Political Quotes

“Mr. President, it is nice to be here on the floor on a Monday evening and to hear final passage by unanimous consent of a bill to recognize and honor the life of our former Congressman Don Young. Don passed in March unexpectedly after 49 years in service, and it is always hard to figure out appropriate ways to recognize the life of a true public servant, as Congressman Young truly was. So the Alaska delegation--Senator Sullivan and myself at the time--really reached out to try to find those ways that might be appropriate means of recognition. We can name buildings, as we are doing in this legislation, renaming a Federal courthouse in Fairbanks after Congressman Young. We can rename institutions, as we are doing in this bill and in recognizing the Alaska Job Corps Center now as the Don Young Alaska Job Corps Center. And you can also do it through naming of monuments. And we have certainly a fair number of mountains, lakes, rivers in the State of Alaska that are pretty extraordinary, but it just didn't seem appropriate and fitting that a regular mountain should be renamed after the Congressman. I had an opportunity to serve with him for many years. For, really, all of my life I think he has been my Congressman. I have known his softer side and certainly his rough and more explosive side.…”