I think that John would have been proud of me on the afternoon that he passed. I was in the village of Savoonga, which is a small community--about 80… - Lisa Murkowski

There are so many things we can share about John, but really when I think about his legacy going forward, whether he is "Project Maverick," as my friend from South Carolina has said, or however we choose to remember him, I do hope that history will remember John as an institutionalist in the highest tradition of the Senate. John was committed to thoughtful debate and regular order. He was an effective committee chairman, respecting the interests of members on both sides. He managed his bills on the floor working hand-in-hand with the other side. These were tough bills. The annual Defense authorization bill draws something on the order of 600 amendments. He was always protective of committee prerogatives. He was known to put his foot down when appropriators sought to muscle out the authorizers. He was always looking toward compromise and bipartisanship.

In other areas, I don't believe that additional Federal lands and waters in Alaska should be placed off-limits. We already as a State hold more public lands than any other State, and by considerable degree. I don't believe our public land order removal process should be paused. This was an announcement that just came out of the Department of the Interior last week. They say they are pausing it, but effectively, it could be delayed or abandoned not just for these next 2 years going forward but permanently. What this effectively does is it creates almost de facto wilderness, if you will, because you have placed land in a limbo, in a purgatory for decades. Nobody can do anything with it as these PLOs, these public land orders remain in place. I note--no great secret around here--like most Alaskans, I strongly support our resource development industry and the men and the women who work within it. They are my friends. They are my neighbors. I fish with them. I recognize the importance and the value of what they do. I have worked hard here in the Senate and for a long time to ensure that the industry's continued centrality is allowed to prosper, not only because of them, the people I know, but because of what it means for our country, for our economy, our State's budget, our prosperity, and also for our environment.

When we had an opportunity to bring this to the floor earlier, there was a desire and an interest in making sure that we were focusing on our clean and renewable energy sector. We do that within that bill. It has been interesting because in the past several weeks, we have heard calls from Members of this body to prioritize a robust clean energy recovery plan. There was a letter from 24 Members of the Senate who urged Senate leadership to "prioritize a robust clean energy recovery plan." In their letter, they call for investments in renewable energy, energy storage, energy efficiency, clean vehicles, clean and efficient infrastructure, clean fuels, and workforce development. That sounds pretty much like what we included within our American Energy Innovation Act. I sent many of them just a quick letter detailing how our bill really does accomplish just that, including the specifics that focus on each of these priorities, and encourage them to help me pass it.