Articles & Op-eds
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
08.20.19
KTVF: Vertical grow towers work to improve food security in Alaska; across the country
by Sara Tewksbury
At the Chena Hot Springs 'Renewable Energy Fair,' energy leaders gathered to talk about new ideas and inventions. One invention on display that is not new to Chena Hot Springs is the vertical grow tower. Bernie Karl, co-owner of Chena Hot Springs, created this 'do it yourself' version of a vertical grow tower to share with the community and he says it's designed so third and four graders can build it. "Because we want to spark young people's imagination. We want them to bug their parents, they … Continue Reading
08.19.19
E&E News: Murkowski draft bill supports fossil fuel financing
by Jeremy Dillon
The top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee this morning released a discussion draft of legislation that would require the Treasury Department to formally oppose efforts at multilateral development banks to move away from fossil fuel investments. The draft provision from Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is part of legislation meant to incorporate more energy considerations into the Export-Import Bank of the United States reauthorization debate ahead of a Sept. 30 deadl… Continue Reading
08.16.19
Peninsula Clarion: A conversation with the senator
by Victoria Petersen and Brian Mazurek
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski visited the Kenai Peninsula on Wednesday. In between visiting the Alaska Municipal League summer conference, hearing an update from fire crews on the Swan Lake Fire and attending the Jr. Classic at the Kenai River, Murkowski sat down with the Clarion to share her thoughts on issues facing the state and area. Permanent fund dividend While the Alaska Permanent Fund dividend is a state issue, Murkowski said she's been paying attention to ongoing conversations regarding th… Continue Reading
08.16.19
Oil & Gas Intelligence: Murkowski discussion draft addresses US overseas project financing
by Nick Snow
US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Lisa Murkowski (R-Alas.) issued a discussion draft of legislation that includes provisions that would direct the US to use its influence to discourage international finance organizations from discriminating against proposed oil and gas and other fossil fuel projects. "In this era of strategic energy competition, we must strengthen our tools of statecraft through a rational, long-term approach. What I have released today outlines the means t… Continue Reading
08.16.19
KTVA: Inside the Gates: Getting military kids fishing on the Kenai
by Scott Gross
Fishing on the Kenai River is one of the most treasured experiences Alaska has to offer. Many military youth in Anchorage never get the chance to get out of the city and into a boat on the river, but the Kenai River Jr. Classic casts a wide net trying to bring as many kids as possible down to the peninsula. "This is an opportunity to introduce kids to not only fishing, but to the beauty, the majesty of the Kenai River," Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the honorary host, said. "What we've been doing over… Continue Reading
08.16.19
KTOO: Murkowski supports a ‘complete exemption’ for Tongass from Roadless Rule
by Jacob Resneck
A decision by President Donald Trump's administration over exempting the Tongass National Forest from the Roadless Rule is expected soon. That's according to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who said Tuesday that rolling back restrictions to roadbuilding is crucial for Southeast Alaska's economy. "I, very early on, went to the Trump administration and said as we look to the state of Alaska and the application of the Roadless Rule, we have to be able to have a plan that is specific to us," s… Continue Reading
08.15.19
Morning Consult: Murkowski to Release ‘Strategic Energy for America Act’ for Global Project Financing
by Jacqueline Toth
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is taking the next step in her Strategic Energy Initiative, floating legislation aimed at pushing federal financial institutions to facilitate American energy leadership on the world stage. An official legislative discussion draft of the Strategic Energy for America Act will be released today, according to a committee spokesperson, which would leverage the U.S. Export-Import Bank and the U.S. International Development Financ… Continue Reading
08.15.19
KRBD: Murkowski talks healthcare, energy and natural resources at chamber lunch
by Maria Dudzak
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski was in Ketchikan earlier this month. She spoke at a special Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce luncheon last Friday, discussing issues such as healthcare, energy, and natural resource development. Murkowski was born in Ketchikan and was in the First City attending a family funeral. She said the morning of the chamber lunch, she informally asked people what issues were being talked about locally. She says most concerns were about the state budget, a topic she said she was… Continue Reading
08.15.19
Juneau Empire: Murkowski has health care on her mind
by Peter Segall
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, sat down with the Empire Tuesday to discuss her recent work in Washington and the groups she's meeting with in Alaska as she crisscrosses the state during the five-week recess from the Senate. "We've done a back-of-the-envelope mapping of the trip … it's 15,000 miles in state, so I'm making tracks," she said. Murkowski said that one of the most pressing concerns she hears about is health care and its costs. The senator was meeting with representatives… Continue Reading
08.13.19
Health Care Blog: Health Data Outside HIPAA: The Wild West of Unprotected Personal Data
by Vince Kuraitis and Deven McGraw
The McKinsey "2,750 times" statistic is a pretty good proxy for the amount of your personal health data that is NOT protected by HIPAA and currently is broadly unprotected from sharing and use by third parties. However, there is bipartisan legislation in front of Congress that offers expanded privacy protection for your personal health data. Senators Klobuchar & Murkowski have introduced the "Protecting Personal Health Data Act" (S.1842). The Act would extend protection to much personal hea… Continue Reading
08.12.19
Military: Lawmakers Urge DoD to Expand F-35 Foreign Military Sales
by Orinana Pawlyk
Several Republican senators are making the case that the U.S.-led F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program should be expanded with additional foreign sales to create a stronger coalition of allies. In a letter sent to Defense Secretary Mark Esper this week, Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania said the U.S. would benefit by having more F-35s on flight lines around the world. "The National Defense Strategy makes clear that the United States must strengthen its allianc… Continue Reading
