Neil Abercrombie: “Mr. Speaker, I am sure it is known that the gentleman from Alaska [Mr. Young] has a well-deserved reputation for being…”

“Mr. Speaker, I am sure it is known that the gentleman from Alaska [Mr. Young] has a well-deserved reputation for being blunt and direct. It remains for the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Saxton] and myself to take up the diplomatic mantle with respect to our committee and those elements expressed to us by the Committee on International Relations. May I say in any context, Mr. Speaker, that the Canadian Government is indeed fortunate that the gentleman from Alaska [Mr. Young] is in the process of recuperating and recovering from a recent operation, and I am sure all Members join with me in wishing the gentleman from Alaska a speedy recovery and a quick return to us here in the Congress. We need his leadership. We need his dynamism here. In this particular instance, Mr. Speaker, the long-running debate over the Pacific salmon treaty has been contentious without a doubt. But both the United States and Canada share responsibility for the continuing impasse. As such, the recent blockade of an Alaskan ferryboat, as referred to by the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Saxton], by Canadian fishermen was not only illegal, it was counterproductive to the ongoing negotiations.”