the president said he is considering strong bipartisan action he backs off usually at the behest of lobbyist or special interest in these issues and several others the president has shown a lack of political courage and is one of the many reasons why the republican president and the republican senate shivers to him and has accomplished so little for the american people i notice the absence of a quorum. >> just several weeks ago octobd we had the opportunity to recognize a friend and a leader in alaska with the

lasting contributions of senator ted stevens the alaska congressional delegation could join with members of the stevens family many friends acongressional colleagues that we could unveil a portrait of senator stevens that was commissioned for him while in the senate and now his portrait hangs back behind where the presiding officer is sitting in the hall. but it was a great occasion to remember ted stevens he removed represented my state 1968 through 2009 the longest

servingng republican senator in senate history at the time he left office he left office with considerable policy legacies and the work that he did to create the magnuson stevens act became that framework is something that we continue to look to. and with the creation of the us paralympics and his encouragement with all he did withth women and girls in sports with title ix we know his background and history he was a pilot in world war ii and certainly here in the senate was a staunch advocate for all

of our military working hand in glove with senator in a way to chair not only the appropriations committee itself that the subcommittee on defense appropriation and helped to advance so many national priorities. today is the ted stevens birthday if he was alive today he would be 96 years old later this evening there will be an annual gathering friends of ted that gather to raise a glass to a great alaskan and a friend of mine today i believe he would be smiling at what

senator sullivan and i were able tose observe this morning with the three of us with a full alaska delegation at the lockheed martin plant to participate as we seek to roll off the line the first s 35 based in ogden air force base the first two squadrons a complement of 54 but it was a reminder to all of us all we have done in the state of alaska with a strategic position not only in the country but in the world and clearly he recognize that as

he was a visionary in so many areas. he was a visionary when it came to understanding the promise of the arctic itself and how we ensure that is pretty remote and isolated and is prepared and able to protect. so today, as we think about that role that senator stevens envisioned to protect and defend the country but also our broader more global role of responsibility today i talk about legislation that i would

introduce along with senator sullivan to authorize the department of defense to create a sixth regional center for security studies on the arctic. it is very clear to us the department of defense in particular keys in on the challenges that we face in the arctic. . . . . they cover the regions of europe, asia-pacific, africa,

near east asia and the northern hemisphere. at these centers they aim to support defense, strategy objectives and policy prioriti priorities. they are pretty unique academic forums as well aso to foster strong international networks of international but security leaders. this will give you a basic comparison of what we are talking about here specifics. the asia-pacific center for security studies is actually fully entitled the daniel k [inaudible] asia pacific academic study. it was established in hawaii in 1995 but it's a dod institution that provides a forum where current and future military and civilian leaders from the end of pacific gather to address regional and global security issues and enhance security cooperation through programs of executive education, professional exchange and building relationships ofdi trut

and confidence. currently over 30 countries sent participants to engage and learn and build those relationships. the ted stevens arctic security study sensor which is what we seek to namee this arctic center will be monitored after the daniel k asia-pacificft center o the fact that the two of them worked hand-in-hand worked hand-in-hand of national security defense from both the perspective of the far north as well as the asia-pacific is only fitting that we model and arctic center. the head center after the asia pacific center. the senator understands the value of the asian-pacific center and he has joined senator sullivan and i and the cosponsor of this legislation but what

we are seeking to do here the overarching goals of this arctic security study center is to find solutions for the greatest security challenges of the arctic region to help promote greater understanding of the arctic ande we know we got to do more there as well as facilitate greater engagement and potential solutions for the many challenges that we know lightheaded. it is an evolving world of there and let me tell you. it is an evolving world and we are seeing the impact from climate change and ice recede and waterways open up and we are seeing greater access and greater threats. what are we doing to prepare? think it's important to recognize the supposed center would be additive in nature and it's not looking to take away from any of the other very excellent efforts that support the dod's mission in the arctic.

we are seeking to provide additional value while creating new partnerships and supporting critical research. we hope certainly the intent here is to complement current structures like the multinational security forces, roundtable, this is led by the norwegian defense staff in the center will build on the arctic coast guard forum where effectively as senior leaders from coast guard's all over the arctic nation to gather and defend security concerns was just this last thursday. i had an opportunity to be a part of a video conference to speak at the importance of this strategic dialogue at the arctic symposium in arctic senior leaders summit which was held by north, and all calm. what we are seeking to do here is to help facilitate the array of international senior leaders and arctic subject matter experts to come together for these substantive dialogue on the arctic.

the arctic presents an opportunity to expand the dod regional center model to celebrate the rapid changes in mitigation, technology, environment and societies in remote sparsely populated areas with underdeveloped infrastructure. i mention t that this would be additive in nature and that we seek to collaborate with other current structures that are doing good work but we seek to have close partnerships with research centers like we had at the wilson center puller institute at the university of alaska fairbanks arctic domain awareness center as well as the coast guard academy for arctic study and policy. we are also need to have strong involvement from native leaders and indigenous people. how we incorporate and how we elevateat that native expertisen

the arctic that have been informed by centuries by experience that must be a priority in the center should also be used as a joint command venue with canada and other partners. this would be effectively replicating the success of the model with the marshall center with germany. so since senator sullivan and i introduced this bill to establish this new dod arctic security strategy center we have gotten great input and i'm pleased to be seen interest from within our state and outside as well. several have reached out to our offices to expressed their interest and i think we've seen arctic security as a threat as well as as well as it certainly remains the likely spillover

collect area confrontations should occur within europe or asia. rate scholarships but international and interdisciplinary engagement woman arctic center would help advance advance readiness and develop arctic awareness and improve allies and partner keep abilities to support multinational security cooperation across the circumpolar arctic. it is something i am excited to be working on and i know senator sullivan is as well and i would invite other colleagues to join us in this effort. mr. president, i think our friend ted stevens would approve of this as well. with that i yield the floor and would suggest the absence of a quorum spat coming up tonight on c-span two, "the communicators" features netflix cofounder marc randolph. done a preview of the new hampshire primary. after that, discussion with supreme court justice alayna kagan.

>> for 40 years c-span has been providing america unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, supreme court and public policy events from washington dc and around the country so you can make up your own mind. crated by cable in 1979 c-span is brought to you by your local or cable satellite provider. c-span, your unfiltered view of government. >> marc randolph is the cofounder of netflix and he is the author of this new book, that will never work. mr. randolph where did the idea of ethics come from? >> guest: ideas come from the strangest places. in that will never work i talk about