Articles & Op-eds
Consumer Affairs: Four senators ask for FDA ban of cartridge-based e-cigarettes
by Mark Huffman
The anti-vaping drumbeat is getting louder in Washington, as four members of the U.S. Senate have asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to immediately ban the most popular kind of e-cigarette products from the market. The senators -- Dick Durbin (D-IL), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) -- cite the mysterious lung ailments that have been linked to e-cigarette use. In a letter to Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Ned Sharpless, the lawmakers call for the … Continue Reading
09.20.19
Daily Energy Insider: Senate hearing explores how minerals foster clean energy technologies
by Dave Kovaleski
The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing this week to examine the sourcing and use of minerals needed for clean energy technologies. "Minerals are the fundamental building blocks for any modern technology, but they don't just appear out of thin air," Committee Chair Sen Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said. "As our energy sector transitions to greater use of renewables, we must acknowledge that these technologies are built from materials that come from the ground. Batteries d… Continue Reading
09.19.19
Politico: Senate eyes e-cigarette crackdown
by Burgess Everett
The White House has its knives out for the e-cigarette industry - and so does Capitol Hill. Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) have penned a bill that largely tracks with President Donald Trump's crackdown on vaping, according to a draft obtained by POLITICO. The response from Congress comes amid health concerns over widespread use among teenagers of products such as e-cigarettes and vape oils that have been linked to deaths and illnesses in recent weeks. Merkley and Romney's… Continue Reading
09.18.19
Daily Energy Insider: Murkowski touts DOE secretary’s visit to Alaska
by Douglas Clark
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said the Department of Energy (DOE) Deputy Secretary's recent visit to Alaska provided an opportunity to see energy-related opportunities and challenges across the state. "This was a great opportunity for Dan to visit more of Alaska, to see firsthand how we contribute to our nation's energy security, and to learn about the innovation taking place throughout our state," Murkowski said regarding Deputy Secretary Dan Brouillette's visit. "I thank the Deputy Secretary fo… Continue Reading
09.18.19
KNOM: Sen. Murkowski Visits Brevig Mission, Teller, Wales; Hears Concerns About Housing & Sanitation
by Emily Hofstaedter
Senator Lisa Murkowski came through the Bering Strait region late last week, visiting three communities she has never been to before: Teller, Wales, and Brevig Mission. On her way back to Anchorage on Saturday, Murkowski told local leaders in Nome that her visits to rural Alaska help her communicate the region's unique needs with leaders in Washington. "In all honesty, I worry everyday about those very Alaska specific programs that we have… everything that is unique to us, I feel like I… Continue Reading
09.18.19
E&E News: Saudi attacks 'a teachable moment' — Murkowski
by Geof Koss and Jeremy Dillon
Senate Energy Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski is using this week's attacks on key Saudi Arabian oil processing facilities to try to tamp down congressional enthusiasm for tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to pay for non-energy purposes. During yesterday's closed-door GOP luncheon, the Alaskan Republican cited the Saudi attacks - which temporarily knocked about 5% of the world's daily oil production offline - to remind her colleagues and Vice President Mike Pence about the SPR's intended p… Continue Reading
09.18.19
Reuters: U.S. 'falling behind' in global race to develop electric vehicle supply chain
by Ernest Scheyder
The United States is losing the race to extract and refine minerals used to make electric vehicles and should do more to spur domestic production, a bipartisan group of senators said on Tuesday. The push comes as China has grown to dominate the market for lithium, rare earths, cobalt and other so-called strategic minerals used to make a plethora of consumer products, a dominance that politicians have said poses a strategic threat to the United States. The Senate's Energy and Natural Resources … Continue Reading
09.18.19
E&E News: Saudi attacks 'a teachable moment' — Murkowski
by Geof Koss and Jeremy Dillon
Senate Energy Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski is using this week's attacks on key Saudi Arabian oil processing facilities to try to tamp down congressional enthusiasm for tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to pay for non-energy purposes. During yesterday's closed-door GOP luncheon, the Alaskan Republican cited the Saudi attacks - which temporarily knocked about 5% of the world's daily oil production offline - to remind her colleagues and Vice President Mike Pence about the SPR's intended p… Continue Reading
09.13.19
KTVA: Feds: ANWR lease sale set for this year
by Steve Quinn
A lease sale to explore the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plan will take place before the year's end, a Bureau of Land Management director said on Wednesday. The announcement coincides with the Democratic-controlled House approving a measure that bans oil and gas drilling in ANWR while that morning. The lease sale is part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish two area-wide leasing, each not less than 400,000 acres. In a final … Continue Reading
09.13.19
KTVA: Murkowski supports, advances FY 2020 defense bill
by Bryan Dunagan
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Friday voiced approval and advanced the Defense Appropriations bill for the next fiscal year. Murkowski is a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. A release from from her office Friday morning states the bill features $1.7 billion in emergency funding for disaster relief, most notably for the effects of Hurricanes Florence and Michael. There are multiple initiatives for Alaska, including $960 million to pay for 59 F-35s, as well as 12 F-35As and pa… Continue Reading
09.12.19
Wall Street Journal: OPINION: Unlocking Arctic Energy Is Vital for Alaska—and America
by Lisa Murkowski, Dan Sullivan, and Don Young
This article is signed by Lisa Murkowski, Dan Sullivan and Don Young. This week the House of Representatives is set to consider measures that would restrict America's future energy supply, including one that would block responsible development in northeast Alaska. As the state's congressional delegation, we are unified in strong opposition and believe passage would be a reckless strategic mistake. The bill in question comes from a California representative and targets the non-wilderness 1002 A… Continue Reading
09.11.19
Wall Street Journal: OPINION: Unlocking Arctic Energy Is Vital for Alaska—and America
by By Lisa Murkowski, Dan Sullivan, and Don Young
This article is signed by Lisa Murkowski, Dan Sullivan and Don Young. This week the House of Representatives is set to consider measures that would restrict America's future energy supply, including one that would block responsible development in northeast Alaska. As the state's congressional delegation, we are unified in strong opposition and believe passage would be a reckless strategic mistake. The bill in question comes from a California representative and targets the non-wilderness 1002 A… Continue Reading
09.10.19
Manchester Ink Link:Senators press HHS for compliance, answers on whether we’re ‘turning a corner’ on opioid crisis
Following a recent preliminary report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicating a reduction in non-fatal opioid overdoes in 2018, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass) and Senator Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) sent a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) inquiring how the department is comprehensively measuring our progress in curtailing the nation's opioid epidemic. Along with Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), the Senators introduced last year the National Milestones to Me… Continue Reading
09.05.19
Alaska Journal of Commerce: Deputy secretary praises state energy research, pledges more partnerships
by Elwood Brehmer
Alaska companies and communities aiming to implement new energy technologies or just improve their energy efficiency could see more resources coming their way, according to one U.S. Department of Energy leader. Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said during an Aug. 28 press briefing in Anchorage that he wants the department to expand its current footprint in the state and provide more help to Alaskans working with energy technologies. That help could come in the form of additional technic… Continue Reading
09.04.19
Anchorage Daily News: Local agriculture helps Alaska’s economy, food security
by Senator Lisa Murkowski
Despite our giant pumpkins, Alaska isn't the first state people think of as a farm state. Yet Alaska's farmers, ranchers, nonprofits, tribes, schools and others are responsible for an escalating economic boom that is contributing to our food security. According to USDA's latest Census of Agriculture, the number of farms in Alaska has increased 30 percent between 2012 and 2017. Compared to the 3.2 percent decline in the Lower 48, that's remarkable. We have the highest percentage of new and b… Continue Reading
09.04.19
E&E News: 'We cannot wait.' Sinking Alaska village finds new home
by Geof Koss
NEWTOK, Alaska - The effects of climate change are apparent immediately after stepping off the plane in this small Yup'ik village that sits just inland from Alaska's west coast. A few yards from the dirt and gravel landing strip, the wooden boardwalk that serves as the village's road network undulates toward a landscape dotted with leaning telephone poles and dilapidated buildings, many of which rest slightly askew in the boggy terrain. As a caravan of four-wheelers carried a small group of vi… Continue Reading
08.23.19
Vietnam Plus: Vietnam seeks stronger partnership with US’s Alaska state
Vietnam and the US's Alaska are eyeing cooperation in green energy, liquefied natural gas, aquatic processing, aviation and maritime transport, tourism, education and training, according to Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc. Ngoc visited Alaska at the invitation of two Republican senators representing the state - Lisa Murkowski, head of the US Senate Committee for Energy and Natural Resources and Dan Sullivan, a member of the US Senate Committee on Armed Services, becoming the first Vietnamese a… Continue Reading
08.23.19
Anchorage Daily News: Alaska’s congressional delegation is looking into ‘troubling’ Pentagon decision to cancel missile project
by Alex DeMarban
Alaska's congressional delegation expressed concern Thursday about the Pentagon's decision to cancel a project designed to improve ground-based interceptor missiles, raising questions about additional missiles set to be housed at Fort Greely outside Fairbanks. The Pentagon canceled the Boeing contract for the project last week amid concerns about unstated design flaws associated with the missiles, which are designed to strike down incoming threats as North Korea, China and Russia take steps to … Continue Reading
08.21.19
Water Online: EPA Administrator Wraps Up Alaska Swing In Anchorage
Yesterday, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler wrapped up his visit to Alaska by meeting with Anchorage residents. He started off the day visiting EPA's Alaska Operations Office and meeting with EPA career employees in Alaska. He then delivered a keynote address at the Resource Development Council's luncheon with Senators Murkowski and Sullivan. He followed with a series of roundtable discussions with local tribal and conservation groups. "I thoroughly enjoye… Continue Reading
08.20.19
KTVF: EPA Administrator Wheeler listens to residents about air quality plan for Fairbanks
by Sara Tewksbury
The Fairbanks North Star Borough community has been working on air quality concerns for more than a decade. After years of non-attainment, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation has to provide a Serious State Implementation Plan or SIP, to the Environmental Protection Agency to show a path forward of how they are going to bring the borough into attainment with the Clean Air Act. Over the summer, ADEC collected public comment and formal testimony on their proposed draft of the Serious S… Continue Reading
