ms. murkowski: thank you.'ve come to speak about the two nominees that are on the executive calendar before us this afternoon, norman bay and that of cheryl lafleur, both nominated to be commissioners on the federal energy regulatory commission, the ferc, an increasingly independent regulatory commission. as it has considered these nominations, it's been kind of a weird drama that has made out. the entire community that follows the ferc, and, as i understand, the agency it is have been really very distracted by it. many are concerned that the wrong person is set to take over as chair of the ferc and that the commission is at risk of losing its reputation for objectivity. so for the benefit of senators who are not on the energy committee and for members of the public who have not followed the controversy surrounding these nominees, let me provide a little bit of perspective this afternoon. both nominees have been sesqui at the ferc -- have been serving at the decker. ms. lafleur currently leads the agency as it

ms. murkowski: thank you, madam president. madam president, i come to the floor this morning to speem on the bipartisan sportsmen's act of 2014. i have been working on this bill with my colleague from north carolina, senator hagan. we've been working on this bill together now for about a year. our package is really very reflective of its name. it is a bipartisan sportsmen's package. we have, as of this morning we've got 46 members signed on in support of this legislation. i think most would agree that at this time to have 46 members across the aisle reaching together on any issue is really quite extraordinary, and one would think that we would have a clear path forward insofar as how we can advance a measure that has really brought together a very diverse group of senators, diverse from different parts of the country. but i think it speaks to how important and how widely accepted and supported these issues are. and i think this is in no small part to the fact that america's sponsorsmen and sports women come -- america's sports