It is true bipartisan effort and consideration with Senator Peters.

Thank you Chairman Sullivan and Ranking Member Peters for your leadership in holding this important hearing.

Because that could be very helpful. We're not there yet.

I appreciate the witnesses that we have for this hearing today.

This is a great issue for us to work together on in a bipartisan fashion.

This is something that our children and grandchildren will be looking at us to say, 'Why did you or didn't you do something about this?'

Professor Duhaime, thank you again for your testimony, and we very much appreciate the work you're doing.

marine debris poses a significant threat to our natural areas, wildlife, shorelines across the United States

I think we can use that, Indonesia's example, and hold that up to some of the other Asian states as the type of steps that they should be taking.

I think that is what I just did.

I want to talk a little bit about what is going on here on the Senate floor. We were just considering the nomination of the Deputy Secretary of Defense, trying to move him along--a very important job--and it has taken some time. As a…

as you know, for months now, I have been coming to the floor to recognize a special Alaskan, somebody who makes my great State a better place for all of us to live, someone we call the Alaskan of the Week, usually an unsung hero who has…

it's the only non-government-owned space complex that allows you to do that in the world, correct?

And the way that the government can help to encourage this through public-private partnerships are to set high-level requirements and not tell companies how to complete them.

I think we've lost some of that, but we can regain it.

I think strapping on that idea of risk to get out there and explore, I think that's the thing that will inspire our next generation.

I think we are just scratching the surface on finally realizing how important this instrument of United States power can be to bolster our allies and push back on the Russians, to be perfectly honest.

We passed, and I was a big supporter recently of the Iran and Russia sanctions bill.

we were able to include an amendment that really forced the Federal Government to be more forthcoming on cooperating with state AGs.

her line of questioning I think was actually really important with regard to state-Federal cooperation.

It is essentially righting a wrong, enabling Alaska Native members to be able to develop their land as was promised by the Congress.

state AGs, district attorneys, actually have a lot more authority under the new law that we passed 2 years ago.

What are the things that we can do and we can focus on working with groups like yours to help address these populations?

every week I have been coming down to the floor of the Senate to talk about a special Alaskan, someone in my State who, through their hard work and community service, whether to their neighbors or to their country, makes Alaska a better…

It clarified this under U.S. law. And you obviously agree with that because that's the law, correct?