Articles & Op-eds
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
02.13.19
KNBA: Native language revitalization bill moves to full U.S. Senate
by By Tripp Crouse
A bill that supports the revitalization of Native American languages has moved to the full U.S. Senate. According to a news release from Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, she and New Mexico Sen. Tom Udall introduced the bill (S. 256 Esther Martinez Native American Languages Programs Reauthorization Act) to improve a grant program that funds language learning. Four tribes in Alaska currently receive funding from that grant program: Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indain Tribes of Alaska; Chicka… Continue Reading
02.13.19
Bloomberg: An Epidemic of Violence Against Native American Women
by Bloomberg Ed-Board
Americans may be largely unaware of the extreme and pervasive dangers facing American Indian and Alaska Native women. According to a National Institute of Justice study, more than half have been sexually assaulted. More than a third have been raped - a proportion more than double that of white women. For girls and young women aged 15 to 24, homicide is the third leading cause of death. And thousands of American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls have simply gone missing. It is a crisis th… Continue Reading
02.13.19
Washington Post: The Senate just passed the decade's biggest public lands package. Here's what's in it.
by By Juliet Eilperin and Dino Grandoni
The Senate on Tuesday passed the most sweeping conservation legislation in a decade, protecting millions of acres of land and hundreds of miles of wild rivers across the country and establishing four new national monuments honoring heroes including Civil War soldiers and a civil rights icon. The 662-page measure, which passed 92 to 8, represented an old-fashioned approach to dealmaking that has largely disappeared on Capitol Hill. Senators from across the ideological spectrum celebrated home-st… Continue Reading
02.13.19
Alaska Public Media: Big win for Murkowski: Public lands bill passes Senate
by Liz Ruskin
The U.S. Senate today passed a massive public lands bill, and to the delight of its sponsor, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the vote was overwhelming. "92-8, which is a pretty good tally," said Murkowski, chair of the Energy and Natural Resources committee. The bill is an amalgamation of more than 100 bills, requested by 50 senators. Many provisions deal with local issues in Western states, like changing the boundaries of a federal refuge or allowing access to public lands. But the bill creates or exten… Continue Reading
02.13.19
Anchorage Daily News: Giant lands act passed by US Senate includes allotments to Alaska Native veterans and improved volcano monitoring
by Alex DeMarban
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said Tuesday that the sweeping lands package she sponsored includes wide-ranging benefits for Alaskans, including Alaska Native veterans who never received their federal land allotment. The measure will help some individual areas, such as requiring the federal government to convey sand and gravel resources to the Alaska Native village corporation in Utqiagvik, creating a revenue source. "Small matters that in local communities can really make a significant d… Continue Reading
02.12.19
FCW: Murkowski optimistic on funding deal: 'We're going to get this figured out'
by Chase Gunter
On the sidelines of a federal union legislative conference, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said she thought lawmakers would avoid a repeat of the partial government shutdown that saw 800,000 federal employees furloughed or working without pay. "You know what, it's Monday," she said. "Friday is a lifetime away. We're going to get this figured out." Murkowski's optimism appeared well founded, as congressional negotiators said late Monday night that they had reached an "agreement in principle" … Continue Reading
02.12.19
Federal News Network: Agencies, AFGE begin preparations for another government shutdown
by Nicole Ogrysko
With less than a week now until the latest funding deadline expires this Friday, agencies are officially preparing for another government shutdown. Guidance from the Office of Management and Budget instructs senior agency officials to begin preparations one week before the possibility of a lapse in appropriations. The American Federation of Government Employees is also preparing for the possibility. "We informed our members that a shutdown is possible," AFGE National President J. David Cox tol… Continue Reading
02.12.19
GovExec: GOP Senator Endorses 2.6 Percent Pay Raise for Feds, Improving Proposal's Prospects
by Erich Wagner
Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska became the first Republican in the Senate to sign onto a plan to give federal civilian employees a 2.6 percent pay increase this year and provide parity between military and civilian compensation. Murkowski announced Monday that she would cosponsor the Federal Civilian Workforce Pay Raise Fairness Act (S. 262), which would override President Trump's executive order mandating a pay freeze for civilian federal employees in 2019. The 2.6 percent pay raise figure would… Continue Reading
02.11.19
City Journal: The Nuclear Option
by James B. Meigs
At the heart of the sprawling Indian Point Energy Center, 30 miles up the Hudson River from Manhattan, stands a modest, oblate structure easy to overlook at first glance. The plant's massive, torpedo-shaped containment domes, which shelter Indian Point's two active nuclear reactors, dominate the skyline. But the smallish, squat dome in the middle of the complex, its gray concrete streaked with age, is where it all started. This incongruous building contains Indian Point's long-dormant Unit 1, am… Continue Reading
02.10.19
Herald Net: Legislation targets missing and murdered indigenous women
by Melissa Hellmann
When Puyallap tribal member Carolyn DeFord's mother, Leona LeClair Kinsey, went missing in 1999, DeFord was at a loss for how to find her. A lack of guidelines or resources to help native communities document information on missing and murdered individuals made it difficult for her to track down clues on her mother's disappearance. "A lot of rumors have flown around and until we can either find her or find evidence linking somebody to her, it's just speculation," DeFord told Seattle Weekly in a … Continue Reading
02.10.19
Bustle: The Global HER Act Wants To Repeal Trump's Global Gag Rule Once & For All
by Morgan Brinlee
For decades, Democratic and Republican presidents have played tug of war with legislation, known as the Mexico City Policy of the Global Gag Rule, that prohibits U.S. funds from being allocated to foreign non-governmental organizations that provide abortion services, counseling, or information. While Democratic presidents would rescinded the policy, every Republican president elected since 1985 has re-instated it, including Donald Trump, who rolled out an expanded version of the rule in 2017. No… Continue Reading
02.07.19
KFYR: Turtle Mountain chairman sends letter of support for Savanna's Act
by Joe Skurzewski
Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Chairman Jamie Azure has penned a letter of support to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, on behalf of the tribe for Savanna's Act. The legislation is named after the late Savanna Greywind, who was killed for her unborn child in 2017. It would improve legal resources for investigations into violence against Native American women. Former North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp introduced the bill, but it stalled in the House. Murkowski, along with Sen. Catherine Cortez Mast… Continue Reading
02.07.19
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Alaska congressional delegation praises Trump speech
by Erin McGroarty
Alaska's three members of Congress released statements in support of President Donald Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday evening. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski noted the overall message of the speech, urging bipartisan work to address some of the issues Trump identified as important, was a much-needed theme based on the current political climate. "The president's address to the nation was designed to encourage, to be uplifting. He began with a message to us in the Congress to come tog… Continue Reading
02.06.19
Modern Healthcare: Senators seek industry data on surprise medical bills
by Susannah Luthi
As Congress ramps up its efforts to address high surprise medical bills, a bipartisan group of senators want hard data from insurers and hospitals on out-of-network billing practices. In a letter sent Tuesday to a broad swath of insurers, employers and providers who have been part of legislative discussions, six senators asked insurers how their out-of-network payments compare to Medicare rates and provider charges. The senators also probed whether fixing one area could risk raising costs overa… Continue Reading
02.06.19
Undercurrent News: Genetically engineered salmon labeling bill introduced yet again in US
US senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, two Alaska Republicans, have once again introduced legislation that would require any genetically engineered salmon products sold in the US to be clearly labeled as such. S. 282, the Genetically Engineered Salmon Labeling Act, also has support from Democratic senators Maria Cantwell, from the state of Washington, and Jeff Merkley, from Oregon. Murkowski has tried multiple times to advance similar legislation without luck. A 2017 version of the bill … Continue Reading
02.06.19
Must Read Alaska: Murkowski bills focus on Native Alaskans, women
by Suzanne Downing
CHAMPIONS NATIVE, WOMENS' CAUSES IN SLEW OF RECENT LEGISLATION Sen. Lisa Murkowski has shifted her focus in recent weeks. She has paid more attention to issues affecting Native Alaskans, particularly women and children, with several bills specific to their concerns of these Alaskans. Since Jan. 1, nearly half of Murkowski's sponsored or cosponsored legislation has dealt with this part of the Alaska population. Here's a look at the legislation she has her name on this year that pertain to Alas… Continue Reading
02.06.19
KTVA: Alaska delegation weighs in on State of the Union
by Megan Mazurek
President Trump delivered his second State of the Union speech on Tuesday, imploring lawmakers to "break decades of political stalemate" and "heal old wounds" just weeks after the longest government shutdown in history, drawing general praise from Alaska lawmakers. With House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence seated behind him on the dais of the House chamber, Mr. Trump spoke for nearly an hour and a half, with frequent interruptions of applause from Republican members who brok… Continue Reading
02.06.19
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: UAF Native Studies officials praise Murkowski language bill
by Erin McGroarty
Native studies officials at the University of Alaska Fairbanks are praising an effort to reauthorize legislation that funds Native language immersion programs across the country. Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski and several other senators reintroduced the Esther Martinez Native American Languages Programs Reauthorization Act this week. The act works to maintain two national programs that fund revitalization, expand them to smaller-size tribal language programs as well as lengthen the grant… Continue Reading
02.05.19
Politico: ‘The most independent’: Murkowski carves own path in Trump era
by Burgess Everett
Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins chatted quietly on the Senate floor before one of the biggest votes of their lives. Too quietly, it turns out. As the pair prepared to vote on Brett Kavanaugh's contentious nomination, Murkowski delivered the news that she would vote against the Supreme Court confirmation. But her Maine colleague didn't quite hear her. "I told her that I was not going to be there with her. And she actually misunderstood me. She thought I said 'yes.' And she said: 'Well, good,'"… Continue Reading
