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“TRIBUTE TO NATHAN BERGERBEST” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S7202-S7203 on Dec. 19, 2019.
The State Department is responsibly for international relations with a budget of more than $50 billion. Tenure at the State Dept. is increasingly tenuous and it's seen as an extension of the President's will, ambitions and flaws.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO NATHAN BERGERBEST
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to honor a long-time Senate staffer who recently retired, Nathan Bergerbest.
Many Members and staff who have worked on judiciary, military and veterans, homeland security, public safety, foreign relations, intelligence, or Native American issues and national and international disasters likely had the opportunity to work with Nathan during the 16 years he served the people of Alaska and the Nation. I am sure that many can share stories of the help Nathan offered, ideas he pushed to fruition, and wise counsel he provided. My statement today will offer just a slice of the many contributions this accomplished man has made in the lives of so many.
Nathan began his interest in good public policy and politics at a young age growing up in New York City. I believe he once said that he got involved in his first political campaign in elementary school because he was searching for the candidate who could improve his neighborhood. His quest for what was right, what was fair, and what was useful public policy has never subsided.
An attorney, Nathan has been a litigator, represented an Alaska Native regional corporation, and worked at FEMA. He started in my office in 2003 as legislative assistant and retired as senior counsel and deputy chief of staff. Throughout his service here in the Senate, Nathan was the quintessential Senate staffer--working late, knowing his subject cold, understanding the ways of the Senate and navigating them brilliantly.
His portfolio was huge, complex, and important. Yet he never shirked from pitching in where he could be useful. Nathan served not only as a mentor to young staffers in my office but as the conscience of Federal agency employees, military personnel, and elected leaders--constantly challenging us to do better, to be better versions of ourselves.
While a tribute from a former employer is always gratifying, Nathan made a lasting impression on so many who have worked here in the Senate over the years. I would like to share some of their stories. Several of the military fellows who have served in my office and worked closely with Nathan shared these words:
Nathan was part of the original group that came to be known as the Fairbanks Tiger Team, leading the red-shirted charge with the Fairbanks community against the Air Force's proposed plan to remove the F-16 Aggressor Squadron from Eielson Air Force Base. He rallied community leaders, helped leverage the effort on the Defense Appropriations Committee, and ultimately helped the Alaska delegation save Eielson. Then, only a year later, he worked to support the Alaska delegation's strong push to bring the F-35 to Eielson. In just over a year, the delegation was able to take Eielson from a near-shuttered installation, to one that will soon have the most capable fighter aircraft in the world, with significant infrastructure investment to support it.
The Tiger Team still meets over telephone or in person every other Friday to discuss housing and other local community issues related to the military. The team has evolved over the years with new members joining and old members retiring or moving to different lines of work. Nathan will be missed on these calls but his legacy will be forever forged in the Fairbanks community and the national defense of our country.
New commanders coming to Washington, DC, for their Hill visits would often ask my military and veterans affairs liaison in Anchorage for advice about how to prepare. The advice they received was ``Don't try to BS Nathan, because he'll be able to sniff it out.'' Several of these commanders were relieved when the meeting with Nathan was over.
But Nathan would bend over backwards to help the military or a servicemember. ``A Colonel who served in Alaska attributed Nathan for saving his career. He didn't give any details. Only that he owed him everything.'' That is just like Nathan--to do good for an American and move on to the next task.
Nathan was a true friend to the Alaska National Guard as well, very close to the Adjutant Generals, and always quick to help support their needs or tout their accomplishments.
Nathan was extremely proud that Alaska boasts the highest rate of veterans per capita and worked to ensure strong representation of the Total Force military and veteran communities, always working to advance veterans' rights and benefits. His efforts helped lead to improvements in VA hospitals in Alaska as well as advances in telemedicine and other support to veterans in remote Alaskan communities.
Public safety and support for law enforcement were always priorities for Nathan. He helped to lead collaborative efforts among the Federal agencies and State and local law enforcement to keep drugs out of Alaskan communities, and he never missed honoring the fallen at the National Fallen Officers Memorial ceremonies. He cared deeply for all those who put themselves in harm's way.
While he was a policy expert in so many areas, Nathan was never one to ignore a plea for help from an individual Alaskan. There are countless examples of ``casework'' that he took on in addition to his legislative duties. From arranging military honors for veterans' funerals, persuading the Canadian Border Security Agency to reinstate 24-hour border crossings between Hyder, AK, and British Columbia, ensuring Alaskans' concerns were heard by the Navy prior to Northern Edge exercises, protecting National Guard members from retaliation during an investigation of sexual misconduct complaints, improving the standard of care at VA medical facilities, or any number of efforts, Nathan started with the question ``What does the individual need?'' and went about getting it done. In many instances, Nathan would help my staff in Alaska navigate the bureaucracy to help solve an Alaskan's problem.
A former attorney for FEMA, Nathan was also the Alaska delegation's go-to staffer whenever disaster struck. After the November 2018 earthquake struck Anchorage, Mat-Su, and the Kenai Peninsula, Nathan helped disentangle municipalities, school districts, business owners, and individuals from the byzantine red tape that often characterizes FEMA. In call after call, Nathan translated FEMA's language and policies for Alaskans and worked with FEMA officials to do a better job assessing and responding to the damage. When FEMA sought to respond to a flood in Galena but lacked a sense of the challenges of rural Alaska, Nathan helped prod and guide the agency in improving the response.
Nathan took the same sense of dedication to his work on Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian issues. Leading Alaska tribal rights attorney Lloyd Miller called Nathan ``one of the most knowledgeable and talented lawyers to ever work on the Hill. He combined an unmatched mastery of Alaska Native legal history with a deep sensitivity to Alaska Native issues gained from working inside one of the major Alaska Native regional corporations. And while his background before coming to the Hill was predominantly with Alaska Native corporations, he was equally knowledgeable about the unique challenges confronting Alaska Native Tribes, and the importance of supporting the critical role that Alaska Tribes play alongside their corporations. Nathan's remarkable intellect and sage advice will be deeply missed.''
Over the years, as protestors filled the halls of Capitol Hill and individual offices, Nathan would stay late to talk with those who visited my office. He would sit with them for long periods and talk about how they can best navigate the issues, and how they, as advocates, could best approach offices for meetings and how they can present their issues in such a way that they were truly being heard on both sides of the aisle. On at least one or two occasions, I have seen him go and literally sit on the floor with protestors outside of my office for an hour or two--just listening to what they had to say so that he could ensure I understood the concerns of Americans who are so passionate about the important issues of the day.
No matter what the time of day or day of the week, Nathan made himself available to me, to other members of my staff, and to Alaskans. As my constituent services director in Anchorage put it, ``I remember one time in particular in 2011 where he and I each took 12-hour shifts around the clock so we could help Alaskan constituents after the 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of Japan. A massive tsunami was triggered that flooded Japan's coastal communities and damaged infrastructure. We spent several days in communication with constituents stranded in Japan that were trying to navigate the treacherous environment, communicate with the State Department, and ultimately obtain transportation home. He was also helpful in working with stranded Alaskan constituents after the 2015 severe earthquake in Nepal. He reached out to the lobbyist for Orbitz, since many of the foreign air carriers on their website raised prices drastically when trying to book flights out of Nepal after the earthquake.''
There are so many stories illustrative of Nathan's positive influence here in the U.S. Senate and in Alaska.
I thank Nathan Bergerbest for his service to Alaska and the Nation and wish him well.
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