[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 59 (Monday, April 4, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E349-E350]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE DONALD EDWIN YOUNG

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. GARRET GRAVES

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 29, 2022

  Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record 
additional tributes from staff and friends of the late Rep. Don Young.


                             Michael Songer

     DY Senior Legislative Assistant & Defense Policy Advisor 
         (2017-2022)
       When it comes to the job, Congressman Young was the best 
     there ever was. I remember we were going to an event on Joint 
     Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) and due to a 
     miscommunication, there was no memo for the Boss. So, there I 
     was, hand writing a memo on the hood of a pickup truck, in a 
     JBER parking lot. If I am honest, when I finished the memo, I 
     was quite proud of myself. However, because of how good he 
     was at doing the job, he didn't even need to refer to the 
     memo. Without looking at that piece of paper, he conveyed a 
     hopeful message full of jokes, pride, and an eye toward the 
     future. His off the cuff remarks to that audience of 
     servicemembers were better than anything I could have 
     written.
       When you ask anyone who worked for Congressman Young about 
     their time working for ``The Boss,'' they will all have 
     numerous stories and experiences they will happily share. But 
     one thing they will all say is he was the best boss ever. 
     When I came on board, little did I know what the office and 
     the Boss would come to mean to me. Over 49 years, Team DY has 
     formed a family that has each other's backs. The Boss took a 
     chance on me and allowed me to join this family and I will 
     forever be grateful for the opportunity. I will miss him 
     greatly. But I know that when I look up at the sky and see a 
     raven flying, he's out there, watching over his family.


                        Nahali (Holly) R. Croft

     Team DY--Personal Staff (2008-2011)
       A lot has been said in the days since Congressman Young's 
     passing about how he was a tough, gruff fighter for Alaska. 
     I'm grateful to Congressman Garret Graves for allowing me to 
     share a memory that reinforces how important his constituents 
     always were.
       When I'd been newly promoted to Legislative Correspondent--
     a position in the Young office that handled a small portfolio 
     as training for taking on bigger issues once promoted to 
     Legislative Assistant--I turned in my first memo on 
     legislation in my purview being considered on the Floor that 
     day. To be honest, I was pretty proud of it. After all, I'd 
     read the information on the bill from our Whip's office, and 
     I'd consulted a few conservative think tanks for their 
     assessments as well. I handed the memo to the Legislative 
     Director, who approved it, and into the Congressman's office 
     I went, ready to give my vote recommendation. I handed 
     Congressman Young a copy of the memo, and he listened as I 
     went through the high points. Then, he sat back in his chair, 
     crossed his arms, and said, ``Okay, Miss Holly, now argue it 
     from the other side.''
       I must have given a shocked look because he chuckled, 
     ``It's important to know both sides. Just because we're 
     recommended to vote a certain way from our leadership doesn't 
     mean that we should.'' I think I must have continued to look 
     surprised, or perhaps confused, because I don't remember 
     responding before he continued, ``We need to choose what's 
     best for Alaska. That's not always what's best for the Lower 
     48. It makes me very unpopular at times with my colleagues, 
     and that's okay because I'm not here to represent them, am 
     I?''
       ``No,'' I admitted. At this point, I was again directed to 
     consider the Democrats' arguments on the issue, and on that 
     vote--my very first vote recommendation--he voted against my 
     original recommendation and with the Democrats because it 
     would better serve Alaskans. This was a valuable reminder 
     that constituents should come before party affiliation, and 
     it was something I carried with me well past my time in 
     Congressman Young's office. It also was a good reminder that 
     knowing a range of opinions is important for making informed 
     decisions.
       I worked for Congressman Young during this third decade of 
     service. At his funeral, I met some of the staff who were 
     working for him at his death. It was good to know that 
     nothing had changed since that day back in 2008. Alaskans 
     were always first with him, even until his last day.


           Drue Pearce, Former Alaska State Senate President

       From our first meeting in 1977 until our last, just days 
     before his death, Don Young was a mentor and friend for whom 
     I have the utmost respect. He was the only Alaska Congressman 
     I've ever known and he provided sage advice and counsel, 
     peppered with his unique exhortations to ``Think Big'' and 
     ``Work with everyone to get things done'', sometimes uttered 
     with some salty phrases included. Alaska and Alaskans could 
     not have asked for a better advocate and more forceful 
     singular voice in Congress--working for us 24/7/365 with a 
     laser focus on building the infrastructure necessary for our 
     future. Don Young will forever live in my heart and I will 
     forever be a ``Young Woman''.


                            Hillel Weinberg

     DY Legislative Assistant (1978-79)
       While I was a New Yorker, my resume (sent by the placement 
     office) got me an

[[Page E350]]

     interview and I was hired in 1978 as a legislative assistant. 
     (I used to tell people that Alaskans were Alaskans for a 
     reason and were typically uninterested in living in 
     Washington, unlike folks from some other parts of the 
     country.) I had some Hill experience but this was my first 
     full-time job. I was put to work on a lot of interesting 
     issues, such as ``Is a hovercraft REALLY a ``vessel'' for the 
     purposes of the Jones Act? Is there something we can do to 
     make them more available in the Bush?''
       Don was sympathetic to the Air Line Pilots Association, an 
     AFL-CIO union that was on strike against the then-dominant 
     intra-state carrier Wien Air Alaska over the issue of whether 
     there should be a third pilot in a Boeing 737. This issue was 
     critical to the union as a whole and the Wien pilots were 
     getting significant strike pay from the union, but it was 
     really costing the members. Because the rest of the employees 
     of the airline were organized by the (then-non-AFL-CIO) 
     Teamsters who did not respect the pilots' picket lines, the 
     airline had broken the strike and it was unclear how it could 
     be settled. President Carter refused to intervene under the 
     Railway Labor Act (yes, airlines are ``railways''). Don had 
     me work on a ``little amendment'' to the Airline Deregulation 
     Act that **required** the President to set up a board to try 
     to settle it--because, we explained, ``Alaska was 
     different.'' It had nothing to do with airline deregulation, 
     of course, but Don made things happen. The amendment was 
     enacted, a Presidential Emergency Board was appointed, and 
     eventually the pilots went back to work. (Unfortunately for 
     the union, the 3-pilot rule ended.)
       Aside from Don's many kindnesses to me both when I was 
     working and as we encountered one another through my own long 
     career on the Hill, what truly set him apart was his devotion 
     to his family. I had been exposed to a fair number of members 
     and the Hill culture, and I knew that many members either 
     enjoyed (or felt that they had to attend) the many receptions 
     and dinners that were available to them. They could be 
     entertaining and politically helpful. They were not for Don.
       The minute he possibly could, he was out of the office and 
     on his way to his place in Virginia to be with his family. 
     His values and his priorities were obviously in the right 
     place. He was devoted to his family in a truly exemplary way, 
     as we have heard in the tributes that have been paid to him 
     over the years and since his passing. That was the real Don 
     Young.


                               Bob Herron

     State Staffer, Station Bethel Delegation Office
       If Don gave you his word, even if it proved painful in the 
     future, his word was gold. A few quotes from Don Young:
       ``If I tell you the sky is blue, it's blue, and if the sun 
     is up, it's up, and there is no in-between.''
       ``Some other members of Congress put their fingers up to 
     see which way the wind is blowing.''


                  Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation

       ``On behalf of the Board of Directors and staff of the 
     Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation (CSF), we mourn the 
     passing of Congressman Don Young; a lifelong outdoorsman and 
     tireless champion for hunting and angling. Representative 
     Young was a founder, past Chairman and active Member of the 
     bipartisan Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, and was a 
     conservation giant, whose legacy will benefit future 
     generations of Americans. Our thoughts and prayers are with 
     family and friends, and the halls of Congress will miss his 
     larger than life personality,'' said CSF President & CEO Jeff 
     Crane.

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