Articles & Op-eds
KTUU: Murkowski 1 of 10 GOP senators who met with Biden on pandemic relief
by Marlise Irby
In an interview after the meeting, Murkowski said she does not believe the partisan outcome is the best way to start this "new age in Washington." Murkowski said, in the past year, Congress has passed five bipartisan bills totaling an amount in excess of $4 trillion. "We need to push out more when it comes to vaccine procurement, we need to move on that, we need to do more to avoid the unemployment cliff in March, we agree with that," said Murkowski. One topic that Murkowski said she brought … Continue Reading
02.01.21
Associated Press: Biden, Democrats hit gas on push for $15 minimum wage
by Kevin Freking
The Democratic push to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour has emerged as an early flashpoint in the fight for a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, testing President Joe Biden's ability to bridge Washington's partisan divides as he pursues his first major legislative victory. Biden called for a $15 hourly minimum wage during his campaign and has followed through by hitching it to a measure that, among other things, calls for $1,400 stimulus checks and $130 billion to help schools … Continue Reading
02.01.21
Anchorage Daily News: Murkowski among group of Republican senators who met with Biden to urge smaller COVID-19 relief package
by James Brooks
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski met with President Joe Biden on Monday, joining a group of nine other Republican U.S. Senators in asking the president to consider a smaller COVID-19 relief package than his own $1.9 trillion proposal. "None of us walked away saying, 'OK, there's a deal to be had here,'" Murkowski said, "But what I think our group of 10 walked away with and what I hope the President and the Vice President walked away with, was there was a good, honest, open, frank discussion about iss… Continue Reading
01.31.21
Associated Press: Biden to meet with GOP lawmakers to discuss virus relief
by Aamer Madhani
President Joe Biden is set to meet Monday afternoon with a group of 10 Republican senators who have proposed spending about one-third of the $1.9 trillion he is seeking in coronavirus aid, though congressional Democrats are poised to move ahead without Republican support. An invitation to the White House came hours after the lawmakers sent Biden a letter Sunday urging him to negotiate rather than try to ram through his relief package solely on Democratic votes. The House and Senate are on track… Continue Reading
01.29.21
Utility Dive: Lawmakers press DOE head nominee Granholm over potential job, revenue losses in fossil fuel sector
by Robert Walton
Dive Brief: Republican and Democrat Senators on Wednesday pressed former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm for assurance that the clean energy transition will not lead to a segment of Americans being "left behind" by the nascent green economy. Granholm is President Biden's pick to lead the U.S. Department of Energy. At her confirmation hearing, she told the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources that the administration's clean energy plan could lead to the creation of 10 million jobs… Continue Reading
01.28.21
Must Read Alaska: Murkowski politely explains to new Energy Secretary that Alaska is ‘resource anchor’
by Suzanne Downing
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee gavel passed from Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska to Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia Wednesday, just in time for the hearing on the nomination of former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm as the new Energy Secretary for the Biden Administration. Because the Senate was still organizing under Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Murkowski gaveled in the meeting and conducted it as her final day as chair of the committee. During the confirmation hea… Continue Reading
01.25.21
New York Times: Murkowski rules out switching parties to join Democrats, saying, ‘I can’t be somebody that I’m not.’
by Emily Cochrane
Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, said on Friday that she was committed to remaining a Republican, calling liberal aspirations that she might switch parties and hand Democrats an edge in the evenly divided Senate "a dream by some that will not materialize." Ms. Murkowski, a vocal critic of former President Donald J. Trump who has indicated she is open to convicting him at his impeachment trial for his role in egging on the violent mob that stormed the Capitol, had raised questions a… Continue Reading
01.24.21
Peninsula Clarion: Murkowski co-sponsors bipartisan bill to affirm ratification of Equal Rights Amendment
by Michael S. Lockett
Sen. Lisa Murkowski announced Friday she would co-sponsor a bipartisan bill with a Maryland senator to remove the ratification deadline for the long-floated Equal Rights Amendment. Murkowski, R-Alaska, along with Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., submitted the bipartisan bill as their first bipartisan legislation of the 117th Congress. "The required 38 states have ratified the ERA," Murkowski said in the news release. "Congress must not stand in the way of finally enshrining equality for women into our … Continue Reading
01.19.21
Must Read Alaska: Murkowski to chair ‘Fire Services Caucus’
by Suzanne Downing
She may no longer be chair of the powerful Energy and Natural Resources Committee as of Jan. 20, but Sen. Lisa Murkowski is landing on her feet. Alaska's senior senator has been named the chair of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus. The caucus works to support the nation's firefighters. It's likely the first of many such appointments that the Murkowski will announce in coming days as the new Senate and House organizations take shape. "I will continue to advocate for the health & safety… Continue Reading
01.15.21
Juneau Empire: Murkowski on impeachment: ‘I will listen carefully’ to both sides
by Peter Segall
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said in a news release Thursday that she had not decided how she would vote when President Trump's impeachment trial reaches the Senate. "When the Article of Impeachment comes to the Senate, I will follow the oath I made when sworn as a U.S. Senator. I will listen carefully and consider the arguments of both sides, and will then announce how I will vote," Murkowski said in the statement. Murkowski became the first Republican senator to call for Trump to r… Continue Reading
01.15.21
Delta Discovery: Senators Murkowski and Sullivan Advance Clean Energy Policies – More Work to Come In The New Congress
by Stephanie Haydn
This year, Republicans in Congress led the charge to pass pro-growth clean energy policies that support a more sustainable environment and competitive economy. As more leaders join in to collaborate on sensible climate solutions, policies out of Washington are becoming increasingly bipartisan. For example, the introduction of the Trillion Trees Act in the Senate was a notable effort by Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) and Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) to reduce carbon emissions and build an effective fore… Continue Reading
01.13.21
KTUU: Sen. Lisa Murkowski: Trump committed an impeachable offense; it would be ‘appropriate’ to bar him from holding office again
by Sean Maguire
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski believes that President Donald Trump has committed an impeachable offense by inciting an attack against the U.S. Capitol and said that it would be "appropriate" to bar him from holding office again. As Murkowski spoke from Washington D.C., the U.S. House of Representatives was debating and preparing to vote on an article of impeachment that charged the president with "inciting violence against the government" on Jan. 6. Comparing this impeachment process to Trump's fir… Continue Reading
01.13.21
KTUU: would be ‘appropriate’ to bar him from holding office again
by Sean Maguire
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski believes that President Donald Trump has committed an impeachable offense by inciting an attack against the U.S. Capitol and said that it would be "appropriate" to bar him from holding office again. As Murkowski spoke from Washington D.C., the U.S. House of Representatives was debating and preparing to vote on an article of impeachment that charged the president with "inciting violence against the government" on Jan. 6. Comparing this impeachment process to Trump's fir… Continue Reading
01.13.21
Alaska Journal of Commerce: Congress pays for another icebreaker, authorizes more
by Elwood Brehmer
Congress paid for a second new heavy icebreaker among its year-end spending flurry and also helped Nome move one step closer to having a place to moor it. Inside the federal budget portion omnibus spending package that also included the second round of COVID-19 aid money and Sen. Lisa Murkowski's energy reform bill is $555 million for the U.S. Coast Guard to spend on another icebreaker, or a polar security cutter in Coast Guard parlance. Sen. Dan Sullivan said in a press briefing following the… Continue Reading
01.06.21
Alaska Journal of Commerce: Murkowski energy bill crosses finish line
by Elwood Brehmer
Tucked amongst the 5,500-some pages of legislation with more than $2 trillion in spending and COVID-19 aid that President Donald Trump signed last month was one of Sen. Lisa Murkowski's biggest policy accomplishments, but according to Murkowski, that's sort of how she wanted it. The 532 pages of the year-end omnibus spending bill that comprise the Energy Act of 2020 culminate almost six years of work, procedural hang-ups and near-victories for Murkowski, who credited her staff for their continu… Continue Reading
01.06.21
Anchorage Daily News: Alaska congressional delegation safe, denounces riotous invasion of Capitol
by James Brooks
The three members of Alaska's congressional delegation were unharmed after Wednesday's invasion of the U.S. Capitol by violent supporters of President Donald Trump hoping to overturn his electoral defeat in the presidential election. As they returned to a joint session of the U.S. House and Senate on Wednesday evening, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said he was prepared to vote to accept the victory of Democratic President-elect Joe Biden. "I want to thank the courageous work of our law enf… Continue Reading
12.09.20
Utility Dive: Senate works to pass comprehensive energy bill in 2020 as renewables sector vies for more aid
by Catherine Morehouse
Dive Brief: The Senate is continuing to struggle through negotiations on the landmark American Energy Innovation Act first introduced by Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., early in the year, but still hopes to pass it this year, according to Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. If passed, the bill would likely be a slimmed down version of what Democrats and the clean energy industry want to see in a comprehensive energy bill, and Democrats are urging President-elect Joe Biden… Continue Reading
12.09.20
Alaska Public Media: Moderates unite in U.S. Senate, beating path to Murkowski’s door
by Liz Ruskin
Moderates in Congress, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski, may finally be having their day. Or so it would seem with a COVID-19 relief bill gaining momentum in the Capitol after months of partisan stalemate. "It came together when a group of eight people said, 'There's got to be a better way,'" Murkowski said. The bipartisan critical mass came together at her place in D.C., she said, after Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., suggested they meet away from the Capitol. "You can't go to a restaurant right now.… Continue Reading
12.09.20
Home News: Seawatch: Young fishermen’s act praised
by Christy Fry
The Alaska Marine Conservation Council is touting the passage of the Young Fishermen's Development Act passed by the U.S. Senate, a major milestone for policy that had a companion bill passed in the House of Representatives and which AMCC has spent years advocating for. News of promising COVID-19 vaccine trials even offers glimmers of hope for future in-person events. The bipartisan bill, championed by Alaska Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, both Republicans, and Democratic Senator Ed… Continue Reading
12.09.20
JD Supra: Marine Plastic Pollution
by Blank Rome
As the inveterate pundit Pogo once said, "We have met the enemy and he is us." This could very well be said for our disposable society, which uses and disposes tons of plastic in ways that are not wise and negatively impact the health of our oceans and sea life within. Although many reports focus on larger plastics, microplastics, which go largely unnoticed, are also wreaking havoc on our oceans. Microplastics are small pieces of plastic that come from a variety of sources, both from degradation… Continue Reading
