[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 28 (Wednesday, February 13, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S1304]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 S. 47

  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, we have finally completed our work on 
S. 47, the Natural Resources Management Act. We had a good day 
yesterday. We had a good day here in the U.S. Senate. We passed this 
significant bill--really, a landmark piece of legislation--out of the 
Senate by a vote of 92 to 8. That is pretty strong. You don't see a lot 
of that in the Senate anymore--every now and again, and this was one of 
those every now and agains. I appreciate all the work.
  We have now sent this over to the House of Representatives, and it 
has some good momentum. We are looking forward to being able to work 
with the House. I encourage them to move quickly on this important 
measure and see it enacted into law.
  I want to take just a few moments this afternoon, while I can, to 
thank so many who have been key in getting us to this point. I want to 
start my comments with acknowledging the former ranking member of the 
Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Senator Cantwell from 
Washington. We have spent a lot of time together. We have spent a lot 
of time over the years working on these lands bills. We did it in the 
public forum through the committee process. We had hearings on hundreds 
of bills. We worked to refine and reach agreement on them and to report 
them from committee. So there was all of that process, which went on 
throughout the committee, and then the two of us sitting down with our 
staffs on noncommittee time, just working through these particulars, in 
many meetings in my office and in her office. We really did this on a 
bipartisan basis. We stuck together. There were times when the 
prospects for this package did not look so good, and then there were 
moments when it looked even worse than not so good. But we kind of 
pulled one another along. I think that is a tribute to the commitment 
we made as colleagues and partners in this to advance not just to a 
message but to a product. I truly think that is a tribute to Senator 
Cantwell and her willingness to work together to find a path forward.
  Then we weren't able to finish things at the end of the year. Senator 
Cantwell moved over to another committee, and I had an opportunity to 
pick up with Senator Manchin. He picked up.
  Here he comes in, a new ranking member, and he has a bill to help 
manage on the floor with some 100-plus bills. But he helped us in a way 
that I am most, most grateful for. He kept us on track and helped us 
secure a very strong final tally here.
  I am also very grateful to my other corners, the chairman and ranking 
member of the Natural Resources Committee on the House side, Chairman 
Grijalva and Ranking Member Bishop. I thank them for their exceptional, 
exceptional work on this package and look forward to working with them 
as we finish this out.
  Next on my list are Leader McConnell and Senator Schumer. The 
minority leader is here. We had a conversation on the floor just about 
where he is sitting--this was back in December. But the two leaders 
gave their commitment to take this bill up early this year. They kept 
that commitment. They made it happen. I thank them for what they did in 
recognizing that this public lands, resources, and waters bill deserved 
early attention in this new Congress.
  I mentioned on the floor that there were many colleagues on both 
sides: Senator Heinrich, Senator Gardner, Senator Daines from Montana, 
Senator Wyden from Oregon, all of whom have been great partners here on 
the floor.
  It is important to briefly mention the staffs, who put in the long 
hours--the work and the family life they gave up.
  The first person on my list to recognize is my deputy chief counsel, 
Lucy Murfitt, who is truly an expert, a true expert on the lands issue. 
She has poured her heart and soul into these issues, and it is no 
exaggeration to say they would not have happened without her efforts.
  I also thank my staff director, Brian Hughes; my chief counsel, 
Kellie Donnelly; the members of my lands team, Annie Hoefler, Lane 
Dickson, and Michelle Lane; our communications team, Nicole Daigle, 
Michelle Toohey, and Tonya Parish; our support staff, including Melissa 
Enriquez and Sean Solie; then Brianne Miller and Isaac Edwards, who 
basically kept the committee running while everyone else was focusing 
on this bill.
  While I am proud of my team, we had great partners on the other side 
of the aisle. Sarah Venuto and Lance West joined the committee with 
Senator Manchin, and they have been great to work with. Sam Fowler, 
David Brooks, Rebecca Bonner, Bryan Petit, Camille Touton, Mary Louise 
Wagner, and Amit Ronen also played key roles.
  Then on the House side, we had David Watkins and Brandon Bragato of 
Chairman Grijalva's staff, along with Parish Braden and Cody Stewart, 
who has now left the Hill, of Ranking Member Bishop's staff.
  I have to give a shout-out for the floor staff. Laura Dove and her 
team were fabulous. We also appreciate our Parliamentarians, Elizabeth 
McDonough and Leigh Hildebrand; Terry Van Doren with Leader McConnell; 
and Aniela Butler at the Senate Budget Committee.
  Two of the individuals who probably put the most time into this 
package, Heather Burnham and Christina Kennelly, are in the Office of 
Senate Leg Counsel. I also thank Janani Shankaran, Kim Cawley, and 
Aurora Swanson at CBO.
  Great members, great team--we could not have done this great work 
without them.
  To Senator Schumer, I say thank you for allowing me to complete this 
in its entirety. I appreciate your indulgence.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, let me thank the chair of the Energy 
Committee, the senior Senator from Alaska, for the wonderful work she 
always does around here. She has the respect of Members on both sides 
of the aisle. She tries to do the right thing and ends up there so 
often. This lands bill wouldn't have happened without a lot of the 
people she mentioned, but at the top of the list would certainly, 
certainly, be the senior Senator from Alaska.
  Once again, I tip my hat to the junior Senator from Washington State, 
who worked so long and hard on this. The two of them were a great team, 
and Joe Manchin filled in when he became ranking member. We are all 
very glad that this wonderful lands bill, with so many good things in 
it, will, barring any unforeseen mishap, become law very soon.