Articles & Op-eds
LSTK: Wrangell mayor urges US Senate to keep federal funds flowing
by June Leffler
Alaska cities and boroughs can't develop or collect property taxes on federal land, but sometimes they've got a lot of it. The City and Borough of Wrangell, for instance, has just 2,500 people, but covers an area that's larger than Delaware. Wrangell Mayor Steve Prysunka testified in the U.S. Senate Thursday in favor of two federal programs that reimburse local governments for the public land in their backyard. Because of the Tongass National Forest, Prysunka said, more than 97 percent of his … Continue Reading
11.21.19
Senate Finally Advances Bills Addressing Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women
by Jennifer Bendery
It's taken all year, but the Senate finally inched forward with legislation on Wednesday that addresses a largely invisible crisis in America: Indigenous women and girls are going missing and being murdered. At least 506 Native American women and girls have gone missing or been killed in 71 U.S. cities, with 330 of those cases occurring since 2010, according to a November 2018 report by Urban Indian Health Institute. The institute says that 506 number is likely a gross undercount because of the … Continue Reading
11.21.19
Alaska Public Media: ‘Savanna’s Act’ advances in US Senate; Aimed at mending police response to violence against Native women
by Liz Ruskin
The Senate Indian Affairs Committee passed a bill Wednesday aimed at improving how law enforcement agencies deal with cases of murdered and missing indigenous women. Savanna's Act would require better data collection. It would provide training and technical assistance to tribes and local police and it would foster cooperation among agencies. The sponsor, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, says equally important to any provision within the bill's 14 pages is the message it sends to Native communities. "Becau… Continue Reading
11.20.19
Nextgov: Senate Committee Approves $250 Million to Fund the Electric Grid Security
by Jack Corrigan
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday advanced legislation that would devote hundreds of millions of dollars to securing the nation's power grid. The Protecting Resources on the Electric Grid with Cybersecurity Technology, or PROTECT, Act, would create a federal grant program to help small utilities companies strengthen the cyber protections on their infrastructure and more actively participate in information sharing efforts. Spearheaded by the Energy Department, the prog… Continue Reading
11.20.19
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: AK congressional delegation tours F-35 plant in Texas
by Alistair Gardiner
U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, and Congressman Don Young, all R-Alaska, toured Lockheed Martin's F-35 assembly plant in Fort Worth, Texas, on Monday, along with a group of military and community leaders from Interior Alaska. The group got to see the first F-35 aircraft that will eventually be stationed at Eielson Air Force Base starting in spring 2020. In response to concerns about the cost of sustaining the F-35 fleet, which were raised in a Government Accountability Office report… Continue Reading
11.19.19
E&E News: Panel approves LWCF, parks, revenue-sharing bills
by Kellie Lunney
A Senate panel this morning approved legislation to provide permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, reform offshore drilling revenue sharing and tackle the multibillion-dollar backlog in national parks. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee also reported out a flurry of bills that would boost funding for Department of Energy research and increase the department's focus on clean energy technologies. In addition, the committee approved the administration's nominat… Continue Reading
11.18.19
Bloomberg: Frankenfish,’ Stem Cells, Vaping Top Questions Facing FDA Pick
by Alex Ruoff
President Donald Trump's selection to be the next head of the FDA will face a barrage of questions this week about his views on vaping, oversight of stem-cell therapies and even "Frankenfish." Stephen Hahn, chief medical executive of the prestigious MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas in Houston, will go before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Wednesday for his first public hearing since being nominated to become commissioner of the Food and Drug Admin… Continue Reading
11.18.19
Morning Consult: Murkowski, 5 Other Senators Join Push for End of Nuclear Financing Ban
by Jacqueline Toth
Six U.S. senators are calling on the U.S. International Development Finance Corp. to rescind a ban on nuclear energy financing abroad as the agency takes shape, adding to a groundswell of supporters pressuring the government to free up financial assistance for civil nuclear projects. The prohibition "sends a harmful signal that American primacy in the civil nuclear sector is waning," wrote Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), ranking member Joe Manchin (D-W.Va… Continue Reading
11.15.19
KTVA: Murkowski concerned, urges action over Google health partnership
by Jennifer Summers
Sen. Lisa Murkowski is teaming up with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, to ask the Department of Health and Human Services to look into the partnership between tech giant Google and Ascension Health System over privacy concerns. The two senators wrote a letter urging the department to look into the collaboration, called Project Nightingale. The project allows Google employees access to the sensitive health record of nearly 50 million Americans. According to the letter to HHS Secretary Alex Aza… Continue Reading
11.14.19
Arctic Today: Alaska’s US senators push for a new Arctic shipping committee
by Melody Schreiber
A new formal advisory committee could be one way to consolidate existing but scattered discussions about the U.S. federal approach to Arctic ports and shipping - and lead to better policies. That's the promise behind a bill introduced last week by Alaska's two U.S. senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (both Republicans), to create an Arctic Shipping Federal Advisory Committee. The bill, which was also sponsored by Mississippi senator Roger Wicker, comes as Arctic maritime activity is on t… Continue Reading
11.14.19
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Murkowski queries officials from CDC, FDA about youth vaping
by Kyrie Long
At a Wednesday morning hearing, Sen. Lisa Murkowski addressed some of her concerns regarding rising e-cigarette use among youths and the outbreak of vaping-associated pulmonary illness, The Senate Committee on Health, Education Labor and Pensions' hearing, "Examining the Response to Lung Illnesses and Rising Youth Electronic Cigarette Use," addressed vaping and e-cigarette use in the United States. In Alaska, there has not been a confirmed case of vaping-associated pulmonary illness. However, … Continue Reading
11.14.19
Alaska Public Media: Energy secretary nominee says tiny nuclear reactors could power Alaska villages
by Liz Ruskin
President Trump's nominee to be the next secretary of energy says he would continue the quest to develop mini nuclear reactors that could one day power communities in rural Alaska. "We want to get to a place where we can develop small micro-reactors, one to five megawatts," Dan Brouillette said Thursday at his confirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate Energy Committee. The idea of nuclear reactors frightens many, but among their advantages is that they don't produce greenhouse gas emissions the … Continue Reading
11.13.19
KTUU: $25 Million Infrastructure Investment coming to Port of Alaska
by Gilbert Cordova
Part of Phase 1 of the Port of Alaska Modernization Program (PAMP) is getting funding from the Trump Administration. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao announced through the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Transportation Discretionary Grants program, an award of $25 million is coming to Anchorage to build a new petroleum and cement marine terminal. The petroleum and cement terminal project will replace an aging facility, specifically constructing a pil… Continue Reading
11.07.19
Juneau Empire: OPINION: Investing in fisheries pays off
by Senator Lisa Murkowski
Alaskans know just how essential fisheries are to life in the 49th state. The seafood industry is the largest direct employer in our state, providing 60,000 jobs and generating over $5 billion for Alaska's economy. Over 15 percent of Alaska's working age rural residents are employed by the industry. And commercial fisheries are a cultural and economic cornerstone in small communities across the state's 33,000 miles of shoreline. Alaska's seafood industry also provides for our nation. Catches in… Continue Reading
11.05.19
Alaska Public Media: Senate passes bill with funds for murdered and missing indigenous women
by Liz Ruskin
The U.S. Senate last week agreed to spend $6.5 million to tackle the epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women. It's a small line-item within a massive spending package, but it's one Sen. Lisa Murkowski is proud to have included. "That opens up funding to go … to investigate cold cases and just really put some energy behind this issue," Murkowski said. Spotty data makes it hard for researchers to quantify the killings and disappearances of Native women. The spending bill direct… Continue Reading
11.02.19
Alaska Native News: Fishermen Want Coast Guard Communications Channel Fixed
Commercial fishermen in Southeast Alaska say there is a critical breakdown in reliability of the Coast Guard channel they rely upon for updated weather reports and mayday calls, and they want it fixed. "We have a crisis in Coast Guard coverage of channel 16 here in Southeast (Alaska) with 35 percent of stations down and 45-50 percent of fishing grounds not monitored and no plan to restore them before 2024," said Linda Behnken, executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association (A… Continue Reading
11.02.19
KTVA :Fight continues to pass legislation for full military honors at veteran funerals
by Joe Vigil
Kathryn Sharp of Wasilla says it was tough trying to get full military honors for her husband Creig, a Vietnam veteran and retired Navy chief petty officer, when he died in 2018. Sharp says she is now running into more roadblocks making sure other families in Alaska and around the country don't face the same situation her family did. "When they sign on the dotted line to be in our military and fight for our country they sign up a blank check basically. Up to and including the cost of their liv… Continue Reading
11.01.19
KTVA: Murkowski urges action for missing, murdered Indigenous women on Senate floor
by Megan Mazurek
Sen. Lisa Murkowski spoke about the growing crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women on the Senate floor Thursday. She is urging action on the Not Invisible Act, a bill she helped introduce with Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Jon Tester, D-Mont., earlier this year. "Not Invisible Act designates an official to coordinate efforts across agencies and establishes a commission of local tribal and federal stakeholders to make recommendations to the Department of Interior and Depart… Continue Reading
10.28.19
Hydrogen Fuel News: New bill could speed up development of geothermal systems in the US
by John Max
AGILE Act geothermal energy bill introduced in the Senate. The Advanced Geothermal Innovation Leadership Act of 2019, also known as the AGILE Act, is a bill that was recently introduced in the Senate that seeks to accelerate the development of geothermal systems in the United States (US). Many believe geothermal could be a highly reliable zero-emissions source of energy for the country. The purpose of the AGILE Act would be to enhance the research and development of geothermal systems in seve… Continue Reading
10.28.19
Indian Country Today: The fix for Alaska's public safety crisis? Recognize tribal powers
by Joaqlin Estus
Legislation would make it clear Alaska Native tribes have the authority to fight domestic violence, sexual assault Congress is considering legislation that would recognize that Alaska tribes have the clear authority to fight the record rates of domestic violence and sexual assault. A bill introduced by US Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, would authorize five Alaska tribes, as a pilot project, to prosecute a limited number of offenses. The Alaska Tribal Public Safety Empowerment Act would give tr… Continue Reading
