I needed to make sure that Alaska’s interests were represented.

[L]et’s not kid ourselves. ... While we have worked to improve the present bill for Alaska, it is not good enough for the rest of our nation — and we all know it.

I strongly support women’s reproductive freedoms, including the right to abortion established by Roe and Casey.

I will continue to do that and I will make no excuses for doing that.

I advocated for my state’s interests.

I struggled mightily with the impact on the most vulnerable in this country when you look to Medicaid and SNAP.

My sincere hope is that this is not the final product.

Do I like this bill? No.

When I saw the direction this was going, you can either say, ‘I don’t like it,’ and not try to help my state, or you can roll up your sleeves.

You’re roadkill in the middle.

We do not have a perfect bill by any stretch of the imagination. My hope is that the House is going to look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet.

I had to look on balance, because the people in my state are the ones that I put first.

My response is I have an obligation to the people of the state of Alaska. And I live up to that every single day.

I don’t actually want the version of the bill I voted for to become law, and I hope that the House undoes some of the damage in the bill that I and my fellow senators did.

My hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet.

Do I like this bill? No. Because I tried to take care of Alaska’s interest.

You can either say, ‘I don’t like it,’ and not try to help my state, or you can roll up your sleeves.

Kill it and it’s gone.