[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 214 (Thursday, December 17, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S7578]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO MICHAEL PAWLOWSKI

  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, another individual who came to me 
through the energy front, if you will, is a gentleman by the name of 
Michael Pawlowski. Most of you who know me and know my chief of staff 
don't know that my chief of staff's name is actually Michael Pawlowski 
because nobody refers to him as that. They refer to him simply as 
``Fish''--no last name, just ``Fish.'' And I think that is actually 
somewhat appropriate for my office, where we celebrate a lot of good 
things with fish. I was fortunate to be able to share some filets of 
salmon with some colleagues as Christmas appreciation, and I would say 
nothing says ``thank you'' more than fish.
  This is now my opportunity to say thank you to my Fish.
  Fish came to Washington, DC, back in 2015, when we brought him on to 
the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Again, all good things come 
through ENR. We brought him back to be senior policy adviser in 2015, 
and he served in that capacity until I brought him over to be my chief 
of staff in 2016. He has served me here in my personal office since 
that time.
  Fish is an Alaskan through and through. His family has lived in 
Alaska for five generations. He was raised in Anchorage. He has worked 
for multiple State legislators. He has worked in our State government. 
He has worked on budget and energy policies. He was deputy commissioner 
of revenue. He has worked to help build up so many different energy 
projects--the Alaska LNG project. He served on the AIDEA board, on the 
Alaska Energy Authority.
  He has been involved in so many different aspects of what is making 
our State move that when he first agreed to come back to Washington, 
DC, I figured I would be able to keep him back here for just a couple 
years. Somebody with this much potential, somebody with this much on 
the ball--how was I possibly going to be able to keep him here? I 
figured out how to do it--just make sure he could get back to Alaska 
for work throughout the summer so he could do the fishing that he 
really, really wants to do first and foremost.
  But that is just the human, personal side of him. What Fish has 
provided me is a view towards relationships and how we operate in 
business and professional relationships here in the Senate, working 
with different offices. He has worked to build relationships because he 
truly and genuinely cares about the people he is talking to. He is 
genuinely interested.
  He has taken upon himself the mentoring of our youngest staff, more 
particularly. In the order that we have in many of the offices, you 
have levels of seniority, and oftentimes the younger staff, those who 
may have just graduated from college, come to Washington, DC, and they 
may be answering phones and they may be answering letters, but they 
don't feel like they have a real say in what is going on in the 
decisionmaking and are kind of out of the loop. And Fish--Fish decided 
that he was going to bring them into the loop with what he called 
``morning stand-ups.'' They were designed for the young legislative 
correspondents to come on in, and we will just kind of tell you what is 
going on. You can ask questions. We will talk about process. We will 
talk about issues. And they were not required meetings but more 
informational. I think now everybody comes to the morning stand-ups 
just because the communication that goes back and forth is so uplifting 
to so many.

  Because of the relationships and how he conducts himself, his level 
of professionalism, Fish is respected within the business community, 
the Native community, and by the political types. He has become viewed 
as one of these guys--if you want to talk about proposals where you are 
looking to bring Republicans and Democrats together, Fish is there. 
Fish is part of those discussions.
  He is engaged with the bipartisan chiefs. He works to build those 
relationships across the aisle--not because he is looking for something 
but because he knows that is how we are going to get something done. 
And when we can get something done that benefits Alaska, it is 
ultimately going to benefit all.
  He is a brilliant thinker--I mean, just a brilliant thinker with a 
strategic mind. He is one of these guys who can come up with things 
that I swear nobody else has thought about.
  I was reading an article--this is something that was published a few 
years ago by a former teacher and mentor of his from college, and this 
is from Lynn Paulson. It provides a quote from Fish talking about his 
educational background at Alaska Pacific University. He said: I have 
learned to think strategically in a way that is unique and invaluable 
and has allowed me to do anything, from developing financing for 
renewable energy programs to negotiating multibillion-dollar deals.
  Lynn Paulson goes on to say that Fish ``has the temperament to be in 
the middle of this highly charged and polarized arena and to emerge 
unruffled . . . supremely well informed and his trenchant logic.'' 
These are words that others have used to describe him.
  But when I think about how Fish will take an idea--whether it was 
from a constituent when we were working on the 2017 tax bill--and 
provide assistance to our Native corporations to be able to better 
utilize their resources, really brainstorming to come up with what we 
now have in law that we refer to as settlement trusts--Fish is one of 
those individuals who--you know his mind is just on fire all the time. 
But he doesn't present as ``I have the best idea, and you need to 
listen to me.'' He takes the good from so many. He builds and uplifts 
and empowers, and that is good leadership. That is management.
  Fish gets frustrated every now and again because not everybody 
communicates the way he does. Not everybody is a relationship builder. 
And he will say: Pick up the phone. Just go talk to the person. This 
building isn't that big. Put your device aside. Don't send a text. Get 
up from your desk, and go across and talk.
  That may be old school, but let me tell you, it has worked 
extraordinarily well for this man.
  I mentioned that Fish's passion is fishing; thus the name. He likes 
to spend a lot of quiet time on the river just out where it is cold and 
it is clear, or it is wet and you are with the water and you are with 
the fish, and I think it gives him a lot of time to do some just deep, 
deep thinking. He collects his thoughts. He is able to process and to 
really dream. So when he comes back to the real world where it is busy 
and loud, he has this reserve within him that he draws on, and it 
helps. It helps him present these ideas and the vision that he is able 
to articulate.
  But like all good Alaskans, we seem to find our way back home, like a 
salmon returning to its stream. And Fish is going to be returning. I 
have no doubt he will continue to do great things for the people he 
loves, and I think he knows that we love him and will miss him, as we 
will miss Brian Hughes and as we will miss so many great colleagues who 
will be leaving us at the end of this year. I have taken time on the 
floor today to recognize some of those individuals who make us as 
Members stronger and better able to do the jobs we do.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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