Articles & Op-eds
Anchorage Daily News: Alaska stands to benefit big with passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
by Alicia Siira, Rebecca Logan, Marleanna Hall, Kati Capozzi, Deantha Skibinski, Renee Limoge Reeve, Tessa Axelson and Joe Michel
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Alaska's infrastructure and economy and highlights the strong work our congressional delegation has done to advocate for Alaska families, workers and communities. Our diverse organizations keep Alaskans working by ensuring opportunities exist to develop our state's natural resource industries, including oil, mining, timber, seafood, tourism, transportation and construction. Add up all the families an… Continue Reading
10.20.21
Alaska tourism industry sees reasons for optimism in 2022 after a roller-coaster year
by Elwood Brehmer
A topsy-turvy visitor season for Alaska ended with plenty of optimism for 2022, according to industry leaders across the state. "Things continued to change. Even though I don't think our industry was in as much of a crisis mode as it was in 2020, I would say 2021, through the summer season, was really a mixed bag," Alaska Travel Industry Association CEO Sarah Leonard said. "Overall, we're super grateful that we had the economic activity that we did for 2021." This year's peak visitor season st… Continue Reading
09.29.21
OPINION: Alaska Journal of Commerce: Alaska’s clean energy leadership
by Senator Lisa Murkowski
In November 1969, Alaska made energy history by exporting the first cargo of American liquefied natural gas, shipping this new, cleaner form of energy to Asia and establishing ourselves as a low-carbon energy innovator. That first transit was the beginning of the longest-term export contract between the U.S. and Japan. Today a worldwide transition to climate-friendly energy is underway, and Alaska is well positioned to accelerate this global transformation. Because of hydrogen's net-zero carbo… Continue Reading
09.22.21
Anchorage Daily News: Alaska will greatly benefit from historic infrastructure bill
by Senator Lisa Murkowski
Several years ago, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave Alaska's infrastructure a C-minus grade. Their report reiterated what too many Alaskans know and face every day: our still-young state is deficient in water and wastewater, ports and harbors, marine transportation, energy and power infrastructure, and more. Even in our highest-graded areas - like roads and airports - Alaska still has plenty of room for improvement. One of the best ways to address these deficiencies is by bringing t… Continue Reading
09.20.21
KINY: Murkowski to introduce bill providing permanant exemption from PVSA for Alaska cruises
by KINY
Alaska U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski unveiled a new bill she will be introducing this week to permanently exempt Alaska cruise ships carrying more than 1000 passengers from the Passenger Vessel Services Act, or PVSA. According to a release from the Senator's office, Alaska hosted over 1.3 million visitors by way of cruise ships in 2019. That number came to a halt in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tourism industry in Alaska typically generates more than $214 million in state and municipal … Continue Reading
09.17.21
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Murkowski plans bill to buoy Alaska cruise ship tourism
by Linda F. Hersey
Sen. Lisa Murkowski plans to introduce a bill next week to permanently exempt Alaska-bound cruise ships from an 1800s federal law that forces them to stop in Canada. Murkowski said the new legislation waives a measure in the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA) that compels passenger cruise lines between the Lower 48 and Alaska to stop at a foreign port. Murkowski said the law has had the unintended consequences of "putting Alaskan businesses at the mercy of the Canadian government," which ban… Continue Reading
09.16.21
Royal Caribbean Blog: Alaska Senator introduces bill to permanently allow cruise ships to sail to Alaska without stopping in Canada
by Matt Hochberg
A new bill aims to permanently circumvent U.S. cabotage laws so that cruise ships can always visit Alaska without needing to stop in Canada. U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) announced on Wednesday she will introduce a new bill to Congress that would permanently allow foreign flagged cruise ships to sail to Alaska without having to stop in Canada by creating a permanent exemption from the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA). At the onset of the global health crisis, Canada banned cruise ship… Continue Reading
09.16.21
Wrangell Sentinel: Murkowski sees opportunities for Wrangell in infrastructure funding
by Larry Persily
Though its passage is uncertain amid partisan battles in Congress and even disagreements among the majority-holding Democrats, the trillion-dollar infrastructure bill could be an opportunity for federal help with costly improvements to Wrangell's water system. However, all communities in Alaska "have to be honest in regard to timing," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who visited Wrangell last weekend. In addition to waiting on Congress to decide on the legislation, "we know what it means to bring a (b… Continue Reading
09.07.21
KSFK: Infrastructure bill could boost ferries, energy projects in Southeast
by Katie Anastas
The Senate passed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill last month. Now, the House of Representatives is set to vote on it at the end of September. As Katie Anastas reports, participants in a recent town hall forum see the bill's potential for funding ferries and energy projects in Southeast Alaska. The House hasn't passed the infrastructure bill just yet. And President Biden will still need to sign it into law. Kaleb Froehlich, Senator Lisa Murkowski's chief of staff, called the bill hi… Continue Reading
08.30.21
Peninsula Clarion: Murkowski pushes to reauthorize heritage site
by Ashlyn O'Hara
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski is working to reauthorize the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area through 2036, per a Monday release from Murkowski's office. The Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area is one of only 55 NHAs in the United States and is the only one in Alaska. It was originally created through the Omnibus Lands Act in 2009, and is currently set to terminate in 2024. NHAs are "places where natural, cultural, and historic resources combine to form a cohesive… Continue Reading
08.21.21
Anchorage Daily News: Alaska gets a much-needed win with the federal infrastructure bill
by Anchorage Daily News Editorial Board
During the past several months, there's been so much partisan rhetoric thrown out about the federal infrastructure bill that Alaskans can be forgiven any confusion about what's in it - and what isn't. Ironically, the bill has been assailed by hardcore activists on the left and right alike, though for opposite reasons. And when a bipartisan spending bill has too little to satisfy the far left and too much to win approval of the far right, odds are it's settled on a medium that those of us in betw… Continue Reading
08.18.21
KTOO: Energy secretary praises Alaska’s innovation in renewables
by Liz Ruskin
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm visited Fairbanks and Anchorage this week to learn about how Alaska communities are innovating to produce renewable energy. "What those communities need, given the shifting nature of the permafrost, etc., and what they will need going into the future," she told reporters on Monday. "But then how those solutions could also be solutions for like Puerto Rico - you know, that kind of creating a space that can be incredibly resilient from all manner of weather… Continue Reading
08.15.21
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Energy Secretary to Alaska: 'You have the solutions'
by Linda F. Hersey
Alaska's clean energy innovations have national and global implications for how America responds to climate change and natural disasters. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski delivered that message firsthand Sunday to U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, who was in greater Fairbanks to see research facilities and talk with scientists on the forefront of discovering and deploying solutions to real-world problems. "We know in Alaska that we have been pioneering for a long time. But I don't think that… Continue Reading
08.10.21
Anchorage Daily News: Here’s how the Senate infrastructure bill would benefit Alaska
by Alex DeMarban, James Brooks
The $1 trillion infrastructure bill passed Tuesday by the Senate is being called a historic effort to invest in the nation's roads, broadband and utilities. The bill must still pass the House, and there's no specific timeline for when that will happen. The measure includes specific items for Alaska across a variety of categories, according to the bill's language and details from Republican Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who was part of a bipartisan group of senators who helped create it. … Continue Reading
08.06.21
Alaska's News Source: Murkowski highlights how Alaska could benefit from infrastructure bill
by Taylor Clark
Whether it be roads, waterways or airports, Alaska has some of the most unique infrastructure needs in the country. They are not cheap to maintain or build. In a recent announcement, Sen. Lisa Murkowski highlighted how the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act could benefit the state. There is a lot included in the some 2,700 pages of the bill. It calls for a lot of federal money to be spent improving all forms of infrastructure with $550 billion across the nation. It's now headed to the U.S. … Continue Reading
08.06.21
KYUK: Y-K Delta Victims Shelters Relieved After Federal Funding Is Restored
by Greg Kim
Victim advocacy centers in the region are breathing a sigh of relief after President Joe Biden signed the VOCA Fix Act on July 22. The act will reverse severe federal funding cuts sustained by shelters and advocacy centers earlier this year. In April, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta's two largest victim advocacy centers received news that they called devastating. Bethel's Tundra Women's Coalition and the Emmonak Women's Shelter learned that they would lose about a third of their federal funding from… Continue Reading
08.06.21
Homer News: ‘An investment in our country’
by Ashlyn O'Hara
Alaska stands to benefit from congressional efforts to bolster the nation's infrastructure, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski told Alaska reporters during a remote press conference Thursday. The U.S. Senate voted last Wednesday to begin debate on the legislation, which includes $550 billion in new federal investment in infrastructure, including roads, ports, bridges, rail and broadband. Murkowski, a Republican, emphasized Thursday the bipartisan nature of the legislation now up for consideration by the… Continue Reading
08.05.21
OPINION: Maintaining the best military presence for Alaska and the world
by Senator Lisa Murkowski
Last weekend the Interior caught a glimpse of our military's airpower capabilities as Eielson Air Force Base hosted the Arctic Lightning Air Show. Alaskans had the opportunity to watch in awe as pilots and crews showcased the power, speed and agility of our country's incredible aircraft. It's always a sight that humbles me as an American. While airshows are stunning displays of military might, they are also visceral and visual reminders of what our military does and what our military needs to pr… Continue Reading
07.29.21
Anchorage Daily News: Murkowski touts money for Alaska projects in bipartisan infrastructure bill
by Alex DeMarban
A trillion-dollar bipartisan infrastructure proposal in Congress contains large amounts of funding to improve Alaska highways, water and wastewater systems, broadband services and other facilities, Sen. Lisa Murkowksi, R-Alaska, said on Thursday. Murkowski, part of a 10-member group of Republicans and Democrats who helped fashion the proposal, said it will especially support states like Alaska that have lagged behind in basic facilities. "We've really focused on ensuring that those parts… Continue Reading
07.29.21
Juneau Empire: Murkowski: Alaska’s needs addressed in infrastructure bill
by Peter Segall
Alaska will be well taken care of if a massive infrastructure bill currently being crafted in the U.S. Senate passes Congress, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, told reporters Thursday in a news conference with Alaskan media. A bill being negotiated by a bipartisan group of senators, Murkowski among them, and President Joe Biden was taken up by the Senate Wednesday and contains roughly $1 trillion in investments for the nation's infrastructure. In a phone call from Washington, Murkowski told repo… Continue Reading
