[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 123 (Monday, July 23, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5122-S5126]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LEGISLATIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

   INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, FINANCIAL SERVICES, AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
resume legislative session and proceed to the consideration of H.R. 
6147, which the clerk will report.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 6147) making appropriations for the Department 
     of the Interior, environment, and related agencies for the 
     fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other 
     purposes.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.
  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that for the 
purpose of rule XVI in relation to the substitute amendment No. 3399, 
division A of H.R. 6147 serve as the basis for defense of germaneness 
for division A of the amendment; that division B of H.R. 6147 serve as 
the basis for defense of germaneness for division B of the amendment; 
that H.R. 5961, as reported by the House Appropriations Committee, 
serve as the basis for defense of germaneness for division C of the 
amendment; and that H.R. 6072, as reported by the House Appropriations 
Committee, serve as the basis for defense of germaneness for division D 
of the amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.


                           Amendment No. 3399

       (Purpose: In the nature of a substitute.)

  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I now call up the substitute amendment No. 
3399.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Alabama [Mr. Shelby] proposes an amendment 
     numbered 3399.

  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading 
of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of 
Amendments.'')
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.


                Amendment No. 3400 to Amendment No. 3399

  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 3400.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Alaska [Ms. Murkowski] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 3400 to amendment No. 3399.

  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
reading of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

               (Purpose: To make a technical correction)

       On page 95, line 6, strike ``$5,000,000'' and insert 
     ``$5,250,000''.


[[Page S5123]]


  

  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I am most pleased to be here today to 
manage consideration of this appropriations bill package. This includes 
the fiscal year 2019 bills for the Subcommittee on Interior, 
Environment, and Related Agencies; Financial Services and General 
Government; Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug 
Administration, and Related Agencies; as well as Transportation, 
Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies.
  To distill it down, this evening we are taking up Interior, Financial 
Services, Ag, and THUD--or Transportation Housing Development. The 
opportunity to move forward with a package of appropriations bills, all 
of which have moved through our committee with strong support, is a 
good place to be.
  I have long believed that a return to regular order, where we vote 
these appropriations bills out of committee with bipartisan support, 
and then bring them to the floor, as we are doing this evening, is 
important for our process.
  I think all Members of the Senate should have an opportunity to 
debate appropriations bills and offer amendments. We haven't had this 
opportunity for some years prior to this. The occupant of the Chair, a 
member of the Appropriations Committee, knows we have been without 
process when it comes to our appropriations bills. It is now time for 
us not only to return to regular order but to allow other Members of 
this body who do not sit on the Appropriations Committee the 
opportunity to weigh in on these priorities.
  I am particularly pleased, as chairman of the Interior Appropriations 
Subcommittee, to be on the floor today. This is actually the first time 
the Interior bill has been before the full Senate since fiscal year 
2010. Fiscal year 2010 was the last time we saw an interior bill on the 
floor, so this is kind of a significant day for us. If this weren't 
such a dignified setting, I would say that deserves a round of 
applause. But we don't want to get ahead of ourselves.
  It is an important example of the commitment both sides have made to 
create an environment where we can work through the tough issues on a 
bipartisan basis. That was exactly what we saw within the full 
committee--working through the subcommittee, working through the full 
committee, and now being able to bring these measures to the floor.
  I will defer to the chairmen of the relevant subcommittees to discuss 
the specifics of each of their bills as we move through consideration 
of this appropriations package. But I wanted to take a little bit of 
time this evening to share some information about the Interior 
appropriations bill for my colleagues.
  I also want to thank and acknowledge the good work of my ranking 
member on the committee, Senator Udall. He has been a good partner to 
work with. Both of us recognize this is not everything we would have 
wanted it to be, but it was a good, collaborative, well-worked process.
  Within Interior, we have a very broad scope of responsibilities. We 
have the oversight for all of the major Federal land management 
agencies. We have the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land 
Management, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Forest Service, the 
Environmental Protection Agency--all very significant accounts. We also 
have a side in Interior that many of my colleagues forget but that 
rests within Interior, and that is the oversight for our budget for our 
Native peoples, our American Indians, and Alaskan Natives. We provide 
funding in this measure for essential Indian health, education, and 
resource management programs through the Bureau of Indian Affairs and 
the Indian Health Service.

  There is funding for cultural institutions. Again, this is an area 
that people don't necessarily think that Interior has our role here, 
but we have oversight of the budgets for the Smithsonian Institution, 
the National Gallery of Art, the National Endowment for the Arts, and 
the National Endowment for the Humanities. It is a pretty broad 
spectrum here.
  The Interior appropriations bill provides $35.85 billion for fiscal 
year 2019. This is $600 million more than last year. I wish to thank 
Chairman Shelby and Vice Chairman Leahy. The increased allocation that 
we saw for the Interior bill was really important as we assembled this 
bipartisan bill. This additional funding allowed us to provide program 
increases that were necessary. In fact, they were absolutely necessary.
  There are fire suppression accounts. We know we are in the midst of 
fire season. It is bad and most likely getting worse. We have been able 
to provide an additional $500 million for fire suppression.
  We also provide an additional $109 million for contract support costs 
in Indian Country. These are obligated expenses from the Federal 
Government to those who provide for those services in Indian Country.
  We also provide $115 million for staffing costs that are associated 
with new healthcare facilities that are operated by IHS or by Tribes. 
Again, it is under compact agreements.
  Some would look and say that this is a significant bump, but I would 
direct colleagues' attention to how we allocated that. Again, it is in 
accounts where we are obligated either by compact or, in the instance 
of fire suppression funding, it recognizes that we are dealing with the 
inherent unpredictability and the dangers of fire.
  The fiscal year 2019 Interior bill adopts a similar approach to the 
enacted fiscal year 2018 Interior bill. We rejected what we felt were 
unwarranted decreases that had been proposed in the budget, and we make 
investments. We make investments in the highest priorities, 
particularly infrastructure improvements and investments for our land 
management agencies and within Indian Country and also infrastructure 
investments in wastewater and drinking water improvements.
  We have recently celebrated the 100th anniversary of our National 
Park Service. Last year, we provided a significant increase for our 
national parks construction program. It was the largest percentage 
increase ever, but we build on that in this measure, recognizing the 
significant work, the significant maintenance, and the backlog that our 
National Park Service faces. We have an obligation. So addressing it 
has been a priority in this bill.
  In the two main agencies that deliver services for the Indian 
community--this is the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health 
Service--we restored proposed cuts in critical program funding. We 
increase funding for the IHS facilities program for construction, 
maintenance, and sanitation facilities improvement. We provide 
substantial funding for the BIA to help with the construction of Indian 
schools, irrigation systems, and public safety facilities.
  For both accounts, we provide fully estimated levels of contract 
support costs, and we maintain an indefinite appropriations account 
structure so that if the costs are higher than estimated, we are not in 
a situation where we are robbing Peter to pay Paul--taking from one 
account within IHS to fund the other. We are addressing that bad 
practice that we have seen previously.
  Also, within Indian Health Service, we provide additional resources 
for grants to Tribes for combating the opioid crisis. We know full well 
that we are facing a crisis throughout the country, but in so many of 
our Native communities on our reservations, the situation is 
particularly dire.
  We had a lot of conversation on this floor about wildland fire 
management and how we end the practice of what we call ``wildfire 
borrowing,'' which is, effectively, waiting to see how much fire 
suppression costs are going to impact us. If it was a particularly bad 
year, you would take funding from other accounts within the Forest 
Service, whether it was prescriptive management programs or whether it 
was recreational permits. We know that we needed to end this practice 
of fire borrowing, and we have worked to do that previously.
  Within our appropriations bill, on the wildfire management programs, 
we provided a total of $4.35 billion for the Department of Interior and 
the Forest Service. We fully fund the 10-year average for firefighting 
costs, and we provide $900 million in additional suppression funds 
above the 10-year average, based on the recent catastrophic seasons and 
our latest forecasting models. You hope to get that number right, but 
this new path that we are on for how we deal with wildfire suppression 
cost is an important one.

[[Page S5124]]

  A big priority in this body is for conservation and making sure that 
we are doing right by our lands, and we have included $425 million for 
the Land and Water Conservation Fund. This is equal to the enacted 
level.
  Within that account, we are generous to the stateside program. We 
have, in my view, tended toward greater acquisition on the Federal side 
over the years. I think that is a direction that was not what LWCF was 
intended to do. We have been working to make sure that we don't have 
the inequity and the disparity between the State side and Federal side.

  We also provide additional funding for recreational access and the 
American Battlefield Protection Program. I think we took a very 
commonsense approach to the EPA's budget. We focused resources on 
programs that do very specific and concrete things to help with that 
mission set, if you will, of the EPA, and that is, basically, to 
improve the quality of the environment for the public--clean water and 
clean water.
  The bill does provide additional funding to States that have 
delegated responsibility for environmental programs through State-
specific grants. It provides an increase above last year's level for 
the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and the Drinking Water State 
Revolving Fund. These are the SRF funds. They help to facilitate the 
critical water infrastructure in communities across the country. I 
think there is great recognition that this is an area where we can 
always do more.
  The WIFIA Program, which leverages Federal funds for water 
infrastructure projects, receives $63 million. When you take the WIFIA 
funds and you combine this with the SRS, the bill really does give the 
EPA a very strong suite of tools to improve the quality of life for 
people around the country.
  We provide for additional funding for PILT funding, and $500 million 
is the fully estimated amount needed for this program in 2019. We 
maintain the subcommittee's commitment to help local communities 
improve county roads, maintain public safety, and provide funding for 
schools using funding from the PILT Program.
  As I mentioned at the beginning of my comments, when we think about 
all of the things that are under the purview of Interior 
appropriations, we also did right by our ``Smithsonians'' by ensuring 
that our arts are appropriately funded as well.
  I will stand before you and tell you that there are a lot of things 
that I wish we could have included in this measure, but we have stood 
down, if you will, as appropriators, working with my colleague and 
friend the ranking member. We do not include new policy provisions that 
were not in the fiscal year 2018 enacted bill. We didn't do it. Members 
know that because they came to us asking if we could include things, 
but we said it is important to our process going forward.
  Working with Chairman Shelby and Vice Chairman Leahy and, again, my 
ranking member, Senator Udall, we assembled a package that advanced 
unanimously out of the committee. I think that is also historic. To 
have an Interior appropriations bill move unanimously through the full 
committee is pretty significant. I suggest to you all that this package 
that we have assembled warrants the support of the full Senate.
  I wish to express again my appreciation for the good working 
relationship that I have with Senator Udall. He has a great team. 
Rachael, Ryan, and Melissa have been great. We have fabulous folks on 
my side, with Leif, Nona, Emy, and Chris. They work hard. They work 
very hard. I think they have done a good job in helping to shape this 
bill so that it reflects priorities of Members on both sides of the 
aisle.
  Again, I am very pleased to be on the floor to consider these 
important bills. I look forward to working through this process with 
all of my colleagues. I think the leader has made it clear that he 
wants to complete action on this package expeditiously. So I ask 
colleagues to review the bills that we have in front of us, not just 
the Interior bill but the full package as well. Get on it, and get us 
your amendments. The quicker we can process amendments, the quicker we 
can clear them on both sides and arrange for the votes that they may 
require.


                     Confirmation of Robert Wilkie

  Mr. President, if I may, I know my colleague and my ranking member is 
here to say just a few words. He can say as many words as he would 
like, and I welcome that. But if I may beg the Senator's indulgence and 
ask for just a few more moments, I wish to comment on the nomination of 
Robert Wilkie, if I may.
  About an hour ago or half an hour ago, the Senate confirmed Robert 
Wilkie of North Carolina as our Nation's 10th Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs. He comes to this position after having served with great 
distinction as a Senate staffer. He was on the National Security 
Council and was Assistant Secretary of Defense, as well as Under 
Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and interim Secretary 
of the VA. His father, who passed away last year, was a U.S. Army 
veteran, and Mr. Wilkie has served as a U.S. Naval Reserve intelligence 
officer. He has great qualifications and strong qualifications for the 
position that Mr. Wilkie will soon assume.
  I am sure that he has no illusions about it. We certainly don't. This 
is a hard job that he has in front of him--a very hard job. The VA has 
yet to fully recover from the series of events that are collectively 
known as the Phoenix scandal. The Choice Program has been a mess from 
its very inception, in my view. It continues to frustrate so many 
veterans.
  Yes, we all acknowledge that there have been improvements in the 
Veterans Benefits Administration, but claims processing still takes way 
too long, and proving a claim remains a sore point. Then, to make 
matters worse, our veterans and the field staff are stressed by 
persistent reports of fatigue and infighting within the VA central 
office. Some of these reports are as current, as fresh as last week.

  You think about the folks out there. When you are in the field, 
really nothing good comes out of dysfunction from the central office. 
The media accounts that are out there are suggesting that the 
dysfunction is, unfortunately, reaching new heights.
  This is a tough time for our new Secretary to enter. He comes into 
this position with a mess of old baggage to deal with, and that is 
before he even begins to implement new initiatives like the VA MISSION 
Act and the modernization of VA's IT infrastructure.
  I am sure it is fair to say we want this Secretary to succeed. 
Alaskan veterans certainly want the Secretary to succeed. I imagine we 
all want the new VA Secretary to succeed.
  I think success at the VA means one thing, and that is how we serve 
our veterans. We know the sacrifices they have made to our Nation. They 
deserve timely, high-quality, caring service.
  They do not deserve to fall victim to the kind of internal infighting 
that has plagued the VA, and, by all accounts, continues to plague the 
VA.
  I think that as I look to how success will be achieved for Mr. Wilkie 
in his new position, it is going to be all hands on deck; everyone 
committed to the mission, ready to get to work to get the VA back on 
track. That is really job No. 1.
  That, to Mr. Wilkie, I would suggest, means working with your career 
staff to achieve the mission. We have been doing that in Alaska. Now, 
it has not always been good. There was a time when Alaskan veterans 
wanted a card that would allow them to get their care anywhere. They 
wanted to get out of the system.
  Now I hear all the time, in Alaska, that our veterans want to get 
their care from the VA. We all know not all VAs around the country are 
equally situated. Perhaps the Alaska VA works better than some, and 
there may be reasons for that.
  I think one of the reasons is, we are seeing that the career staff in 
Alaska cares about our veterans. We have had our problems. We have had 
some significant problems at the top. There have been changes in the 
VA's senior leadership in Alaska, but we called the problems out. We 
brought attention to them, we demanded change, and change occurred.
  Today, we have a leadership team that, by all accounts, is doing some 
pretty strong work for Alaska's vets. One of the reasons that I think 
we are doing well is our senior leadership team works in close 
collaboration with the career staff. They are represented by the 
American Federation of Government Employees Local 3028. I know

[[Page S5125]]

this because my staff and I meet with management and labor periodically 
throughout the year. Management knows I am going to get the straight 
scoop from labor, and labor knows that, in my view, it is all about 
service to the veterans. No exceptions, no excuses, I just want it 
straight. Both sides know I expect them to be collaborating, to be 
working together. Both know I measure the quality and the quantity of 
collaboration in the oversight of VA's service delivery in Alaska.
  That is why I have been especially disturbed by the VA's recent order 
restricting the amount of official time the duly elected 
representatives of the VA's workforce can spend on collaboration. They 
call this official time. I would suggest, this is that time working 
with management to make the VA more effective. I would suggest this is 
a shortsighted decision. I am especially concerned that it is being 
implemented by acting personnel on the very eve of our new Secretary's 
swearing in.
  We also learned this morning, Government Executive magazine reports 
that there is chaos on how this is going to be implemented. When you 
think about the things this new Secretary needs, or our veterans need, 
they don't need more chaos. We don't need more chaos in an organization 
as complex as the VA.
  Working to ensure that there is a level of flexibility in operations, 
our managers have a certain amount of freedom to keep a system if it is 
working. If it is not working, we have got you, but if you think about 
how important this is, especially in the VA where labor is defined to 
include the physicians, the nurses, the highly trained technologists, 
we know full well that these are professionals with very portable skill 
sets who can take their experience elsewhere at a moment's notice. We 
certainly see that in my State where those skill sets are in high 
demand.
  We recognize Mr. Wilkie will inherit enough problems on day one. He 
has to come into the Department; he needs to win the hearts and the 
minds of those who do the work; and a workforce that is upset, in my 
judgment, is the last thing he needs.
  Now, some may remember that I was skeptical about the VA 
Accountability Act, which short-circuited the process for terminating 
underperforming VA personnel.
  We were told, at the time, this would enable the VA to replace 
underperforming managers. Instead, it seems we are seeing some pretty 
strong evidence that it is being used to terminate individuals at the 
very lowest level. I am concerned that what we may also be seeing is 
this is an effort to terminate whistleblowers and others who challenge 
the bureaucracy in service to our veterans. I am concerned about that. 
I have raised that before; I will raise it again.
  I think we all agree it is time to bring the VA into the 21st 
century. Collaborating with labor on the quality of product is a whole 
lot better than maintaining the contentious top-down, by-the-book, 
litigious workplace.
  I sincerely hope our new, and I hope transformative, Veterans Affairs 
Secretary will take a lesson from the best labor management 
relationship practices in the private sector; seek them out, put them 
to work on day one, even if that might mean reversing some of the well-
meaning or maybe not so well-meaning reforms that have been undertaken 
on the eve of his confirmation.
  The VA is a people-oriented business. The VA is nothing without its 
people. I give my free advice to our Secretary-designate. Your career 
people work at the VA to serve our veterans first. Sadly, I think many 
are confused about whether they enjoy the support of their senior 
leaders in Washington.
  These are some sobering words to greet our new Secretary as he takes 
on a very important responsibility, but I hope we are all working 
together, all working forward to ensure that Mr. Wilkie goes down in 
the VA's history as a good, strong leader. I offer my best to him as he 
moves forward.
  I am pleased again to begin the kickoff for this appropriations 
package, and I look forward to engaging in debate of good issues and a 
good, positive result at the end.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
  Mr. UDALL. Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of the Interior 
Department appropriations bill, which the Senate is currently debating.
  Before Senator Murkowski leaves the floor, I want to thank her so 
much. It has been such a pleasure working with her on this and doing it 
in a bipartisan way, and I am going to talk a little bit about the 
historic nature of this; that we have accomplished something that 
hasn't been done in 10 years. This is something I think we are both 
very proud of and that I think the Appropriations Committee members are 
very proud of. I begin by thanking her for the important work she has 
undertaken to ensure that this bill arrived on the Senate floor with 
strong bipartisan support.
  We all know the Interior bill is not an easy bill, and there is no 
doubt we faced contentious issues putting it together. It is 
extraordinary that working together under her leadership, we have 
produced a bill that was unanimously reported by the Appropriations 
Committee.
  I also recognize Chairman Shelby and Vice Chairman Leahy for clearing 
the path for us to bring this bill to the floor. Their shared 
commitment to reestablishing regular order for the Appropriations 
Committee is why the Interior bill is on the floor of the U.S. Senate 
today. For the first time in nearly a decade, I salute them as well on 
this.
  The bill funds the Indian Health Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs 
and provides resources for new healthcare facilities in schools for 
Tribes across the country that are working to improve health and 
education outcomes. This funding helps fulfill our trust and treaty 
responsibilities to American Indians and Alaska Natives.
  This bill includes strong levels of funding for conservation programs 
that preserve and protect our Nation's most special places, including 
our public lands. It fully funds wildfire suppression needs, providing 
more than $2 billion to protect communities and natural resources in 
New Mexico and across the West.
  The Interior bill supports our Nation's arts and culture programs 
from national institutions here in Washington, from the Smithsonian 
Institution, the Kennedy Center, and the National Gallery of Art to 
local arts and humanities and programs in small towns across the United 
States. This funding creates jobs and supports economic vitality in our 
communities.
  Over the last week, we have seen the administration claim that the 
legislation sent over by the House has too much funding for these and 
other priorities. I strongly disagree. It is Congress's responsibility 
to safeguard the environment, protect our air and water, fulfill our 
trust and treaty responsibilities, and conserve public lands the 
Federal Government holds on behalf of the American people.
  These responsibilities require a reliable stream of resources to 
carry that out. This Senate bill accomplishes those goals and, in doing 
so, remains faithful to the bipartisan budget agreement this Congress 
passed and the President signed early this year.
  We reject the shameful and inexcusable cuts proposed by the Trump 
administration to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Bureau of 
Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Education, and to most Federal 
land management agencies, cuts that would put our environment at risk 
and prevent us from providing core services to Tribal communities.
  In addition to rejecting these cuts, Senator Murkowski and I worked 
together to satisfy requests from our colleagues to increase funding 
levels where we could, given our allocation. We also followed the 
chairman and vice chairman's direction to keep out extraneous 
authorizing matters and any item considered a poison pill. We all know 
one Senator's poison pill is another Senator's antidote. We couldn't 
please everyone because the tough issues that have impeded this bill 
from floor consideration in the last decade have not gone away, but we 
did the best we could.
  Now, this bill is not perfect. It includes several troubling 
provisions rolling over from prior years, including provisions relating 
to the listing status of the sage grouse, the lead content of 
ammunition, biomass energy policy, and certain Clean Air Act 
exemptions.

[[Page S5126]]

While I cannot endorse these provisions individually, they are ones we 
have carried previously to move this bill across the finish line.
  What the Appropriations Committee has brought to the full Senate is 
an Interior Department appropriations bill that is almost exclusively 
appropriations.
  I am proud that we propose for fiscal year 2020, proud that we 
propose for fiscal year 2019. In addition to the programs I have 
already highlighted, let me tell you about a few more accomplishments 
in this bill.
  This bill rejects the administration's elimination of the Land and 
Water Conservation Fund and instead provides $425 million equal to the 
enacted level. These funds will improve recreational access through our 
Federal lands, protect iconic landscapes, deliver grants to States and 
local governments to create and protect urban parks and open spaces, 
preserve the battlefields of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, and give 
farmers and ranchers easements so they can steward their private lands 
in the face of development pressures.

  Rather than following the administration's misguided proposal to 
eliminate funding for the National Endowment of the Arts and 
Humanities, this bill actually provides an increase of $2 million for 
each endowment, bringing the total to $155 million for each. I am 
particularly proud that these funds will expand arts and humanities 
programs, create jobs, and support cultural institutions in every 
State.
  The bill includes a 4-percent increase for the Indian Health Service 
and includes $10 million in new grant funds to help Tribes address 
opioid addiction and substance abuse challenges in Indian Country, as 
Chairman Murkowski talked about a little bit in her speech.
  This bill fully funds the Payment in Lieu of Taxes Program to assist 
local governments to improve their schools and roads and pay for public 
safety and law enforcement.
  This bill maintains funding for the EPA at the fiscal year 2018-
enacted level to protect our environment and public health. We have 
taken a strong position rejecting the devastating cuts the President 
has proposed for the third year in a row. Our bipartisan track record 
on EPA funding makes it loud and clear that such extreme proposals will 
continue to be viewed in Congress as dead on arrival.
  Now, I feel strongly that keeping EPA funding flat year after year is 
insufficient to meet the true needs of EPA's clean water programs, 
clean air programs, State and Tribal assistance grants, environmental 
enforcement, and a score of other critical public health and 
environmental programs. While I recognize the bill before us is a 
compromise, I will continue to pursue increased funding for these 
critical EPA programs in future years.
  I recognize there is always room for improvement, and I welcome all 
of our colleagues to speak with me or Chairman Murkowski if you have an 
idea on how to improve funding in this bill.
  As I conclude, I want to emphasize how tremendous it has been to work 
with Chairman Murkowski on this bipartisan bill. Even when we disagree, 
we have open discussions and listen to one another. That is the way 
Congress is supposed to work, and I am proud to be Senator Murkowski's 
partner on this bill.
  I look forward to working with our colleagues on this bill over this 
week so we can pass an interior appropriations bill that the American 
people can be proud of.
  As Chairman Murkowski talked about, we have had the assistance of a 
very able staff on both sides--on the minority side, headed up by 
Rachael Taylor. The whole staff on both sides is very capable and very 
able. My side was headed up by Rachael Taylor, Ryan Hunt, Melissa 
Zimmerman, and Teri Curtin. Over on the majority side, we thank Leif 
Fonnesbeck, Emy Lesofski, Nona McCoy, Chris Tomassi, and LaShawnda 
Smith.
  They work night and day, and when we run into problems, as we know, 
they can be invaluable in helping us find the solutions to the problems 
we all face when we get into some of the contentious issues.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I thank my colleague, the ranking 
member on the Appropriations Committee again. We don't get to the place 
where we are today or to a level of consensus without getting a lot of 
good, hard work done. I appreciate his commitment in working through it 
and the relationship we have built. So thank you. Thank you very much.

                          ____________________