ms. murkowski: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senior senator from alaska is recognized. ms. murkowski: mr. president, are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: no. ms. murkowski: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i have come to the floor today to recognize a truly exceptional member of the united states senate, not one who has a vote on this floor but certainly one who has wielded great influence and who has generated great appreciation from many of us who have had the privilege and the honor to serve on the appropriations committee as you have. but today i am here to speak about an individual who has been serving on the united states senate on the interior appropriations subcommittee now for two decades, and this

gentleman is a friend by the name of leif vonaspek. he started on the interior subcommittee under the helm of chairman slade gordon from the state of washington, and then also the chairman of the full appropriations committee at that time, my friend and mentor, ted stevens. so it is a, it's actually a little bit bittersweet for me to be speaking about leif and recognizing his contributions because after, again, two decades, 21 years, leif is retiring from public service. i understand certainly his desire. 20 years is a good run. it's a significant amount of effort and truly an admirable

career. but both leif and i are born and raised alaskans, and you can never take the home out of your heart. it's something that is a continual tug, so i can certainly understand his desire to spend more time at home with the incredible alaskans that we call friends and family and to be in our amazing and extraordinary spaces. as i mentioned, leif is an alaskan. he grew up there in anchorage. leif's mom was a librarian. his father was a principal, and he and his sisters grew up exploring and experiencing everything that is alaska, all things great. he attended east high school. he left to get his undergraduate degree in finance from here in washington, d.c. at georgetown university, my alma mater.

he then went on to law school, went out to the university of arizona, and then shortly after he got his law degree, he returned home to anchorage thinking that he was going to practice law there. he wasn't there for too very long when then-appropriations committee chairman ted stevens tapped leif and said, look, i'd like to have you come back to washington, d.c. and work for me on the senate appropriations interior committee. and so it was at that time that leif made the big move, leaving from anchorage coming back here to washington, d.c. to work with his mentor and my mentor, ted stevens. and there's a lot of stories that go on around here. i've enjoyed getting to know the great senator from vermont, senator leahy, who had a great

tenure working with chairman stevens on the appropriations committee. you learn a lot from leaders like that, and i know that leif certainly learned a great deal under the leadership of senator stevens. he learned the art of the appropriations process, the art of trying to work with people and oftentimes contentious issues and places. but he really truly learned the art of looking out for the needs of alaska and alaskans while meeting the needs of the interior bill. and he truly, truly served with distinction throughout his tenure on the subcommittee. in addition to being an expert -- and he really was an expert at his job, just a rock-solid guy. gave solid advice, willing to

be helpful, a nature and a generosity that were really key to all those who know him and who really had the pleasure to work with him. and oftentimes you can't say that it's really a pleasure to work with you. well, it was a pleasure, it is a pleasure to work with leif. since becoming chairman of the interior appropriations subcommittee, i've had the benefit of leif's experience and knowledge of alaska and of the appropriations process. i will tell you when i moved over to interior to take that on as chair of that subcommittee, it was a little bit daunting at first. it is an expansive portfolio, everything from the e.p.a. to management of our public lands to the indian health service to the b.i.a. it's all over the board, and it is a challenging one. how we're dealing with wildfires

and fire borrowing. we have some significant, significant challenges, but lief was just that fount of knowledge not only from his experience on the committee but from his experience working on so many of these issues and working with so many people over the years. he has been an absolute excellent partner in navigating the really very difficult, complicated and complex process that is required to produce funding bills in a manner that is viewed as fair and open and just true to the process. and i am just so very, very grateful to his service to me, to the state of alaska, and truly to the united states senate. for 21 years now leif's work on the interior subcommittee has impacted the lives of more alaskans than he will possibly ever realize. his efforts, particularly on behalf of alaska's native

communities as well as our vast natural resources have had and will continue to have a tremendous impact on our state and our people. throughout his work, more communities have access to clean water through new drinking systems. this was something that leif really concentrated on. he would go out to the villages. he would see firsthand what it meant to health conditions of families when they don't have access to clean and safe drinking water, when they don't have sanitation facilities, and he worked to address that. more alaskans are empowered to build their economy and create healthy communities through investments for new infrastructure and support for programs to address domestic violence, substance abuse and suicide. every year we've been able to help those accounts move forward because the needs were so desperate, the needs were so urgent, and leif helped to

advance those priorities. support for rural health care clinics enabled more alaskans to have access to care. the efforts that he went through to help facilitate native hospitals whether in barrow, in nome, now down in the bethel region with the joint venture products making sure we have strong adequate staffing packages. investments in our public lands have helped to protect alaska's tourism industry and outdoor recreation opportunities. he and i would go back and forth and forth and back as to whether or not the pedestrian walkway to allow visitors in brooks camp to view the bears was too taj mahal of a bridge or whether it was a bridge that was going to be necessary to protect the tourists from the bears when the bears got disinterested in the salmon that they were munching on. leif got down in the weeds.

he got into the issues. he knew what was going on. his help for local governments to construct roads and public schools are investments that will make a lasting impact on the state of alaska and the people who live there. and knowing that this is a lasting impact that this individual, that leif has made is just, it's so huge. so as leif is preparing to leave this place where he has been, again, for two decades, to go back home, to spend more time whether it's fishing or just enjoying or back to work, i know that he leaves many, many friends here. he leaves many that have such appreciation for his work, his character, his honesty, and his, his professionalism. so i want to thank him for all his years of dedication, his commitment, his service. i wish him and his dog leo the

best as they go back to alaska. they'll be hiking around, wandering around the shadow of the mountains. i know wherever it is that he goes, he will be involved in helping the people of alaska. i -- and i look forward to working with leif in the next chapter of his life. it is indeed an honor to speak to him and his good work today. mr. president, i know we're set to wrap-up today. it's usually my colleague from alaska who has the last word on a thursday evening, and he speaks about the alaskan of the week and senator sullivan is not here today and won't be making his comments but i feel like i have filled in with the alaskan of the week with leif fons background check who has -- fons

-- fonnesbeck. with that i yield the floor.

ms. murkowski: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. ms. murkowski: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it adjourn until 3:00 p.m. monday, april 1. following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, morning

business be closed, and the senate resume consideration of h.r. 268. further, notwithstanding the provisions of rule 22, the cloture motions with respect to h.r. 268 filed during today's session of the senate ripen at 5:30 p.m. monday, april 1. finally, if cloture is not invoked with respect to the motions filed on h.r. 268, the cloture motion with respect to s. res. 50 ripen at 2:15 p.m., tuesday, april 2. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. murkowski: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until 3:00 p.m. on monday.

the military to sons and daughters of immigrants. cspan continues our freshman process via series the newly elected representative for pennsylvania 14th district. before coming to washington he served in the u.s. navy where he prosecuted a hundred suspect