Articles & Op-eds
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
02.05.19
KTVA: Murkowski reintroduces bill expanding funding to tribal language programs
by Elizabeth Roman
Alaska's senior U.S. senator recently joined some of her colleagues to reintroduce a bill that expands funding to smaller-size tribal language programs. In a Monday news release, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) praised the Esther Martinez Native American Languages Programs Reauthorization Act. The bill will maintain two programs that currently fund language revitalization, expand them to smaller-size tribal language programs and lengthen grant periods. Sen. Murkowski released this statement on the… Continue Reading
02.05.19
Seafood Source: Senators file bill to mandate labeling requirements on genetically enhanced salmon
by Steve Bittenbender
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators from the Pacific northwest filed a bill last week that would require any salmon produced through genetic engineering to be labeled clearly as such on its packaging. The bill, filed last week, comes a month after the Department of Agriculture published its final rule requiring producers, importers and other entities to reveal information about bioengineered products and ingredients. However, critics panned the measure saying companies could use digital QR code… Continue Reading
02.04.19
E&E News: Murkowski plots making sure lands package becomes law
by Kellie Lunney and Geof Koss
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski wants to make sure the public lands package the upper chamber is poised to take up this week attracts "strong support" from her colleagues to boost its momentum as it heads to the House. That means not straying far from the agreement that bicameral negotiators finalized late last year before the package fell apart in the Senate just before Christmas over Republican objections. "We really want to be conscientious about sticking to th… Continue Reading
02.04.19
Arctic Sounder: Murkowski reintroduces Savanna's Act in Senate
by Shady Grove Oliver
After stalling in the House at the end of last year, Savanna's Act is back on the table. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) reintroduced the act this week with fellow Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada). "It is long past time that Congress took action to help curb the tragic epidemic of violence toward Native American women," said Cortez Masto in a release. "I'm proud to join Sen. Murkowski in reintroducing Savanna's Act, which gives local and tribal law enforcement the federal resources they ne… Continue Reading
01.31.19
Salmon Business: Alaska senator introduces GE Salmon labeling bill
by Owen Evans
"We have the right to know what we're eating," said U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski. Alaskan Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski on Wednesday reintroduced the Genetically Engineered Salmon Labeling Act, to ensure that any salmon that is genetically engineered be clearly labelled. The bill is co-sponsored by Senators Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR). "There's a huge difference between genetically engineered salmon and the healthy, sustainably-caught, wild Alaskan sa… Continue Reading
01.31.19
KTUU: UPDATE: President approves Alaska disaster declaration for Nov. 30 earthquake
by Daniel Kirby
President Trump declared a federal disaster for the State of Alaska Thursday, allowing federal funds to begin flowing to the state for earthquake recovery efforts. According to a release from the White House, federal funding in the form of grants, low-interest loans, and other programs will now be available to people affected by the earthquake in the Municipality of Anchorage, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, and the Kenai Peninsula Borough. "Additional designations may be made at a later date i… Continue Reading
01.31.19
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Collaborative effort for Arctic icebreaking gains traction
by Rachel D'Oro
A proposal to use private and foreign ships to help fill the demand for commercial icebreaking is gaining traction among Arctic stakeholders. Polar Institute Director Mike Sfraga said the concept would be similar to ride-hailing services like Uber, but instead it would be a commercial ship calling for support vessels to help cross Arctic waters, Alaska Public Media reported Wednesday. The "Uber for icebreakers" model would call for a collaborative effort among the northern countries to create … Continue Reading
01.31.19
KTOO: Murkowski reintroduces bill to prevent violence against indigenous women and girls
by Zoe Grueskin
On Monday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski and a Democratic colleague, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, reintroduced a bill aimed at preventing violence against Indigenous women and girls. Named for a North Dakota woman killed in 2017, Savanna's Act would improve data collection on missing and murdered Native women. Murkowski said records are so limited, authorities don't even understand the scope of the problem. "And this is where it gets so frustrating," she said. "We don't even know what we don't kno… Continue Reading
01.30.19
Alaska Public Media: ‘Uber for icebreakers’ idea gains traction
by Liz Ruskin
This was the year Congress was finally going to spend some serious money to build an icebreaker. A Senate spending bill has $750 million for a new icebreaker, which would bring the Coast Guard's fleet to three. But that money is caught in a fight over whether to build President Trump's wall at the southern border. Still, there's more than one way to break ice. Some propose to use private and foreign ships to help fill the expected demand for commercial icebreaking. Polar Institute Director Mik… Continue Reading
01.30.19
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Murkowski: Shutdown not a 'winning political strategy'
by Rod Boyce
Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she doesn't believe President Donald Trump will take the federal government into another shutdown when the three-week stopgap funding measure ends Feb. 15. And she also believes Trump is on questionable legal footing with his suggestion he could declare a national emergency to get funding for a wall - however he defines such a barrier - if the result of negotiations in Congress during this three-week period don't provide border security funding that he finds acceptable. … Continue Reading
01.29.19
E&E News: Murkowski weighs life after energy gavel
by Geof Koss
Lisa Murkowski's political career is approaching a crossroads of sorts. Over the past two years with the Trump administration and a GOP-led Congress, the Alaska Republican repeatedly chalked up wins in long-fought battles over resource extraction on federal lands in the Last Frontier, including the decadeslong fight over drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Her chairmanship of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee was no small factor in winning the addition of ANWR drilling in… Continue Reading
01.29.19
CNBC: Lawmakers offer proposals to end government shutdowns for good—while the 'pain is fresh'
by Ylan Mui
The longest government shutdown in U.S. history is finally over. Now lawmakers from both parties are seeking a way to ensure it never happens again. Several proposals are on the table. They go beyond the immediate discussions over border security that will need to be resolved over the next three weeks, when the government could once again run out of money. Instead, these bills would guarantee that the lights stay on even if lawmakers can't reach a spending agreement by Feb. 15, or any future d… Continue Reading
01.29.19
Huffington Post: UPDATED: Lisa Murkowski Revives Bill Targeting Missing And Murdered Native Women
by Jennifer Bendery
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) reintroduced legislation on Monday to help law enforcement respond to a horrifying and largely invisible crisis: Hundreds of Native American women are simply disappearing or being murdered. There is next to no data available on what, exactly, is going on. At least 506 indigenous women and girls have gone missing or been killed in 71 U.S. cities, including more than 330 since 2010, according to a November report by Urban Indian Health Institute. Most cases have bee… Continue Reading
01.29.19
KSRM: Murkowski Works To Incorporate The ERA Into The Constitution
by Jennifer Williams
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has co-sponsored a resolution that would immediately reopen consideration of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Senator Murkowski: "In order for the ERA to be incorporated into the Constitution, we need 38 states to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. As of now, we have 37. The bipartisan legislation I'm leading will resolve any ambiguity over whether states can make the ERA effective by ratifying. We cannot and must not put a time limit on the fight for women's… Continue Reading
01.28.19
ABC News: Senators reintroduce bill to protect Native American women, finish work started by defeated colleague
by Ali Rogin
Two senators reintroduced a bill Monday that aims to strengthen protections for Native American women, who face above-average rates of murder, violence and kidnapping. It's an effort that their former colleague Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., began, but which was derailed virtually single-handedly by a retiring House Republican, former House Judiciary Chairman Robert Goodlatte, R-Va. "It got held up in the House literally over one member. That member's gone and I'm still here," Sen. Lisa Murkowsk… Continue Reading
