I will be honest with you that many in my State, as well as other States I have talked to, are not satisfied with the leadership within the Indian Health Service.

PVA is pleased to see this legislation put forward by Sen. Begich and fully supports it.

This bill acts as a continuation.

There is no question that in Alaska we have the highest number per capita of veterans in the Nation.

It just seems unfair. We have to take and weigh someone's constitutional right.

There is a bill that I cosponsored with Senator Burr but I do not see it, though I may be wrong.

They look to you as their advocate. That means not just behind closed doors but in public.

I tell you, the Administration is wrong, absolutely wrong on this.

I hope that my experience with the Alaska Ocean Observing System illustrates the potential and the proven success of this innovative approach.

But when you look at the data points of where we are internationally when it comes to STEM education--science, technology, engineering, and math--we are so far down on the scale of where we could be.

We urge the reauthorization of the ICOOS Act of 2009 to ensure that the Nation's ocean, coastal and Great Lakes observing systems are sustained and enhanced.

It is a question of looking at all of these, let's say, you know, economic problems through a lens of ocean.

The ocean is Earth's most fundamental and life-sustaining feature.

There is strong evidence that the ocean has been changing.

it is an investment. It is not an expenditure, it is an investment.

We need to think of the ocean as this engine that is actually driving back into the economy.

I have additional questions, but, because of time, I will need to submit them for the record.

I urge the continued and expanded risk-mitigating measures like the Arctic Research, Monitoring, and Observing Act that you are proposing, Senator, as well as the ICOOS Reauthorization Act.

What we have to do is connect it, so when someone is sitting in a small town in Kansas and they think about the oceans...

Can you imagine if we were to spend half as much as we spend on exploring space, if we spent on oceans, where we would be today?

We sometimes undervalue our oceans or our lack of understanding.

It is not because they were looking it for it. It is because we are talking about it.

the reauthorization of the ICOOS Act is essential.

the reauthorization of the FOARAM Act is imperative to guide the legacy we will want to leave.

This committee is focused on trying to elevate the issues of our oceans at a much different level than has been done in the past.