industry for decades. We have an opportunity here to make good policy--again, bipartisan policy--that we have been debating for years in the Congress. Currently, our fishing fleets and vessel owners and operators are forced to comply with a patchwork of burdensome Federal and State regulations for ballast water and incidental discharges. Let me start by talking about the incidental discharges. If you are a commercial fisherman on a vessel and you catch some fish and you want to hose off your deck because you have fish parts where you may have gutted and headed fish--let's face it, the fishing industry can be a bit messy--under current law, believe it or not, you have to get permission from the EPA to do this. You need a permit, and if you don't have one, you can face a fine. OK, think about that. You have taken a fish out of the water. You have processed it. You are hosing down your deck. It has some fish guts on it. For the fish parts to go back into the ocean, you need a permit. Yes, everybody in the country thinks this is ridiculous, and it is. It creates inefficiencies, adds business costs, inhibits economic prosperity in States like mine, certainly, and it kills jobs. Most fishermen--most fishing vessels--are small business owners. They are the ultimate small business owners. They take risks. They work hard. They create and produce a great product, such as wild Alaska salmon. Yet we are regulating them with these kinds of inefficient regulations that nobody supports. It is just another burden that we put on the men and women who are actually trying to make a living and create economic opportunities for others. So this bill, which has strong bipartisan support, does away with that because it makes no sense. Another provision in this bill tries to cut through a patchwork of burdensome State regulations for vessel ballast water. Currently, ballast water is regulated under both the Coast Guard and the EPA--dual regulations. That is trouble enough. They each have separate and inconsistent and sometimes directly conflicting sets of Federal requirements, and then you layer on State requirements too. Let me give an example. You are a commercial vessel owner/operator going up the full length of the Mississippi River. Right now, not only must you comply with the inconsistent Coast Guard and EPA requirements, but you also have to comply with different and separate requirements from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas. Again, it makes no sense. There are 25 States regulating ballast water under separate, inconsistent, and often directly conflicting sets of requirements. This cripples not only the American economy but also the hard-working men and women of our country who work in the maritime industry. By the way, it makes it more likely that invasive species--a very real and serious issue--will accidentally be introduced because there is such a conflicting patchwork of regulations. I am very aware of the invasive species issues that plague different States. There are a lot of concerns we have heard, and certainly we have addressed it in this bill--from the Great Lakes. If the current patchwork system worked, well, I think a number of us would be supportive, but it simply doesn't work. It is not working at all, and it is only getting worse. This confusing array of requirements will only continue to grow, confusing vessel owners and operators and their workers and making it literally almost impossible to comply. The EPA says one thing, the Coast Guard says another thing, and 25 different States say 25 different other things. One person who knows this issue very well is the current Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Zukunft. Just yesterday, he told the House Appropriations Committee that ``it makes sense to have one entity'' regulating vessels--at very high standards but one entity. ``I really put myself in the shoes of a mariner,'' he said, talking about how difficult it is with the current system. ``Competing entities doing the enforcement operations'' is not working. He said that the Coast Guard understands the issue best, understands the mariners, and also, importantly, understands the technology. Even the EPA has said that the rules developed by the Coast Guard, which knows this issue best, will work for them because our bill requires concurrence with the EPA. Under the legislation that we are debating right now in the Senate, you cannot set a standard unless the EPA concurs, which is important. They essentially have a veto over this, but they know that the Agency that is best suited to regulate moving vessels on the water is not their Agency--the professional staff of the EPA have said that--it is the Coast Guard, which is where we put the regulatory authority in this bill. Further, under the bill, States have the authority to enforce the Federal regulations regarding ballast water and incidental discharge. So the States still have a lot of power and authority on the enforcement side in this bill. This confusing patchwork of regulations only diminishes the overall effectiveness of U.S. efforts to meet the high environmental standards that we all want. We need strong, uniform, national standards to keep our waters clean and to defend against invasive species, and we also need these standards so the workers and the people in this industry--a huge industry for America--can go and do their job. The good news here is that we have been working on this issue for at least the past 3 years that I have been in the Senate, but we have really been working on it for decades. For the most part, we have had strong bipartisan support to get this bill done. Let me give some examples. There are 23 Members from both sides of the aisle who have cosponsored these vessel incidental discharge provisions that I am talking about--23 cosponsors. Many more signed on to a letter of support for this, Democrats and Republicans. This bill has been voted out of committee several times. It has strong bipartisan support--including when the Democrats were in control of the Senate a couple years ago. We all worked diligently to make sure we addressed all the issues and concerns raised by many Members, and we even got some longtime opponents to come over and support this bill, again through the great work of my colleague from Mississippi. Let me give another example of that. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record a letter of support from a very broad-based group of unions, workers, small businesses, maritime operators, and fishermen.

Mr. SULLIVAN. That is correct.

Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I will be glad to yield.

Mr. SULLIVAN. They have not only expressed strong support but have cosponsored this legislation.

Mr. SULLIVAN. That is correct. We actually made literally dozens of changes over the last several months to accommodate almost every single Senator that had requested a change to address some of their issues. We have made numerous changes to this bill, for Republicans and Democrats, to make sure we have strong bipartisan support, and we are certainly hoping that the changes we made for so many Senators who have been supportive of the bill will now lead a strong bipartisan vote here in a little bit.

Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I won't go into it. I have seen a lot of these kinds of letters supporting legislation, but I have rarely seen a letter that is pages and pages long--steelworkers, International Union of Operating Engineers, Juneau Charter Boat Operators Association, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Eastern Lake Erie Charterboat Association. This letter supporting the Coast Guard bill has many different groups supporting it, and that is why there has been so much strong bipartisan support.

Mr. SULLIVAN. I thank the Senator from Mississippi for his very kind words. This has been a team effort. We have been working together. Democrats have been working with us. My colleagues from Florida, from Pennsylvania--we have all been down here talking about this. I know there are going to be strong votes in favor. I do want to mention that the minority leader was just on the floor, and he ended his remarks that he just made a couple of minutes ago about how it is really important for the Senate to get back to bipartisan accomplishments that help the American worker. He just said that. Well, my colleague from New York, I couldn't agree more. That is what this bill is. I am going to mention one other thing before I actually do my presiding time. I appreciate the Presiding Officer giving me a few additional minutes before I get in the Chair. We have been dealing with this issue. Some have raised the issue that they are concerned about what the vessel incidental discharge provisions in this bill that I just talked about could do to the environment. I am from the great State of Alaska. We have the most pristine, beautiful environment in the world, and the cleanest water in the world. We want to keep it that way. I am all about that. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that this document be submitted in the Record called ``The Vessel Incidental Discharge Act: Good for the Environment--Good for Business.''

Mr. SULLIVAN. This document has myths versus facts on what people are saying that this bill could do, and then it gives you the facts. I am not going to read each one, but if we have to have a debate on it, I certainly will read each one. It is really important to see this wasn't created by Senator Wicker or me. If you look at the author of this, it was the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation--our committee--written by the minority staff. What does that mean? This is a Democratic staff under the minority and the Ranking Member on the committee saying that all the things you are hearing about how this is going to be bad are not true. Those are myths. These are the facts. These are our Democratic colleagues rebutting some of the people now looking to maybe not vote for this. I ask all of my colleagues who are on the fence to take a look at this really well-produced myths-versus-facts sheet that was produced by our Democratic colleagues on the Commerce Committee because, again, it goes to what Senator Wicker was talking about--that this is a very strong bipartisan bill that we have been working on for months or really years. This has passed out of committee, I think, six different times with strong bipartisan support, including when the Democrats were chairing the committee. I want to say to all of my colleagues that it is not just what is in this bill on the VIDA provision, or the discharge provision. The bill is about the Coast Guard, the men and women serving in the Coast Guard. Every year, as I mentioned, we pass the NDAA, which is great--Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines--but we always forget about the Coast Guard, and we shouldn't be doing that. They are heroic young men and women. We can send a bipartisan signal today that we care about them. We are recognizing the heroic work you do for this country and the lives you save every day. We have your back. I urge all of my colleagues, particularly my colleagues who know this issue, who have voted for this bill to come out of committee many times--there are well over 60 of us--to vote yes on this important bill when it comes to the floor in a few minutes. I yield the floor.

Mr. SULLIVAN

Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President. I would like to say a few words about a former member of my staff, Mike Fleagle, who has recently left my office and, unfortunately for Alaska, accepted a job in Colorado. Mike was one of the very first people to join my team when I took office in 2014. I lured Mike away from his great job as the facilities maintenance supervisor for Alaska's largest city and was honored that he wanted to join me in serving our fellow Alaskans. When you meet Mike, it doesn't take long to see the thoughtfulness and kindness by which he lives his life and treats others. He has a can-do attitude and an incredible knowledge base for so many important issues for Alaskans: aviation, rural affairs, transportation, energy, and subsistence. He brought to our office a trove of knowledge about hunting and fishing that he obtained in his 14 years of experience as chairman and member of Alaska's Board of Game and the Federal Subsistence Board, in addition to being a lifelong outdoorsman. Mike was a true pleasure to have on the team. He loves Alaska and that always showed in the excellent quality of his work. Mike loves to hunt, fish, and hike, and he loves his family and is a devoted husband and father. We will miss Mike very much, and I am very grateful for the time he spent in my office helping Alaskans.

Mr. SULLIVAN

Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I would like to say a few words about Kate O'Connor, a former member of my staff who recently left to pursue another opportunity in public service. She is now working at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, where she will continue her focus on telecommunications and information policy. Kate was one of the first staffers I hired after being sworn in to the Senate in January 2015. She started as a legislative correspondent and was integral in establishing and managing our constituent correspondence system. Her talent, work ethic, and interest in Alaska elevated her to a legislative assistant, where she oversaw issues related to the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, as well as education and healthcare. Kate understood firsthand the unique challenges Alaska faces, particularly in regard to broadband deployment and reliable internet access. She played a critical role in helping to usher an Alaska specific plan through the FCC, a plan that will help bridge the digital divide by bringing more advanced broadband services to rural Alaska. It was during her time at the University of Chicago, where she was pursuing a bachelor's of arts in public policy from the university, when she ventured north to my great State of Alaska for an internship in Juneau. She fell in love with my State, as so many people do, and I am confident that she will go on to be a great ambassador for Alaska. Kate's positive attitude, her work ethic, and her love for Alaska will definitely be missed. I wish her all the best.

Mr. SULLIVAN

Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, every week I come to the floor to talk about my great State and a person in my State who has made a difference in their communities and in the State and sometimes throughout the entire country. I call this person our Alaskan of the Week, and it is actually one of the best things I get to do each week here in the U.S. Senate. There is a lot to brag about with regard to Alaska. Frankly, while I love my job here, I wish I were home right now. My wife is there. Although the temperatures are still only in the single digits in some places in Alaska, particularly up north, springtime, which we call breakup in Alaska, has hit much of our State. I will admit, breakup is not always pretty. The State gets a lot of snow--dirty, melting snow. There is sloshing through the slush and big, huge puddles everywhere. But the sun is now high in the sky and staying up longer and longer every day. Birds are migrating back by the tens of thousands, and the excitement of spring is everywhere. You can feel it and sense it. The changing of the seasons is no more extreme and no more profound than in Alaska, where the weather, hunting, and passing on of traditions and culture are literally a way of life for many. Today, what I would like to do is take you to Bethel, AK--a town of about 6,000 people about 400 miles west of Anchorage, which is in the full throws of breakup--in order for the Presiding Officer and everyone watching to meet our Alaskan of the Week, Mr. John Active. John is an extraordinary Alaskan who has spent decades, season after season, on the radio, telling stories and passing on traditions helping to keep the Yup'ik culture of Alaska alive. John, who is 70 years old, has lived a storied life, which began in a village outside of Bethel. Unfortunately, after he was born his mother passed away, and his father couldn't care for him, so he was adopted by James and Elsie Active and brought to live in Bethel. His grandmother, Maggie Lind, was a well-known storyteller, and John's childhood was filled with stories about Yup'ik legends, wisdom, and culture. John's experiences as he grew up led him to an incredibly important vocation-- translating his native language into English. You might ask: Translating? Well, yes, that is actually very important in Alaska. You see, we have about 20 different indigenous languages still spoken by the Native peoples of my great State, and throughout my great State thousands of Alaskans literally speak these languages. During John's senior year of high school, he worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He was able to travel to different villages translating the Yup'ik language and helping applicants fill out paperwork for housing, which was great training for the rest of his life. He also became passionate about the news and spreading the news. In the 1970s, KYUK--Bethel's new local public radio and television shows, which are so important to get the word out in these smaller communities--was born, and John was there as one of the very first Yup'ik language broadcasters. Many people in the area, particularly the elders, still read and speak only in Yup'ik. John was so intent on letting them know what was happening in the world in the early days that he would wait for the cargo plane to arrive from Anchorage to grab the Anchorage Daily News, the daily newspaper, and rush into the radio station to simultaneously translate the news from English into Yup'ik as he read it. There are very few people in the world who can simultaneously translate English to Yup'ik. Among many other challenges, there simply aren't Yup'ik words for some English words. Take, for example, the word ``computer'' and what a computer does. It can take an entire paragraph in Yup'ik to explain that. When a bank was trying to inform Alaskans in the region about home loans, John found that it could take an entire paragraph to translate the phrase ``home equity'' into Yup'ik. So he had a really hard job, but he did it really, really well. Over the years, John became known for starting his newscast with a short Yup'ik story. These were stories that he had learned from his grandmother, such as, ``How the Fox Turned Red'' and ``How the Crane Got Its Blue Eyes''--stories that were eventually broadcast around the State. Some of them were even picked up by National Public Radio for the country. He also became a columnist for the Anchorage Daily News and other papers across Alaska, sharing the stories of his ancestors and his humorous views on the world. It is such a delight to listen to him and to read his stories. He has become a beloved figure throughout Alaska. But John's work goes way beyond entertainment. His work goal has been to preserve the Yup'ik language, which goes hand in hand with preserving the Yup'ik culture. It is so vitally important in our State where, as I have mentioned, we have 20 indigenous languages. Not a lot of people know that. In the not-so-distant past, unfortunately, Alaska Natives were discouraged, and sometimes even punished, for speaking in their native languages. Now, however, there are more and more efforts, encouraged by people like John Active and by KYUK, to help keep native languages and the cultures that belong to them alive and thriving. For example, my wife Julie is now taking classes in Koyukon, her family's native language. John also wants to spread not just the culture but the values of the Yup'ik community--in his words, to ``Yup'ify'' Alaska and the world. With the help of KYUK, the amazing station that serves over 22,000 predominantly Yup'ik residents in this region of Alaska, he and his other cohosts have been able to do that. ``There are so many people in this region who can understand what we're saying,'' John said. ``I feel it makes them proud to hear their language being spoken over the airwaves. . . . I am helping to keep the language and culture alive.'' March 30 was John's last show on KYUK. He is now taking a well- deserved retirement, but his legacy and the radio's commitment to their Yup'ik culture continues. KYUK will continue to be a pioneer in bringing 1 hour a day of local news in the Yup'ik language and 5\1/2\ hours a week of Yup'ik public affairs and talk shows, all in the language of the region. I want to thank KYUK for being a pioneer in bringing bilingual content to Alaskans and public broadcasting, and, of course, I want to thank John for being one of the major conduits for that pioneering work. Your work, John, has touched so many, and you have certainly done your part to serve your fellow Alaskans while ``Yup'ifying'' the State, the country, and even the world. So thanks, and congratulations on being our Alaskan of the Week. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SULLIVAN

Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I have 14 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority leaders. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate: Committee on Environment and Public Works The Committee on Environment and Public Works is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, at 10:15 a.m. to conduct a hearing. Committee on Foreign Relations The Committee on Foreign Relations is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing on the following nominations: Kirsten Dawn Madison, of Florida, to be an Assistant Secretary (International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs), and Thomas J. Hushek, of Wisconsin, to be Ambassador to the Republic of South Sudan, both of the Department of State. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing on the following nominations: Patrick Fuchs, of Wisconsin, and Michelle A. Schultz, of Pennsylvania, both to be a Member of the Surface Transportation Board, Department of Transportation, and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, of Maryland, to be a Federal Trade Commissioner. Committee Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions The Committee Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``The Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018.'' Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing entitled, ``FEMA: Prioritizing a Culture of Preparedness.'' Committee on Indian Affairs The Committee on Indian Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, at 2:30 p.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``The President's FY2019 budget Request for Indian Programs''. Committee on Indian Affairs The Committee on Indian Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, at 2:30 p.m. to conduct a hearing on S. 1250 and S. 2515. Committee on the Judiciary The Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing on the following nominations: Mark Jeremy Bennett, of Hawaii, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit, Nancy E. Brasel, and Eric C. Tostrud, both to be a United States District Judge for the District of Minnesota, Robert R. Summerhays, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Louisiana, and Wendy Vitter, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Committee on Veterans' Affairs The Committee on Veterans' Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, at 2:30 p.m. to conduct a hearing on the following nominations: Paul R. Lawrence, of Virginia, to be Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Benefits, and Joseph L. Falvey, Jr., of Michigan, to be a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Subcommitee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities The Subcommitee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities of the Committee on Armed Services is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing. Subcommitee on Readiness and Management Support The Subcommitee on Readiness and Management Support of the Committee on Armed Services is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, at 2:30 p.m. to conduct a hearing. Subcommitee on Strategic Forces The Subcommitee on Strategic Forces of the Committee on Armed Services is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, at 2:30 p.m. to conduct a hearing. Subcommitee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness The Subcommitee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness of the Committee on Finance is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, at 2:30 p.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``Market Access Challenges in China.'' Subcommitee on Crime and Terrorism The Subcommitee on Crime and Terrorism of the Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, at 2:30 p.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``Defeating Fentanyl: Addressing the Deadliest Drugs Fueling the Opioid Crisis.''

Mr. SULLIVAN

Mr. SULLIVAN. Madam President, as we all know, our country is facing a lot of challenges, particularly overseas, and a lot of them are in the news--Iran, Syria, North Korea. When you look out across the landscape of what the big, long-term, geostrategic challenges are that face our Nation, in my view, there is no doubt that the No. 1 challenge economically and from a national security standpoint is the rise of China as a great power. We need to be thinking about that a lot more because that is going to be the issue our country faces, not just this year or next year but for decades. I come from the great State of Alaska. We are an Asia-Pacific State. We are always looking to that region--as a matter of fact, we are in that region. My hometown of Anchorage is closer to Tokyo than it is to Washington, DC. What I see as a positive on this issue--having been someone in this body for a little over 3 years, I have come down to the floor and talked a lot about this challenge, the rise of China. It is a little concerning that a couple of years ago nobody was talking about it. Very few people were talking about it, but that is changing, and I think that is positive. It is changing. This administration is focusing, and it is changing with my colleagues--Democrats and Republicans. Certainly, this is an area where, I think, there is a lot of agreement. I was just presiding for the last hour. The majority whip and the Senator from Oklahoma both were talking about issues dealing with China and trade and strategy, and that is positive. The administration is talking about it. If you look at the national security strategy of the Trump administration, they are starting to focus on this issue. Front and center is the return of great power rivalries, with China as the leading, pacing threat and challenge, but it is also an opportunity for this great Nation of ours. When you look at the history of our country, particularly post-World War II, the United States set up the international system--the international trading system and security system. We have been leading them, and so many countries--hundreds of millions of people in the world--benefited from that. The irony, of course, is that the one country that benefited probably more than almost anyone is China. The rise of China was not only helped, but it was spurred by the American international trading system, the sealanes of commerce that we have kept open for decades. So there was a moment in the last couple of decades where we reached out very much--there was a great speech by our former Deputy Secretary of State in the Bush administration, a gentleman by the name of Bob Zoellick, who went on to become head of the World Bank. He asked in a speech to the Chinese: You need to now become a responsible stakeholder in this system that we created because you have benefited so dramatically. You are big, you are powerful, and now help become a stakeholder in the international order that we set up. Here is the offer to you. Well, unfortunately, whether it is a Democrat or Republican, in the national security and foreign policy realm, most people are sensing that China has rejected that notion. No, we are not going to be a responsible stakeholder in your system. We are going to set up our own system. As a matter of fact, we might even try to undermine your system--the global system set up by the United States of America by Democrats and Republicans over decades. You see it everywhere, whether it is decades-long theft of intellectual property, whether it is high tariffs, whether it is any American company coming into China and being forced to transfer their technology. No other countries do this to China, but they are doing it to our companies and have been doing that for decades. So there is a rethinking right now. Clearly, the Trump administration is thinking about what the new strategy should be. The national security strategy of this administration, which I commend people to read--it is quite a good document, written by the outgoing National Security Advisor, H.R. McMaster--focuses a lot on this issue of reciprocity and great power rivalry again. So as we are thinking about it, I would like to briefly touch on three principles I think will be key as we debate this. As we help formulate this--hopefully, in a bipartisan manner--this issue is going to be with us for decades. There are three key principles. The first key principle is reciprocity--true reciprocity. The majority whip was just talking about this. The national security strategy of the Trump administration talks a lot about it. The President talks a lot about this. This is just a fairness issue. As I mentioned, there is IPR theft; high tariffs; the forced tech transfer from American companies to China; giant, subsidized, state-owned enterprises and state-backed investment funds buying up companies all over the world. No other country does that to China. So when you look at the issue of reciprocity, I would like to break it down into a positive and negative. You have negative reciprocity. If we can't do that in your country, you shouldn't be able to do it in our country. It is pretty simple, pretty fair, and everybody understands that. Then there is positive reciprocity. One thing I have been encouraging the Chinese to do for many years--and I have been over there a lot and spent a lot of time with senior leaders in that country. The United States has been going over and investing in China for decades. Factories have been rebuilt from the ground up and we have employed tens of thousands of Chinese with American capital. Well, you know what, China is getting big enough. They can do that in America. The Japanese did that in the 1980s. We had major trade disputes with them. What did they do? They started coming to our country and investing in our States with their capital, greenfield investments--auto factories, for example--and employing tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of Americans. We would welcome that. As a matter of fact, in Alaska, the Chinese are talking about helping us develop a large-scale Alaska natural gas project. Greenfield investment, employing Alaskans would be positive if that is going to happen. So that is the way we need to think about reciprocity. The second key principle is allies--allies, allies, allies. The United States is an ally-rich nation. Our adversaries and potential adversaries--think about whom that might be: Russia, North Korea, Iran, potentially China. They are ally-poor. No one wants to join the North Korea team or the Iran team--well, maybe Syria--but the United States for decades has had allies because they trust us. We are not a perfect nation, but they trust us. Look all over the world. So what we need to do with regard to our strategy on China is make sure we remember not only our allies and deepen current relationships with Japan, with Korea, with Australia, but expand them--Vietnam. The Presiding Officer and I went to Vietnam with the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, a war hero who spent time in prison in Vietnam, Senator McCain. The Vietnamese are very interested in doing more with us. India, there are incredible opportunities to have a deeper alliance between the oldest democracy in the world, us, and the biggest democracy in the world, them. So allies have to be a key part of our strategy as we look at how we deal with the rise of China for the next two or three or four or five decades because all of these countries-- all of our allies--are having the same challenges. Finally, the third principle we cannot lose sight of--and for too long this body lost sight of it--is robust American economic growth. Since the founding of our Nation, we have been growing at about 3 or 4 percent GDP growth. I have a chart, and I talk about it all the time down here. Yet, over the last decade, because of policies we inflicted on the American people, we were barely growing at 1-percent GDP growth. What does that mean? Everybody talks about numbers, wonky. That is a proxy for the American dream, and we were not growing. We weren't growing. In Asia, the coin of the realm of power more than anything-- more than military power--is the power of your economy, and we have not had that. We have not shown up, and that matters. What we are trying to do in this body now--tax reform, regulatory reform, unleashing American energy--is we are going to start growing this economy again, and that is going to help the American people, that is going to reignite the American dream, but that is going to be key with any policy we deal with China. So as we are thinking through this challenge--and I am going to talk about this a lot, and I know all my colleagues are interested in this. I know my colleague from Michigan is interested in it--we need to continue to focus on these core principles--reciprocity, our allies, and robust economic growth as we all struggle with and put together a long-term strategy to deal with the rise of China, the challenges and the opportunities. I yield the floor.

Mr. SULLIVAN

Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I wish to add my words to what we saw on the Senate floor here a couple of minutes ago. I had the honor of presiding over much of the ceremony recognizing Senator Thad Cochran's incredible service to Mississippi and to America. You heard a lot. It was really remarkable--45 years in the Congress and four decades as a U.S. Senator. I think Senator Leahy, from Vermont, said it best when he talked about Thad Cochran's integrity--a man who will always keep his word. As Alaska's Senator, I also want to mention what a great friend he was to our State and to our Senators. Senator Cochran was very close to Senator Ted Stevens--the late Senator Ted Stevens--and to Frank Murkowski. He really supported our State--my State--and I want to thank him for that. He has this great nickname that I think was given to him in 2006, when Time Magazine said he was one of the best U.S. Senators and called him the ``quiet persuader.'' You heard that term a lot just a few minutes ago. In that article, they said that he had gained the trust of the administration and on Capitol Hill for his quiet, courtly manner, using his experience and mastery of the issues to persuade his colleagues privately rather than making demands of them in public. It is a great example we can all learn from. I was proud to have been able to serve and learn from Thad Cochran for the last 3 years. Tribute to Carlos Gomez Mr. President, one of the things I enjoy doing in my duties in the Senate is to come down each week to recognize somebody special in my State--somebody who has made a difference for their community, somebody who might not get the attention that people get in the press or in other areas but someone who has really made an impact. I like to call that person our Alaskan of the Week. Right now what has been happening in Alaska is a very special time. Our State, in many ways, is shrouded with myth and mystique. We certainly have, I believe, the most beautiful State in the country. There is a lot of excitement that happens, a lot of special things. Just last week, we had 60 mushers who were being pulled by dog teams, dozens of dogs--these great athletes, as we call them--nearly 1,000 miles through some of the harshest landscapes and some of the harshest climates. We just finished the Iditarod, the last great race. We want to encourage people watching on TV and people in the Galleries to come on up to Alaska. You will love it. It will be the trip of a lifetime. Come see the Iditarod next year, the last great race. We just finished that. It is a great time to be in Alaska. It is still winter, of course. It is time to ski and for snow machines. It is still cold, and there is lots of snow, but the sun is now coming out high in the sky. Of course, in Alaska, there is hockey. We love hockey. We all know it is a tough and competitive sport, but it certainly fits into the ethos of my State. All across the State, kids and adults play hockey--boys, girls, men, and women, in indoor and outdoor rinks, ponds, and lakes--and skate up and take to the ice. However, as many parents who are involved in hockey know, gear can be very expensive. Actually, hockey can be very expensive. Many kids and adults can miss out on this great, great sport--a great sport in my State--because of the cost. I would like to introduce you to Anchorage resident Carlos Gomez, who is our Alaskan of the Week. He has dedicated an extraordinary amount of his time and his life to try to make sure that all kids in my State-- boys and girls from all walks of life--get to play hockey, like so many others do in Alaska, no matter if they can afford it or not. Let me tell you about Mr. Carlos Gomez, because he is not one to brag about himself. Like most Alaskans of the Week, he is an unsung hero, doing so much for the community. His impact on hockey--particularly, for the youth of Alaska--is remarkable. In many ways, his story is truly a classic story of the American dream. Carlos was born in California. When he was 10, he and his brother went to live with an aunt in San Diego. His wife Dalia was born in Colombia and then moved to Alaska, also with an aunt, when she was just 7 years old. Carlos received a scholarship from the University of California San Diego but had to drop out and cut his studies short because the strain of both going to school and providing for his family and contributing enough for his family was very difficult. He ended up in Alaska in 1972 to work as an ironworker, where he helped to build our State. He built the Alaska pipeline during that time. It was a huge and exciting time in the State. He met his wife Dalia, as I mentioned, and they settled down in a modest home in Airport Heights, AK, and began to raise a family. They had three wonderful kids. His daughters are Monica and Natalie, and his son is Scott. All of them are great, bright kids. One of them, Scott, who we in Alaska simply call Scotty--and I will get to that--had amazing athletic talents. When Scotty was just 4 years old, Carlos took him to his first hockey game. Scotty wanted to try it himself. Soon the young boy was hooked and wanted to play hockey as often as he could, and he was good. The problem was that although they weren't poor as a family, they didn't have the extra money for all the equipment and the expense that hockey requires. The Anchorage Boys & Girls Club had a program that loaned out hockey equipment and hockey gear. They helped to utilize that. As Scotty grew, he needed more equipment, and he stayed focused on hockey. Soon Carlos, our Alaskan of the Week, became so involved in youth hockey and had such a heart for the youth who wanted to play hockey in Alaska but had difficulty affording it that he became this master fundraiser throughout Alaska for the sport, not only for his son but for all the kids in the community who wanted to play hockey across the city. Fast forward to 1998, and Scotty, his son, a 4-year-old playing hockey on ponds in Anchorage, is selected by the New Jersey Devils as their first-round draft choice--the first Latino ever drafted to be in the first round of the NHL draft. Scotty went on to become an all-star, Stanley Cup winner and a recipient of the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's rookie of the year--all in his first NHL season. That is not bad for a little kid from Anchorage--all before he turned 21. He went on to win another Stanley Cup and later played for the New York Rangers, the Montreal Canadiens, the San Jose Sharks, the Florida Panthers, and the St. Louis Blues. He even chose to return home to Anchorage during the NHL lockout to play briefly for our very own Alaska Aces. As you can imagine, Scotty is quite popular and well-known in Anchorage. He is admired by so many, and his father is as well. He could have stopped championing, as he has done for so many years, the sport of hockey at any point along the way, but what he did was that he kept doing this. He kept working. He kept encouraging young kids in Alaska to get on the ice to achieve their goals, just like his son did. So Carlos, Scotty, and the rest of the family set up the Scotty Gomez Foundation, which is devoted to that cause, and Carlos Gomez is still running it today. There are more kids like Scotty out there, Carlos said, and ``we're going to give that kid an opportunity,'' like my son had. The foundation has done so much for youth hockey in Alaska. Thousands of kids across the State have access to gear and the ability to play this great sport that they otherwise wouldn't be able to afford. Around Anchorage's rinks, you will find the dark blue and gold gear--just like our Alaska flag--with a ram. It is the Gomez ram, and it helps kids, no matter their backgrounds or experience, get on the ice and play this great sport. The foundation has put money into rehabbing rinks, like the one in East Anchorage, which is the neighborhood outdoor rink where Scotty learned to play hockey. When the Anchorage School District dropped the girls' high school hockey in the spring of 2013, the Scotty Gomez Foundation, under Carlos's leadership, stepped up, picked up the sport for 3 years, and redeveloped it into cooperatives across Anchorage's eight public high schools. Girls' hockey in Anchorage is alive today because of Carlos Gomez and his family. Also, in his never forgetting the generosity given to Scotty in his start in hockey, the foundation sponsors youth hockey events and grants for the Boys & Girls Club of Anchorage. That is really giving back to the community. One of the Scotty Gomez Foundation's biggest events every year is the Last Frontier Pond Hockey Classic, which is organized by Carlos and his partner, Mike Davenport, in Big Lake. The event took place just two weekends ago, and it was quite an event. More than 600 hockey players showed up--kids, lawyers, doctors, slope workers, former pro and college players--men and women. Counting everybody, more than 1,000 people, from all walks of life, went to the event to raise money for youth hockey in Alaska. It is amazing what one family can do to touch so many, led by Mr. Carlos Gomez. As Scotty said, ``It was my father's dream to give back. This is all him. He always just wants to help others.'' If you are a kid in Alaska who wants to play hockey, Carlos Gomez will egg you on and make sure nothing, especially the cost of equipment, will stop you. Scotty said: When I was growing up, he was like a father to all of the neighborhood kids who needed one. My dad's a true hero. I thank Mr. Carlos Gomez for all he has done for Alaska's youth and youth hockey throughout our great State. We are honored to call him our Alaskan of the Week. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. SULLIVAN

Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I wish to join my bipartisan group of colleagues who have been coming to the floor to talk about the very important bill that we are debating and are going to be voting on here in about an hour; that is, to help protect our children all across this country from the horrible scourge of human trafficking and sex trafficking. The Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act that we are debating right now is important for the whole country, and it is certainly important for my State of Alaska. We have a big problem in Alaska with the challenges of domestic violence and sexual assault at some of the highest rates in the country. We also have a big problem with the challenges of human trafficking and sex trafficking. A lot of people think that doesn't happen in America. It happens in America. It is a horrible issue to talk about, but it happens in our country. There was a study done last year on young men and women in Alaska receiving services from a homeless shelter for teenagers. My wife Julie actually works at this homeless shelter, and one in four girls and one in five boys who used the services of this teen homeless shelter reported being victims of sex trafficking. This is a horrible number for a very vulnerable society. We need to do more to address this issue. In this legislation, we are taking the fight to one of the places in this country where human trafficking and sex trafficking are really exploding, and that is the internet. The bipartisan legislation we are debating right now will ensure that websites and other institutions on the internet and the companies related that knowingly--and that is an important word, ``knowingly''--facilitate sex trafficking can be held accountable for their actions. It will also create new Federal crimes related to promoting or facilitating human trafficking over the internet and give more resources to State prosecutors to go after these heinous crimes. In the remarks from a whole host of Senators this morning, I think we are seeing that we are going to make real progress in the fight against online sex trafficking without threatening the years of progress we have made in creating a free and open internet. Senator Portman, one of the leaders of this effort, along with many others--Senator McCain and his wife Cindy have been real champions and advocates for human trafficking issues throughout America; Senator Blumenthal and so many other Senators have been saying that this is a commonsense, targeted approach to addressing this very big and growing problem. We are going to vote in about an hour, and I hope all of my colleagues will do the right thing and vote on these amendments that are put out there as helpful amendments, but, to be honest, they are meant to bring down the bill. We cannot allow our children, whether in Alaska or across the country, to be lured into this kind of Hell--and the more we hear in terms of testimony, the more we recognize that what is going on over the internet in this area is Hell mostly for the youth of America. Our children should not be sold online or anywhere else. Unfortunately, it is happening, and it is happening a lot, largely because of the internet. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children reported, from 2010 to 2015, an 846-percent increase in the number of children being trafficked--an over 800-percent increase in America. A lot of Americans think: Wait, really? That is a problem in Asia, Southeast Asia, or other countries. But it is a growing problem in the United States of America, and we need to address it. As others have said on this floor, sex trafficking has moved from the street corner to the smartphone, where it is much more difficult to detect and much more difficult to stop, and it is one of the reasons we see this dramatic increase in rates of human trafficking in our country. In the Commerce Committee, we had a hearing that covered this bill. Some members of the tech industry were opposed, but I think the overwhelming support that came out of that hearing was driven by the real-world tragedies we started to hear from hundreds--thousands-- across the country that have occurred because of really lax laws and immunity on the internet that was not intended for companies or individuals who deal in sex trafficking and human trafficking. What we saw from the report and the investigations that Senator Portman and others did was that actually was what was happening. For example, Senator Blumenthal earlier today talked about the very tragic, sad, and moving testimony we heard last September in the Commerce Committee from Yvonne Ambrose, whose 16-year-old daughter Desiree Robinson was trafficked online by a pimp on the website, Backpage. She was later raped and murdered by a 32-year-old man who found her on that website. She was an American citizen, a 16-year-old girl. If you had watched her mom's testimony of in front of the Commerce Committee, you would be voting for this bill today. Her mom ended her riveting and very sad testimony by saying: If there were stricter rules in place for posting on these websites, then my child would still be here with us today. It was a wrenching story and, unfortunately, one that too many American mothers and fathers are telling us. We are going to vote on this today, and I hope all my colleagues vote for more progress. As the Presiding Officer knows, on this issue, there is actually positive progress that has been going on in the Congress. A lot of times, when they read the news--my constituents back home in Alaska and Americans throughout the country--they are always hearing about conflict and how there is no progress in the Senate. We have some difficult issues; there is no doubt about it. But on a lot of issues there has been bipartisan progress, and in this area of human trafficking, there has been significant bipartisan progress to finally start addressing this growing problem in America--which, again, is remarkable when you think about it--of young men and women trafficked for sex in this country. In 2017, we passed on a bipartisan basis the Abolish Human Trafficking Act; in 2015, we passed the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. Both were introduced by my friend and colleague, Senator Cornyn of Texas. Senator Thune has been a leader on these issues in the last couple of years in passing the No Human Trafficking on Our Roads Act and Combating Human Trafficking in Commercial Vehicles Act, which focused on the big problem we have seen in terms of the transportation system in America being used for human trafficking. In the Judiciary Committee, we passed Chairman Grassley's bill, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, which brought more services to victims of these heinous crimes. We are making progress, no doubt about it. But--and this is a very important point--despite this strong record of addressing human trafficking, when it comes to these crimes, some of the biggest things we need more of in America to address them, because they are growing, are resources--resources. To put it bluntly, there are too many cases, there is too much of this happening, and there are not enough resources, money, or prosecutors to put the bad individuals who are doing this behind bars. Many of these cases involving human trafficking are Federal crimes that usually require Federal prosecutors to go after these Federal offenses. As we all know, there are limited numbers of assistant U.S. attorneys and Federal investigators to do this. So what have we done? What have we done in the past few years? What are we doing today in this vote to help address this? We have begun to change this issue of resources to go after the perpetrators of these heinous crimes in a much better way by allowing State attorneys general and State district attorneys to actually prosecute these crimes, even though they are Federal crimes. We are doing something in the law that says: We need more prosecutors, we need more investigators, and we need more resources. Let's unleash those in the States to help us address this growing problem throughout our country. So we are doing that, and we did it for the first time in the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act in 2015. This bill, for which Senator Cornyn was the lead, actually incorporated a bill that I had authored and had a lot of cosponsors on called the Mann Act Cooperation amendment. We put that in as part of the broader bill in 2015. The Mann Act is the Federal law that makes it a criminal offense to transport someone across State lines for the purposes of prostitution and human trafficking. In my experience back home in Alaska, as attorney general, we had challenges in this regard. As a matter of fact, there was a very notorious case of a bad man--a very corrupt man--who a lot of people knew in Alaska, and he was engaged in this kind of activity with young girls from the Native villages in my State. We investigated it and realized that he violated not a State law but a Federal law. It was very clear that it was a human trafficking violation of the Mann Act. When I was attorney general, my office went to the Feds, and we said: Here you go. Here is the evidence. This guy violated the Mann Act. He is a bad man. He should go to jail. We need to send a signal. It is a rather long story. It is a sad story. But for whatever reason--I have wondered for years, and I have looked into this for years--the Federal Government wouldn't take the case. I said to the Feds: Then, let my prosecutors take the case. We will take the case. You just need to cross-designate us. Let the State attorney general's office take these Federal laws and prosecute them against this guy. We will do it. They still didn't allow us to do it. There were rumors in Alaska: Hey, what was going on here? Was there some kind of deal cut between the Feds and this guy who was a really bad guy and who was in jail for something else? When I got to the Senate, I said: We are not going to let that kind of injustice happen again. That was an injustice. A man who violated the Mann Act and clearly committed the crime of human trafficking is a free man right now. That shouldn't be the case. As part of the Justice for Victims of Human Trafficking Act in 2015, we had a provision. My bill essentially said this: If a State attorney general brings a Mann Act case--a human trafficking violation case, Federal case--to the Attorney General of the United States, saying that we need to be cross-designated to prosecute--maybe the Feds don't have the resources; maybe they don't have the time--then, the Attorney General of the United States shall allow the cross-designation for more State attorneys general to prosecute these cases, unless it would undermine the administration of justice. That is in the law. State attorneys generals right now can go prosecute Mann Act cases. That is more resources, more investigators, and more prosecutors. That is going to be in the law that we are voting on today. One of the elements--an important element--of the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, which we are voting on and debating now, is to allow State attorneys general the power and the authority to bring actions against those who violate Federal law for internet-based sex trafficking. We are bringing the resources in these kind of cases. That is an important innovation in the development of the bill that we are voting on today. Just like in the previous legislation, State attorneys general can now bring these cases. If we pass this law today, that will mean more resources, more investigators, and more prosecutors for the perpetrators of these heinous crimes. To all the bad guys out there who are undertaking these crimes, when we vote to pass this legislation today, that is going to be a bad day for you because we are going to have more resources and the ability to put you in jail with this vote today. As I mentioned, we have a big problem in this country. We have a long way to go in terms of human trafficking, sex trafficking, which is hitting all parts of America. Congress is focused on it, and I am hopeful that we will pass this legislation this afternoon for one more step in the right direction on addressing this issue. I yield the floor.

Mr. SULLIVAN

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

Mr. SULLIVAN. Madam President, as many of my colleagues know, one of my favorite parts of the week is coming down to the Senate floor to recognize somebody special in my State, somebody we refer to as our ``Alaskan of the Week.'' It is one of the most fulfilling things I do all week, to get to talk about people who make my State very, very special. I know many of you--people in the Gallery--have seen Alaska on TV or have read about it in the newspapers, but there is no substitute for being there. We want you all to come. It would be the trip of a lifetime, particularly now. What is going on in Alaska right now, one of the highlights of the entire year, is the Iditarod--the ``last great race'' in the world-- which is in full throttle. When you visit, Alaska will change your life--the wilderness, the wildlife, the quiet, the sense of unbridled freedom, the liberty, and the majesty. It is all there. It is all there, so come on, come on and visit. Also, when you visit, you will realize that Alaska is home to some of the most courageous, hard-working, and tenacious people in the world, many of whom have overcome tremendous odds and are determined to inspire others to live a full and healthy life. Madam President, I would like to take you, take everybody listening, to Nome, AK, and tell you about Carol Seppilu, someone who I believe personifies determination and perseverance and who is an inspiration to us all and is this week's Alaskan of the Week. Carol lives in Nome--a rugged, unique, and beautiful town in Alaska's northwest, about 500 miles from Anchorage. You might have heard of Nome. The reality show ``Gold Rush Alaska'' was filmed there, and it is also the finish for the Iditarod. Pretty soon, if you are watching on TV--our best guess is early next week--the mushers and the dozens of dogs--that, by the way, love the race. They love the race--will begin to cross the finish line. People from all over our State, but really people from all over the world, will be there to greet them as they finish this incredible race, to greet them and congratulate them. We call it the ``last great race,'' and it finishes at Nome. There is no place like Nome, we like to say in Alaska. If you live in Nome, you might have seen Carol running in winter, spring, summer, and fall. Carol runs through the streets and into the mountains surrounding Nome. It is one of the ways that she has found purpose in her life, which in turn she has used to help others, to inspire others. Like a lot of us, Carol had big dreams when she was growing up. She was interested in science and space. She was actually interested in being an astrophysicist. Then, as sometimes happens to young kids, her life took a bit of a turn. She got in with the wrong crowd and started drinking and using drugs, and her life lost meaning. This is a difficult subject to talk about on the Senate floor, but we must. We must. Carol wants us to. Alaska has the second highest suicide rate in the country, and it has the highest teen suicide rate in the entire Nation. The suicide rate among Alaska Native teens is also very, very high--tragically high, horribly high. When it comes to suicide, silence is deadly. Carol knows all about this. When she was 16, she tried to end her life by shooting herself. After the gun went off, she remembers thinking: Dear God, save me. I don't want to die anymore. Then she described how, during this awful incident, her ancestors came to her, her elders, telling her that she was going to be OK and that she had a reason to live. She did live. Badly scarred, after having multiple operations on her face, recovery has not been easy for Carol, but she has made it through. She has toughed it out. What she did was remarkable and incredible. She began to speak about suicide at schools. She was a member of the State's Suicide Prevention Council. Eventually, she got a job at an elders' home, where she is currently the cultural activities specialist. She organizes Alaska Native dances. She cooks traditional Alaska Native food for her elders. Moose and muskox soup is their favorite. I think Senator Murkowski is going to let us enjoy a little muskox stew over lunch today, so Carol will be pleased about that. But as the years went by, she again experienced depression, which is not uncommon. She didn't feel like getting out of bed. She was unhealthy. But then again, in 2014, more inspiration--again, incredible. A high school friend who was a runner urged Carol to try it. You are not feeling healthy? You are feeling sad? Go out, try to get a run in. At first, when she did it, she could only go a few blocks. Eventually the blocks turned into miles, which is even more challenging for her because of some of her injuries. Nonetheless, she persevered. We are seeing a theme in her life. She began to get healthy and to feel good about herself again. Again, she found her reason to live. Guess what. She has turned into an amazing athlete. She began to enter races in 2015 when she ran the local 8-mile Dexter Challenge. ``I thought, if I do eight miles, I could do a half marathon,'' she said. And then she did. Carol didn't stop there. Now she is running ultramarathons across the country--50 miles in Iowa, multiple ultramarathons in Utah, a 50K in Washington State. Early last month, she was running a 50K in Texas when, about 5 miles in, she broke her ankle, but that didn't stop her. She finished even with a broken ankle and is recovering. We are seeing a woman, a young lady of perseverance. Her ultimate goal is to do an ultramarathon in every State in America. Because of Carol's scars, she wears a mask. In August she decided that it was too cumbersome to wear the mask while running, so during a race in Alaska--the very challenging 50-mile Resurrection Pass ultramarathon--she took it off, and it was liberating for her. Here is the beautiful thing: Everybody--everybody--was so supportive, so she doesn't run with a mask anymore. It is not only runners who are supportive of Carol; she has gotten people in her hometown, the town of Nome, to start running themselves. Across the State, people approach her wherever she goes, and they tell her they have heard about her, they have heard about her life, and if she has made it through her challenge, they can too. In other words, she is an inspiration. She has become an inspiration throughout Alaska to so many people. She said: I think I'm helping other people overcome difficulties. They tell me I'm inspiring them to keep going. So that's why I believe I'm here now--to help others. That is Carol's quote. So, Carol, for your inspiration to so many in our great State, for all you have done and all you continue to do, we are proud of you and thank you for being our Alaskan of the Week this week, as the Iditarod finishes up in your hometown of Nome, AK. Madam President, I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SULLIVAN

Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I rise with my colleagues Senator Wicker from Mississippi and Senator Casey from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to talk about legislation that I believe is of vital importance to every State in the country--certainly to mine, the great State of Alaska. Most importantly, it is vitally important legislation to the men and women who serve in the U.S. Coast Guard. I am going to talk about them for a minute. Yet, in addition to the legislation we are talking about here, it is also vitally important to our maritime and fishing communities. This is very important legislation. Which legislation am I talking about? S. 1129, the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2017. It is legislation that has broad bipartisan support, including from Chairman Thune of South Dakota and Ranking Member Nelson of Florida of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee; my colleague from Alaska, Senator Lisa Murkowski; and many, many others, Republicans and Democrats. The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Coast Guard and our fishing fleets and our fisheries, marked up this important legislation back in May of 2017. Unfortunately, due to a lack of an agreement on one particular provision--although we have very strong support, even for this particular provision, of over 60 Senators--the Coast Guard bill overall remains stuck. We always talk about the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines. I love them to death, but sometimes we forget about our fifth branch of service. These men and women do incredible work every single day for our country. This bipartisan bill, the Coast Guard Authorization Act, will give the Coast Guard the resources it needs to protect our waterways and coastlines, to block illegal drug traffickers and smugglers, and to more efficiently procure future Coast Guard cutters. It will authorize the Coast Guard in terms of policies and spending through fiscal years 2018 and 2019. Most importantly, it will take care of the men and women who serve in our Coast Guard, who hail from every State in our great Nation. They do so much. So we are going to be debating the continuing resolution that will have very significant funding for our military but also for natural disasters. Think about the natural disasters that occurred in the United States in Florida, in Texas, in Louisiana, and other places in the last several months. The Coast Guard undertook thousands of rescue operations--men and women risking their lives, literally, to save their fellow Americans. This bill focuses on them. In constructing this legislation, we worked in a bipartisan manner for months. However, it appears that the Coast Guard authorization bill, unfortunately, remains stuck. I serve as the chairman of the subcommittee responsible for the Coast Guard. In Alaska we know all about the men and women of the Coast Guard. I would like to say that prior to 9/11, the Coast Guard was probably the only military service among all five branches that had men and women out there risking their lives every single day for Americans. Unfortunately, since 9/11 and the big challenges we have had from a national security perspective, we have had men and women from all branches of services, every single day, risking their lives. But the Coast Guard does it at home and abroad. What is happening with this bill? Well, this bill, which is bipartisan, not only contains critical needs and authorizations and policies for our Coast Guard and the men and women who serve, but it also contains provisions of vital importance to our maritime industry and fishing communities. Included in this legislation are important elements of another act, the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act, which we call VIDA, to address an issue that has been around for years pertaining to the incidental discharges for those in our fishing fleets and maritime fleets. Currently, vessel owners and operators in the fishing and maritime industry are forced to comply with a patchwork of burdensome State and Federal regulations and laws for vessel ballast water and incidental discharges--the discharges of water that come off the deck of fishing vessels, for example. Think about it. When thinking about the Constitution and the commerce clause, this is an issue where a fishing vessel moves in different waters in the United States--State waters from one State to another--or a maritime ship goes from one State to another, and it has to comply with a patchwork of different State laws and regulations as it moves through different waters controlled by different States. This creates inefficiencies, adds to business costs, and, particularly in the fishing fleet, inhibits economic prosperity for States and people in the industry, whether in Alaska or other places throughout the country. So the VIDA provision, which we all worked on and which has very strong bipartisan support, would provide the maritime and fishing industry with a consistent, uniform regulatory structure across the country, restoring efficient and cost-effective commerce while ensuring that environmental protection remains at the highest levels for our ports, waterways, and harbors. We have been working together for months, and I want to commend my friend from Pennsylvania, Senator Casey, as we have tried to accommodate the concerns of many other Senators. We changed this part of the Coast Guard bill numerous times to try to address those concerns. I think we have gotten almost every Senator on board, with the exception of just a few. Notably, one of the measures that we have strong bipartisan support for in this bill, which would help a number of my constituents-- thousands in the fishing industry--is the provision we have agreed on that provides a permanent exemption on incidental vessel discharges for all fishing vessels and small commercial vessels. Right now, believe it or not, if you have a small commercial vessel and you are gutting fish caught on the vessel and you hose down the guts of those fish back into the water, you need a permit from the EPA. Think about that. Think about a regulation that is going to hurt small businesses. We are trying to encourage all of our colleagues to help us move forward with the Coast Guard bill. We move the National Defense Authorization Act that covers the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines every year, but we should be moving the Coast Guard bill every year, as well, to make sure we are taking care of the men and women in the Coast Guard and we are not forgetting the fifth branch of the military that does so much for our men and women. We also need solutions to the issue of the vessel incidental discharge challenges, and we need to get this provision of the Coast Guard bill unstuck. I thank my colleagues again for being on the floor with me. Again, this is a bipartisan issue, and we wanted to call out the importance of this issue so that our colleagues in the Senate can say it is time to act. It is time to move on the Coast Guard bill. It is time to include this very important VIDA provision, and I am hopeful we can do it soon. I yield to the Senator from Pennsylvania, Mr. Casey.

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

Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, as many of my colleagues know, I have been coming to the floor every week to do what I consider the favorite part of my duties serving here in the Senate, and that is to talk about someone special in my great State. We call that person our Alaskan of the Week. I have been told by some of my colleagues that they look forward to this, and I know the pages do, learning a little bit about Alaska. I do this because I certainly want my constituents to know about so many people in their State--what they are doing, how they are impacting not only their community or State but sometimes even the whole country. Much of what the country knows about Alaska is what they have seen on TV--beautiful glaciers, giant salmon, skiing, hiking, kayaking, boating. We want everyone to come visit Alaska. It will be the trip of a lifetime, guaranteed. The real beauty of my State rests in the people who call it home. It is a State of rugged, generous, patriotic people devoted to service to their country, their State, and their communities. In many ways, this is what this ``Alaskan of the Week'' honor is all about. When we talk about service to our country, Alaska boasts thousands and thousands of Active Duty members of the military, reservists-- thousands of reservists--and tens of thousands of veterans, in fact, more veterans per capita than any other State in the country. So many of the veterans in my State have not just served their country but have devoted their time and energy in ways that so many veterans do, helping and caring for other veterans and their families. Many in the military know it is not easy to serve, but what is often forgotten is that service and the sacrifice of service, particularly military service, often hits the families the hardest. When that service results in the loss of life, the ultimate sacrifice, it is devastating for the families, friends, and loved ones all across communities, all across Alaska, and all across the country. When one of our own loses their life in the fight for freedom, we all grieve. We all grieve. Today I want to introduce a very special Alaskan, Kirk Alkire, who has devoted countless hours to make sure that those we have lost in battle will never be forgotten and that the families of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice receive a fitting tribute to their sacrifice. Kirk believes that such a fitting tribute lies in a peak in one of Alaska's vast, beautiful, almost endless mountain ranges that we have in my great State. This is a peak that actually exists in the Chugach range between Eagle River and Palmer, AK, overlooking the Knik River. Kirk has been on a quest to name this peak the ``Gold Star Peak.'' It is actually a mountain that is unnamed right now next to another mountain that is named. That mountain is called Mount POW/MIA, but he wants to name this other mountain for the Gold Star families who have lost loved ones who were killed in action defending America. Kirk is passionate about this peak, just as he was passionate about the men and women he served with during his 23 years in the Army on Active Duty. Let me tell you a little bit about Kirk. He was born and raised in San Jose, CA. He enlisted in the Army right out of high school in 1986. He married his high school sweetheart, Angie, and they had a son, Matthew. During his time on Active Duty in the Army, like so many soldiers, particularly over the last couple decades, he had various assignments in both airborne and light infantry units spread across the United States--really with deployments all over the world--and eventually he was stationed in Alaska. His final assignment was as a first sergeant with the Alaska-based 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the 25th Infantry Division, a unit that we in Alaska lovingly know as simply the 425. It is a unit that we all care about--the only airborne brigade combat team in the entire Asia Pacific, mountain-trained and arctic- tough. I had the opportunity to visit a couple thousand of those troops from the 425 who are actually serving their country in Afghanistan. These are the best of the best, and they are always forward-deployed. Kirk and the 425 deployed to Iraq for 15 months during the 2006 to 2007 surge. Kirk's brigade, during that tough, tough fighting in Iraq during that time, during the surge--one brigade combat team lost 53 paratroopers over that 15 months. Fifty-three American soldiers were killed in action from one brigade, and that doesn't even touch the numbers that were wounded in action, which were many, many more. That is a devastating number. Kirk now lives in Eagle River, AK. It is a beautiful community in the mountains overlooking Eagle River near Anchorage. Since his return, he has climbed Mount POW/MIA a few times every year to tend to the flag that exists on that peak, again out of patriotism. It was during one of those hikes that he noticed the beautiful unnamed peak right next to Mount POW/MIA, and then he knew what he needed to do. Mr. President, it is not easy to name a peak, and in Alaska, we have so many mountains that there are dozens and dozens of mountains that are still not named. It is not easy to name the peak of a mountain. So what did he do? Well, first, he secured support from members of the Eklutna Tribe, whose region in Alaska the mountain occupies, so it was a very respectful action toward our very important Native community in Alaska. He then took letters of support and a petition with over 1,500 signatures from all 50 States, 4 countries, and 1 U.S. territory, to the Alaska Historical Commission. I was one of the signors of that petition. He presented all of this to the National Geological Survey, which is part of the Department of the Interior, all to get this peak, this mountain, named for the Gold Star families, the Gold Star Peak. So he worked this hard. He worked this very hard. Today, I have the honor of announcing on the Senate floor that just this morning, the U.S. Board of Geographic Names, which is part of the Department of the Interior, which votes to name mountains, unanimously voted and approved naming that mountain in the Chugach Mountain range ``Gold Star Peak.'' That is great news. That is hard work. I am honored to have Kirk sitting up in the Gallery today after his hard work where he was working at the Department of the Interior this morning. I first met Kirk at a Veterans Day parade in Anchorage, where he told me about his quest to get the mountain peak named. That is where I signed the petition. And then I asked him--I said: Kirk, you served your country. Why are you so motivated and focused and determined to do this? Do you know what he did, Mr. President? He pulled out 53 dog tags that he had in his pocket with the names of every soldier of the 425 who was lost in Iraq in 2006 to 2007 when he was the first sergeant for that brigade. I held them in my hand. It was powerful and moving, and in some ways it was so horrible to look at because these are the lives and names of the best and brightest we have in America. That is why he did it, and that is why he was motivated. Because of Kirk and the announcement today, families--whether they are from Alaska or anywhere in America who come visit, families who have lost loved ones who made the ultimate sacrifice serving their Nation will now be able to look up at Gold Star Peak as they drive up the busy Glenn Highway in Alaska, and they will see that 4,000-foot peak soaring into the sky. All of America will know that their loved ones are not forgotten and that the service and sacrifice of the Gold Star families whom we honor are appreciated and honored by a grateful nation. So thank you, Kirk, for all the work you have put into this. Congratulations on the vote today. I can't wait to get home and see Gold Star Peak, officially named, and maybe, just maybe, get out there and summit it with you someday. Thank you for being our Alaskan of the Week. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Mississippi for his strong leadership on this issue as well. I think we are seeing here that Democrats and Republicans are pretty much all united on this issue. We are hopeful to move not only the VIDA Act but also the broader Coast Guard bill out of the Senate, get it passed, and get it to the President's desk. That is going to be good for the men and women of the Coast Guard, it is going to be good for our maritime and fishing interests, and it is going to be good for the country. I yield the floor.

Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to engage in a colloquy with my colleagues Senator Casey and Senator Wicker.