Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I often come to the floor of the U.S. Senate to discuss issues of the Arctic. Since the United States is an Arctic nation, it seems that it is only appropriate to give updates when there have been items and events that are noteworthy in this space. Several weeks ago, we hosted in Alaska the Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting, an event duly of note and an event upon which I would like to spend a few moments this afternoon updating colleagues on all that took place at this ministerial and provide a little bit of a recap of the role of the United States as chairman of the Arctic Council for these past 2 years. This opportunity today to congratulate those in the State Department, the people of Fairbanks, AK, and the Alaska Arctic Council Host Committee for a successful Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Fairbanks is certainly timely. I have also come to review the accomplishments and the challenges of the Arctic Council during the recent chairmanship by the United States and I think also to look ahead at what I hope and expect will be our Nation's continued leadership in the Arctic. As I mentioned, for the past 2 years now, the United States has been chair of the Arctic Council. This is an international forum for the eight Arctic nations. That includes the United States, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden.…”