Their response to today’s earthquake is a perfect example of the incredible public service these stations provide.

I don’t accept that. I’m going to be voting no.

We are lawmakers. We should be legislating.

We’re lawmakers. We should be legislating. What we’re getting now is a direction from the White House and being told, ‘This is the priority. We want you to execute on it. We’ll be back with you with another round,’

I hope you feel the urgency that I’m trying to express on behalf of the people in rural Alaska and I think in many parts of rural America where this is their lifeline.

Legislating, for me, is not transactional. I need to believe in the decisions I make.

this was one of the hardest votes

I know why it is that I do the things that I do.

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.

It is the people of Alaska that I worry about the most, especially when it comes to the potential loss of social safety net programs—Medicaid coverage and SNAP benefits—that our most vulnerable populations rely on.

My political philosophy is simple. I work for these people.

What’s good for Alaska is not necessarily good for the country; this bill is not good for many Americans in the country.

I know that in many parts of the country, there are Americans who are not going to be advantaged by this bill.

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

Do I like this bill? No.

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

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.