[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 5 (Thursday, January 10, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S133-S135]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE FAIR TREATMENT ACT OF 2019

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I had an opportunity to talk to 
President Trump a few moments ago and wanted to indicate to our 
colleagues that he will sign the bill that we have been discussing here 
to guarantee that government workers who have been displaced as a 
result of the shutdown will ultimately be compensated. So I want to 
ease their anxiety about that particular possibility.
  With that in mind, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to 
the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 3, S. 24.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Young). The clerk will report the bill by 
title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 24) to provide for the compensation of Federal 
     and other government employees affected by lapses in 
     appropriations.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I know of no further debate on the bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate?
  Hearing none, the bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third 
reading and was read the third time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill having been read the third time, the 
question is, Shall the bill pass?
  The bill (S. 24) was passed, as follows:

                                  S. 24

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Government Employee Fair 
     Treatment Act of 2019''.

     SEC. 2. COMPENSATION FOR FEDERAL AND OTHER GOVERNMENT 
                   EMPLOYEES AFFECTED BY A LAPSE IN 
                   APPROPRIATIONS.

       Section 1341 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``An officer'' and 
     inserting ``Except as specified in this subchapter or any 
     other provision of law, an officer''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(c)(1) In this subsection--
       ``(A) the term `covered lapse in appropriations' means any 
     lapse in appropriations that begins on or after December 22, 
     2018;
       ``(B) the term `District of Columbia public employer' 
     means--

[[Page S134]]

       ``(i) the District of Columbia Courts;
       ``(ii) the Public Defender Service for the District of 
     Columbia; or
       ``(iii) the District of Columbia government;
       ``(C) the term `employee' includes an officer; and
       ``(D) the term `excepted employee' means an excepted 
     employee or an employee performing emergency work, as such 
     terms are defined by the Office of Personnel Management or 
     the appropriate District of Columbia public employer, as 
     applicable.
       ``(2) Each employee of the United States Government or of a 
     District of Columbia public employer furloughed as a result 
     of a covered lapse in appropriations shall be paid for the 
     period of the lapse in appropriations, and each excepted 
     employee who is required to perform work during a covered 
     lapse in appropriations shall be paid for such work, at the 
     employee's standard rate of pay, at the earliest date 
     possible after the lapse in appropriations ends, regardless 
     of scheduled pay dates.
       ``(3) During a covered lapse in appropriations, each 
     excepted employee who is required to perform work shall be 
     entitled to use leave under chapter 63 of title 5, or any 
     other applicable law governing the use of leave by the 
     excepted employee, for which compensation shall be paid at 
     the earliest date possible after the lapse in appropriations 
     ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates.''.

  Mr. McCONNELL. I further ask that the motion to reconsider be 
considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or 
debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Virginia.


             Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019

  Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, just briefly, I also want to extend my 
gratitude to the majority leader for working with us on this matter. I 
alerted both caucuses yesterday that I planned to object to adjourning 
for the weekend on the grounds that tomorrow more than 800,000 Federal 
employees will stop getting paychecks. This has already started, 
according to the words of my colleague from Maryland.
  Also, on Saturday the shutdown will achieve the dubious distinction 
of being the longest shutdown in the history of the United States. So 
yesterday I alerted both caucuses that my plan was to object to an 
adjournment. I filed that objection. The majority leader then engaged 
in discussion, together with the minority leader and others, about 
whether there is something we can do to send a message to these people, 
many of whom are under very dire circumstances. They have written me, 
too, about postponing medical procedures and not buying medication for 
their kids. Is there something we can do that can send them some 
message of comfort that they will receive their paychecks, if not 
tomorrow, but they will be made whole?
  Over the course of the afternoon, as we have talked about it, we 
thought the best message we could send--and I am glad we are able to 
send it by voice vote unanimously from this body--is that they will be 
paid. When we reopen, they will be paid.
  That is not the same comfort as getting the paycheck. It is not the 
same comfort as knowing when the shutdown will be over and when they 
can go back to try to keep serving American citizens, but having the 
certainty that it will be paid is something that we can do for these 
people. I appreciate the majority leader's working with us on the S. 24 
bill that Senator Cardin is the sponsor of and I am a cosponsor of. It 
does good work in this regard, and I think we can send some people a 
little bit of a signal on what will be a tough day tomorrow. We can 
send them a little bit of a signal that we are going to be there, and 
they can count on the paycheck.
  With that, I thank my colleagues for working together on this.
  I yield floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.
  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I am glad I had the opportunity to vote 
with my colleagues, the majority leader, and my colleagues from 
Virginia and Maryland on the bill we just passed here on the Senate 
floor to ensure the backpay for Federal workers who will be without 
pay, and I hope we can get to a resolution soon on this partial 
government shutdown that gets all elements of the government open and 
fully funds the border and the significant amounts requested by the 
White House that I think most Americans and most Alaskans need and 
want.


                         Tribute to Urban Rahoi

  Mr. President, I hope that you and all the pages here--we have some 
new pages in the staff here--had a great holiday season and that 
everybody listening back home and watching back home in Alaska around 
the country also had a wonderful holiday. I certainly did. It is always 
great to be home in my State--spending time with family and my wife, my 
daughters, and with friends--which to me is the greatest State in the 
greatest country in the world.
  Winter is a special time in Alaska. The sun may be low or in some 
places it may not rise above the horizon at all, but there is a certain 
glow that comes with the snow. With that glow and the Northern Lights 
dancing in the sky, particularly in the interior--the place I am going 
to talk about in a minute--it is magical. We want to assure anyone 
watching to come to Alaska and you are going to have the trip of a 
lifetime.
  As I have said so many times on the floor of the Senate, it is the 
people who make my State so special--tough, hearty, resilient people 
who have lived some of the most amazing, meaningful, purposeful lives 
and who have the wisdom, the character, the toughness, and, yes, even 
the scars to prove it. Stories of character, stories of lives well-
traveled, and stories of lives well-lived abound my State.
  Last Saturday, in the great city of Fairbanks, AK, I had the great 
opportunity and the honor to attend the 100th birthday party--I am 
looking at the pages, who all just said ``wow''--of a legend in Alaska, 
a man, certainly, of great stories but also of heart, of patriotism, 
and of everything that makes Alaska and America great.
  As you know, Mr. President, I come to the floor nearly every week, 
while we are in session, to honor someone that I refer to as the 
Alaskan of the Week, someone who makes our State and our country very 
special. I want America right now--if you are watching on C-SPAN, in 
the Gallery, or the press--to meet Urban Rahoi, our Alaskan of the 
Week--a husband, a father, a veteran, a pilot, a hunting guide, a 
developer, and a builder, just to name a few of his defining 
characteristics.
  Urban has lived a dozen lives, all in only one century--100 years 
old. He helped to save America, and he helped to build Alaska--to save 
this great Nation of ours and to build one of our greatest States. He 
is our Alaskan of the Week.
  I believe he may even be watching in Fairbanks--I hope you are, 
Urban--in the pioneer home there, maybe with some of the Laundry House 
Gang members, maybe even my father-in-law, Bud, and, Craig Compeau. I 
hope you are all watching right now.
  Urban has had such a full life that it is hard to know where to 
start--100 years. Let me give you some of the highlights.
  He was born on January 7, 1919, the day after Teddy Roosevelt died, 
in Iron Mountain, MI. He grew up during the height of the Depression, 
but Urban recently told a reporter with the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 
that the Depression for him and for his family wasn't that bad. His 
family hunted. They grew their own food. They worked hard. He said: 
``We had a garden and we had 100 rabbits.'' In many ways, that is how 
they got through the Depression.
  He began to get interested in airplanes and in flying. When he was 
just 15 years old, he took his first solo flight--at 15, a solo 
flight--and he was forever hooked.
  He was also hooked on the love of his life, whom he met when he was 
21 years old, Vienna--Vi, everyone called her--and they got married in 
1940.
  In 1943, Urban joined the U.S. military during World War II, in the 
Army Air Corps, and he flew bombers in North Africa and Italy. ``From 
Italy, we would fly bombing missions into southern Germany, Austria, 
Romania, and wherever they needed us''--dozens of bombing combat 
missions.
  And what did he fly? Appropriately, Urban Rahoi flew the B-17s, also 
known as the ``Flying Fortresses.'' Those airplanes stayed in the air 
even after some of the toughest battles and some of the most vicious 
flak--tough as can be, just like Urban. Again, he was a B-17 pilot in 
World War II, part of the greatest generation, which saved America and 
saved this institution, among others, the U.S. Senate.

[[Page S135]]

  Eventually, as it does with a certain kind of an adventurous person, 
Urban heard the call of Alaska, and he flew to the State in a PA-12 
Cub. He and Vi homesteaded on the Tanana River, near the Richardson 
Highway, and began to make a life for themselves in Alaska.
  What a rich life it was. They began a family, eventually having three 
children--Rick, Eugene, and Holly. Urban also stayed active in the 
military, as a member of the Air Force Reserve 449th Fighter Squadron, 
in Alaska. He commanded the C-47 squadron and copiloted several 
historic military aircraft, including the North American F-82 Twin 
Mustang, the Lockheed F-94 Starfire, and the Northrup F-89 Scorpion.
  This is a great pilot for America. He began offering private flying 
services, and he also built two areas in terms of developments. 
Together, they made up these trailer parks with 172 lots. Urban 
designed the development of these areas and installed all of the 
electrical lines, the water lines, and the septic system--all himself.
  Think about that. What American can do that today? He also built a 
lodge in an inholding in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. 
If that were not enough, he became a big game guide in Alaska, running 
a successful big game guiding business, and he built Ptarmigan Lake 
Lodge, an inholding in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.
  When Alaska became a State, guides were required to become 
registered, and they had registration numbers. Urban Rahoi was issued 
big game Alaska's State license No. 1--No. 1, the first.
  All told, during his career as a pilot, he racked up an incredible 
20,000 hours of flying--20,000 hours of flying. That is probably older 
than some of you pages. He has seen so much, nearly every part of 
Alaska. ``If someone's there, I've been there,'' he said recently, 
about all the flights he has taken all over the great State of Alaska.
  In 2012, the FAA presented Urban with the Wright Brothers Master 
Pilot Award. Here is what the FAA wrote:

       He has used his skill as an aviator to train airmen, fight 
     a war [for America], and maintain the safety standard in 
     commercial aviation. He has rescued people in trouble and 
     supplied people in . . . Bush [Alaska] with the necessities 
     of life. He has contributed to the state of Alaska, and 
     provided many people a chance to see the wild and beautiful 
     Alaska we all love.

  The party for Urban's 100th birthday last Saturday in Fairbanks was 
so reflective of the impact that he has had on the State, his community 
in Fairbanks, and, of course, his country. Fairbanks is a tough, tough 
place. I love Fairbanks. Fairbanks has been experiencing a bit of a 
cold snap. Last Saturday, at Urban's 100th birthday party, it was 30 
below zero in Fairbanks. That is a dangerous temperature for some but 
not for the people of interior Alaska, who deal with that on a regular 
basis. Despite 30-below temperatures, hundreds of people from the 
interior of Alaska and beyond, from all walks of life, were there at 
the Pioneer Parks' Centennial Center to honor this legend, this great 
Alaskan, and this great American.
  There were family and friends. We even had a special guest--the 
football fans watching know him very well--former Miami Dolphins 
football player and Hall of Famer Larry Csonka was there to celebrate 
Urban's 100th birthday. Csonka had been sheep hunting at Urban's lodge, 
and the two remained very, very close friends ever since.
  One of Urban's goals is to be the first 100-year-old to participate 
in a snowmachine race in Fairbanks--a race that Urban rides in every 
year. Larry Csonka gave him an autographed Miami Dolphins football 
helmet to wear as the helmet when Urban participates in this race this 
year.
  There was a life-sized cake with 100 candles, a slide show of 
pictures of Urban and Vi at different phases of their lives--so many 
different adventures, World War II, Alaska as a State, so much love, so 
much life, so many people celebrating this great American.
  I had the opportunity to talk a little bit about Urban at the 
birthday party last Saturday in Fairbanks, and I mentioned that here 
was a man who had so many qualities--patriotism, service, sacrifice, 
perseverance, and, yes, even tougher than Larry Csonka. The football 
fans watching know there are not many people in America who are tougher 
than Csonka. Urban is, and Csonka acknowledged this.
  The one person missing from this great celebration was his beloved 
wife, who passed in Urban's arms on January 3, 2010, 3 days before 
their 70th wedding anniversary.
  She was 92 years old. Vi's memory lives on in their 3 children, 7 
grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great-grandchild, 
and her memory lives on in Urban's heart.
  At the ceremony, my good friend who put it together, Craig Compeau, 
was the emcee of this wonderful birthday party, and he interviewed 
Urban. Toward the end of it, he asked him what the secret for such a 
long life was--100 years old.
  Urban said it could be summed up in two words: My wife.
  Now, isn't that beautiful, America? Isn't that beautiful?
  What a great man. What a great life.
  So, Urban, here is to flying free, living well. Here is to the State 
and the country we all--you--love so much. Here is to being part of the 
``greatest generation'' that saved America and built Alaska, and here 
is to the example you have set for all of us, whether U.S. Senators, 
whether pages, 100 years old, service to your country, dedication to 
your wife. Thanks for all you have done. Thanks for all you have done 
to protect and defend this great Nation, to build our great State, and 
thank you, Urban, for being our Alaskan of the Week from the floor of 
the U.S. Senate. Happy 100th birthday.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.

                          ____________________