Articles & Op-eds
Washington Post: Op-Ed: Lisa Murkowski and Joe Manchin: It’s time to act on climate change — responsibly
by Lisa Murkowski and Joe Manchin
The two of us have more in common than might meet the eye. We come from different parties, but we are both avid outdoorsmen and represent states that take great pride in the resources we provide to the nation and to friends and allies around the world. Alaska and West Virginia know that resource development and environmental stewardship must move in tandem, which is why we are committed to putting forward bipartisan solutions to help address climate change. There is no question that climate cha… Continue Reading
03.06.19
The Hill: Murkowski warns climate change 'directly impacting' Alaska
by Dorothy Mills-Gregg
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) on Tuesday said climate change is "directly impacting" her home state's way of life. "It's impacting subsistence. It's impacting food security. It's certainly impacting our economy with our fisheries," Murkowski, the chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said at the panel's first hearing this year devoted to climate change. "Clearly the effort here is to get a bipartisan conversation going," she added. "I think that the rhetoric surroun… Continue Reading
03.06.19
KTVA: National e-cigarette bill resurfaces amid rise in youth vaping
by Jeff Bridges
Alaska's senior senator is one of two lawmakers reintroducing bipartisan legislation that would put more restrictions on the e-cigarette industry, according to a statement sent Tuesday. Sen. Lisa Murkowski joined with Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, last summer in introducing the Stopping Appealing Flavors in E-Cigarettes for Kids Act (SAFE Kids Act), which would restrict certain flavorings in e-cigarettes and ban flavoring in cigars completely. The two senators are now reintroducing the legisla… Continue Reading
03.06.19
RTO Insider: Senate ENR Committee Discusses Climate Change
by Michael Brooks
The hearing the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held Tuesday was perhaps less noteworthy for what was said than the fact it even happened. Chaired by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), committee members and panelists discussed the electricity industry's role in mitigating climate change. According to ranking member Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), it was the first hearing the committee had held on climate change since 2012. Compared to the House of Representatives, now in Democratic hands and… Continue Reading
03.06.19
PBS Newshour: Sen. Lisa Murkowski on disagreeing with the president
Few Republicans disagree publicly with President Trump more than Alaskan Sen. Lisa Murkowski. She has diverged from the White House stance on health care, the environment and the Supreme Court, among other issues. Now Murkowski is bucking her party by refusing to support Trump's national emergency declaration over funding for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. She talks to Judy Woodruff about why. Read the Full Transcript Judy Woodruff: Few Republicans publicly disagree with President Trump on… Continue Reading
03.06.19
Alaska Public Media: Murkowski explains why she’ll vote to cancel Trump’s emergency
by Liz Ruskin
Sen. Lisa Murkowski is speaking out in opposition to President Trump's emergency declaration to divert money to build a wall on the southern border. Murkowski said she agrees with the president on the need for more border security. "But I firmly believe that one can be for border security, strongly for border security, and at the same time question whether the administration has overreached in using the National Emergencies Act in the way that it has," she said in a speech on the Senate floor … Continue Reading
03.06.19
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
