WASHINGTON (AP) – Congress may have fled town ahead of a snowstorm, but the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee didn’t let sabotage a scheduled hearing on – drum roll, please – the Arctic.
With falling snow providing a suitable backdrop, senators heard testimony on economic, environmental and other issues in the far north from the State Department’s special representative for the Arctic, Admiral Robert J. Papp Jr., and officials from Alaska and elsewhere.
Was it coincidence that the intrepid committee, which plowed ahead with its hearing on a day when most Capitol offices were shuttered – is led by an Alaskan? Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski?
Unclear. But for good measure, Murkowski announced that she and Sen. Angus King, a Maine independent, were forming the Senate Arctic Caucus, an informal group of lawmakers – call it a circle? – who want to focus attention on the region’s economic and strategic significance.
Lest the impression be left that Thursday’s hearing was only for those accustomed to wintry weather, one lawmaker who slogged through town to attend was Sen. Mazie Hirono. The Hawaii Democrat wore her snowflake-covered coat as a badge of courage.
“I think those of us who are here should get a gold star for showing up,” she said.