So we just appreciate that he is here.

This is on the Kantishna Hills Renewable Energy Act of 2010. It is a noncontroversial bill that accomplishes several important goals.

It allows the National Park Service to acquire an important private inholding inside the preserve or a new park.

The Park Service has worked well with Doyon, my office, and that of Senator Murkowski who worked on drafting the legislation.

So when you can convert to hydro, there is an economic benefit and then obviously an environmental air quality benefit.

the FDA approval process was brought to the attention of FDA in September 2010 in a letter from eleven U.S. Senators, including Senator Begich.

DOD has determined to reduce allocations for fulfilling congressional reporting requirements.

I support the objective of the initiative, but am concerned the attempt to realize near-term cost savings will come at the expense of the readiness of the current force.

DOD is conducting a global force review to determine the necessity of current overseas infrastructure and future investment in overseas installations.

every new initiative will be accompanied by a cost estimate, yet it is my understanding no cost estimate is available for the Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) closure or any other Secretary of Defense initiative.

cost savings have not always been realized when anticipated in previous Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) rounds, and sometimes not at all, so why would the Department assume cost estimates associated with infrastructure initiatives…

I rise this evening for the same reason many other folks are talking tonight--in support of the Creating American Jobs and Ending Offshoring Act. I believe we should reward companies that keep Americans working here in our country. As a…

I think the steps you have taken are positive steps for our Vietnam veterans.

I wish to speak about legislation I am introducing today with support from my fellow senator from Alaska, Senator Murkowski. It is all too rare that we get to talk about successful partnerships between private industry and the Federal…

In August, Senators Mark Begich and Sherrod Brown introduced Senate bill 3704.

I can tell you in Alaska I hear from many Vietnam veterans about the issue of Agent Orange.

We have an obligation to provide them with the benefits they have earned and they deserve.

We fail collectively... to really outline what the total cost will be.

There are going to be staggering costs that we cannot even measure today.

I would ask this committee and you Senators individually that when you consider changes in Arctic policy that you seek out input from all Arctic communities.

I spend a lot of time trying to explain the difference to Arctic exploration, oil and gas activity in the Arctic versus what goes on down in the Gulf of Mexico.

As the Arctic continues to melt and the industrial activity occurs up in the Arctic, it is important for us now to take a lead in doing what we can to manage it the best we can.

In order for us to understand oil spill technology and how to maximize it and improve it, we actually have to have controlled spills.

These requests are included as part of the C-J-S bill at the request of Senators Begich and Murkowski.

it's just a common sense measure to us that we've been bucking the wind on this issue