Articles & Op-eds
Anchorage Daily News: Alaska Rep. Don Young reaches another milestone: Longest-serving Republican in congressional history
by Alex DeMarban
Alaska's lone House representative on Wednesday became the longest-serving Republican in Congress ever. At 46 years of service, Rep. Don Young surpassed Rep. Joe Cannon of Illinois, who ended his nearly half-century career shortly after World War I, Young's office said. The record for Young is another title in a long list of accomplishments for the brash but effective 85-year-old, known for his lack of political tact and ability to cross party lines. "When you think about the legislative acco… Continue Reading
03.05.19
Saipan Tribune: ‘Nuanced understanding of the CNMI is needed’
by Ralph DLG Torres
On behalf of the people of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, I want to thank [committee] chairman [Lisa] Murkowski, ranking member [Joe] Manchin and the distinguished members of this committee for recognizing the need of this important conversation about the priorities of the U.S. territories and allowing for this submitted testimony for the record. Many of the issues facing the territories today are unique to us. We all fight against issues of geography. Limited land mass, natu… Continue Reading
03.05.19
Daily Energy Insider: GOP senators introduce bill to speed up FERC application process
A group of Republican senators introduced a bill last week to reduce the long wait times for federal approval of energy infrastructure projects, including liquid natural gas (LNG) projects. The Timely Review of Infrastructure Act (S. 607) would improve the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) ability to hire the qualified staff it needs to process project applications in a timely manner. This will help alleviate the backlog of projects waiting to receive approval due to the shortage of… Continue Reading
03.05.19
Arctic Today: The only US heavy icebreaker catches fire returning from Antarctica
by Melody Schreiber
The crew of the Polar Star, the only operable U.S. heavy polar icebreaker, had completed this season's annual resupply mission to Antarctica despite a bevy of difficulties: an electrical system began smoking, one of two evaporators used for making drinking water broke, a shaft on the propeller began leaking, and there were ship-wide power outages. After resupplying McMurdo Station, the Polar Star began her 11,200-mile journey back to the dry dock in Seattle. But she only made it about 650 mile… Continue Reading
03.05.19
WTVO: U.S. lawmakers aim to stop "kid-friendly" flavors in e-cigarettes
Legislators reintroduced a bill on Tuesday that would crack down on kid-friendly flavorings in e-cigarettes and cigars. U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and U.S. Representatives Diana DeGett and Jamie Raskin introduced the Stopping Appealing Flavors in E-Cigarettes for Kids (SAFE Kids) Act. "Ask any teacher, parent, or public health expert: E-cigarette use among America's youth is officially an epidemic. These products have spread throughout our communities, and their po… Continue Reading
03.04.19
Anchorage Daily News: Op-Ed: Opportunities for Alaska in the new Congress
by Senator Dan Sullivan
I recently gave my annual address to the Alaska Legislature. It's a speech I look forward to each year, providing a platform to discuss the opportunities and challenges we all face together. As I told the Legislature, I know that these are tense times for our state as we're grappling with shrinking budgets. But I'm optimistic that by continuing to enact good policies at the federal level and bringing investment dollars home to Alaska, the economic dynamism and job growth the Lower 48 is now exp… Continue Reading
03.03.19
Chron: Senate bill to speed up LNG applications
by James Osborne
Senate Republicans introduced legislation Friday aiming to speed up federal reviews of LNG terminals and other energy infrastructure. The legislation introduced by Senators Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Bill Cassidy, R-Louis., and Cory Gardner, R-Colo., comes amidst increasing consternation from companies developing liquefied natural gas export terminals and pipelines that application reviews by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission are taking too long. "We are well-positioned to help other na… Continue Reading
03.02.19
Reuters: Iditarod sled dog race across Alaska starts with pageant, crowds
by Yoreth Rosen
Fifty-two mushers and their dog teams drove through Alaska's largest city in bright sunshine on Saturday to start the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Downtown Anchorage was temporarily converted into a noisy dog lot, with trucked-in snow covering the streets. Bundled-up spectators - including dignitaries such as Governor Mike Dunleavy and U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski - gathered to cheer, snap photos and get autographs from the dog drivers headed out on the annual 1,000-mile (1,609-km) trek to Nome… Continue Reading
03.01.19
Seafood Source: New icebreaker being built to patrol Alaskan waters
by Ben Fisher
The spending bill passed by the United States Congress earlier this month to avoid another partial government shutdown includes USD 655 million (EUR 576 million) to build the country's first polar icebreaker in a decade, according to the Anchorage Daily News. The bill also provides funding for four new Coast Guard cutters in Alaska, and USD 20 million (EUR 17.5 million) which will go towards building materials for a second icebreaker, according to U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska). Two of th… Continue Reading
02.27.19
Alaska Public Media: Native Vietnam vets get another chance to claim 160 acres
by Liz Ruskin
Congress on Tuesday passed a massive public lands bill sponsored by Sen. Lisa Murkowski. The bill expands national parks and wilderness areas, creates new national monuments and sends money to states for parks and recreation. Among its 600 pages is a provision to help Alaska Native veterans of the Vietnam War era by allowing them to select up to 160 acres of land. But critics worry about a land grab. There's some history to this issue. Nelson Angapak has been working for years to get land for f… Continue Reading
02.25.19
Arctic Today: A breakthrough in an Alaska cold-case murder shines a light on violence against Indigenous women in the Arctic
by Melody Schreiber
On April 26, 1993, the body of a young woman was found in a bathroom at University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Sophie Sergie, a 20-year-old Yupik woman from Pitkas Point, had been raped and killed. She was visiting friends in their dorm, Bartlett Hall, at the university where she'd been enrolled before taking time off to earn money for orthodontic work. She was last seen around midnight, when she left her friends to smoke a cigarette. Her body was found in a bathtub the following day. Her assailant's… Continue Reading
02.25.19
KTVA: Murkowski responds to Pebble Mine impact statement
by Angela Krenzien
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released its draft environmental impact statement for the Pebble mine project in southwest Alaska, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski is responding. Murkowski says she's started to read through the 1,400-page document and its supporting materials. She encourages Alaskans to do the same, saying it's critical to understand the potential impacts of the mine. "As I have said before, we must have confidence that Bristol Bay's world-class fisheries are fully protected, and … Continue Reading
02.25.19
Anchorage Daily News: ‘Uncle Ted is back’: The story behind the new bronze Ted Stevens statue at the Anchorage airport
by Marc Lester
Ted Stevens resisted the idea that the airport named for him should also bear his likeness when he was alive, his daughter Lily Stevens Becker said. He didn't care much for the fanfare. After his death, it took years for the family to get comfortable with the idea of seeing his life-size image cast in bronze. "But now I think it's time," Stevens Becker said. On Saturday, hundreds surrounded a 631-pound statue of Stevens as it was uncovered at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. Some … Continue Reading
02.22.19
KTVA: Murkowski-backed bill would help Alaskans prepare for landslides
by Angela Krenzien
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, along with four other U.S. senators, is introducing legislation that would help communities prepare for and respond to landslides. The National Landslide Preparedness Act would establish a National Landslide Hazards Reduction Program at the U.S. Geological Survey, which would identify and understand landslide risks and prepare for future landslides. "Alaska has been dealing with the impacts of landslides for decades, most recently as a result of the Southcentral earthquake … Continue Reading
02.22.19
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Murkowski, Sullivan worried Alaska could lose military funding to border wall
by Erin McGroarty
Alaska's two Republican senators said they are concerned at the possibility of Alaska military funding being redirected toward President Donald Trump's border wall effort. Trump declared a national emergency regarding the Southern border last week, a move that will likely take funding from the Department of Defense to fund the border wall. That is, if the declaration doesn't run into any legal roadblocks. Democrats in the House and Senate are already questioning the legality of the declaration… Continue Reading
02.22.19
Anchorage Daily News: Delegation wins $655 million for polar icebreaker, plus other funds for new cutters coming to Alaska
by Alex DeMarban
The spending package Congress passed last week to avoid another government shutdown provides $655 million for construction of the first polar icebreaker in decades and additional money for new Coast Guard cutters in Alaska, Sen. Dan Sullivan's office said. It's the first time in 40 years the nation is building a new icebreaker, and more will be built in the future, Sullivan, R-Alaska, said Thursday. The appropriations bill also includes $20 million to begin acquiring materials for a second iceb… Continue Reading
02.21.19
Smoky Mountain News: Congress moves forward on Land and Water Conservation Fund reauthorization
The U.S. Senate voted Feb. 12 to permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund, an important funding source for conservation projects nationwide. The bill was introduced by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, with a bipartisan list of co-sponsors. Though Sen. Richard Burr, R-North Carolina, is not included on the sponsor list, he introduced a related piece of legislation this month that also attempted to permanently reauthorize the fund. "The Land an… Continue Reading
02.21.19
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Alaska's congressional delegation lauds icebreaker funding
by Erin McGroarty
Alaska's congressional delegation are celebrating the bicameral passage of a federal government spending package that will not only keep the federal government from shutting down but also funds the construction of a new polar icebreaker for the United States Coast Guard fleet, something the state's three members of Congress have been pushing for. The funding bill included $655 million for the design and construction of the icebreaker, $20 million for materials for an eventual second icebreaker,… Continue Reading
02.21.19
Anchorage Daily News: Murkowski: Cutting state funds makes it more difficult to unlock federal cash
by James Brooks
Gov. Mike Dunleavy's cost-cutting budget proposal may make it more difficult for Alaska's congressional delegation to deliver federal money to Alaska, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Tuesday during her annual visit to the state Capitol. Alaska's two U.S. senators normally stay away from legislative issues when they deliver their annual addresses to the Alaska Legislature, but Murkowski obliquely and directly addressed aspects of the governor's planned $1.8 billion budget cut. In a news conferenc… Continue Reading
02.13.19
Alaska Journal of Commerce: Murkowski leads major lands bill through Senate
by Elwood Brehmer
Sen. Lisa Murkowski was happy to talk with reporters after shepherding the first omnibus lands bill package through the Senate in years with overwhelming support. The U.S. Senate passed the Natural Resources Management Act Feb. 12 on a 92-8 vote. The legislation addresses a plethora of "small matters that in local communities can really make a significant difference," Murkowski said in a conference call with Alaska reporters. "When we can come together on a bipartisan basis - move something o… Continue Reading
