[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 56 (Wednesday, March 30, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H3980-H3981]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         DON YOUNG REMEMBRANCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. O'Halleran) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. O'HALLERAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of my friend, 
Congressman Don Young. Don passed away last week while traveling home 
to Alaska.
  At the age of 88, he was still traversing this Nation to serve his 
constituents. He stood up for the needs, concerns, and families, both 
here on the House floor, and out in the wildlands of his beloved State.
  Don was a fierce fighter for Alaska. But he was also a genuine man 
who worked on both sides of the aisle with Members, advocates, and 
people of all ideologies and backgrounds to improve the lives of the 
families he represented, never letting Washington politics get in his 
way.
  During his decades in Congress, Don advocated for Alaska Native 
tribes,

[[Page H3981]]

rural communities, and the success of all of Alaska--from its economy, 
to its lands, and the issues everyday families talked about over 
dinner. Rough around the edges at times, that is the way he wanted to 
be. That is just who he was. Like the vast and wild State he 
represented, Don was never one to back down from what he believed. 
Again and again, he put in the work to get things done.
  Beyond his words, his accomplishments, his work, Don was genuine. All 
you had to do was to sit down with him in his office and understand how 
he had a story for almost everything, from his time in the Yukon River 
on tugboats, to hunting, to just enjoying life and his family. He was 
genuine. He was real. And more than anything else, he was my friend. I 
will miss him deeply. We always miss good people like that, people that 
really have an impact on our lives personally and the lives of people 
that he represented and the lives of his family. He was a good, real 
person.
  Last fall, I shook hands on a friendly wager with Don for Alaska's 
Katmai National Park's Fat Bear Week. I never had that type of a bet 
with Don before, and I didn't know much about bears. We agreed with 
each other that whichever Congressman chose the bear that went further 
in the annual competition he would win a district product from the 
other's home district. And when my bear won--well, obviously, I was 
surprised. Don told me that I would never have a chance of winning at 
all because I knew nothing about bears, but I got lucky. And he smiled, 
as only Don could do. Don was true to his word. He brought me back a 
jar of smoked salmon from Alaska.
  Yesterday, I joined Members on both sides of the aisle as we paid our 
respects to his life and legacy in the Capitol. I could tell a lot of 
stories about Don, but when I was a freshman here, I went to him--he 
had this unique ability to work on Native American issues--and I said 
to him, I have a little bit of a problem here with some issue in trying 
to find some votes. We sat and talked for a while. He said, give me a 
few minutes. And the next thing you knew, about 5 minutes later, he 
came back, and he said, Well, you have got your votes. Let's get this 
thing passed.
  As the dean of the House, Don set an example for all of us to follow: 
Respecting one another; honoring one another; working with one another. 
I was honored to work across the aisle from him to uplift the Tribal 
communities, our rural communities, and often-overlooked States. He was 
so passionate about rural America. He was so passionate about the 
quality of life that he had up in Alaska. He went back there each and 
every time, back and forth because of his love for his State.
  Madam Speaker, today, my thoughts are with his wife Anne, his 
children, and with the State of Alaska, who have lost an advocate and a 
giant.

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