Articles & Op-eds
Murkowski proposes a government role in the #MeToo movement
by Erica Martinson
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski has been asking a lot of questions about how people are treated in the workplace. As chair of the Energy Committee, she has in recent months pressed officials with the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Interior Department and the Bureau of Indian Affairs about sexual harassment and bullying. And this week, Murkowski unveiled new legislation - along with California Democrat Kamala Harris - to place limits and requirements on employers when it comes to managing sexual … Continue Reading
06.07.18
Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman: ANWR leasing could come as soon as July of next year
by Tim Bradner
The federal government has leasing in ANWR on the fast-track, and a lease sale could come as early as July, 2019. The "scoping" process for an Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS, for ANWR is now underway. The EIS itself will be completed in late spring, 2019, Balash said. "We will definitely have a lease sale. The law (the federal Tax and Jobs Acts of 2017) says 'we shall," Balash said. Now that the decision has been made by Congress, "the purpose of the EIS is to inform the public and feder… Continue Reading
06.07.18
KTVA: Alaskan Indian Affairs nominee heads to full Senate
by Chris Klint
An Alaska Native who has been nominated by President Trump to head the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs passed her final committee vote Wednesday, setting the stage for her Senate confirmation. Sen. Lisa Murkowski's office said Tara Sweeney, a former Alaska Federation of Natives co-chair who has held senior positions at the Arctic Slope Regional Corp. and formerly chaired the Arctic Economic Council, was approved by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee on a voice vote Wednesday. Sweeney spoke b… Continue Reading
06.04.18
Delta Discovery: LETTER: Alaska’s Ophthalmologists Thank Senator Murkowski for Helping Protect Alaskan Natives from Permanent Blindness
Alaska's ophthalmologists today (May 22nd, 2018) thanked Sen. Lisa Murkowski, RAlaska, for her tireless efforts to secure important funding for preventing diabetic retinopathy among Native American and Alaskan Native populations. Sen. Murkowski led an important effort to secure $1 million in federal funds to upgrade retinal cameras used by an important Indian Health Service teleophthalmology program. The cameras are essential. Each allows the program to provide eye care to patients in Alask… Continue Reading
05.28.18
Let’s make Alaska home of the next big idea
by Senator Lisa Murkowski and Secretary Rick Perry
During the next few days, the University of Alaska will host a unique event that brings dozens of the world's best and brightest scientists to Fairbanks. Known as National Lab Day, this forum will provide an incredible opportunity for Alaskans to form new partnerships with the individuals who run our nation's premier research institutions. If national parks were America's best idea, National Labs were our smartest. From their founding more than 70 years ago, the laboratories now affiliated with… Continue Reading
05.24.18
ADN: What the new VA health care bill means for Alaska’s veterans
by Erica Martinson
WASHINGTON - A new bill is headed to President Donald Trump's desk that Alaska's U.S. senators hope will ultimately offer the state's veteran population greater access to health care in and near their homes, and bring new doctors to the state. The so-called V.A. Mission Act of 2018 will set the Department of Veterans Affairs down a multiyear path to expand private-sector treatment programs for veterans. Alaska's senators said a 2014 law unintentionally limited treatment options for the stat… Continue Reading
05.22.18
Alaska Public Media: Murkowski questions military officials over how sexual assaults involving minors are resolved
by Dan Bross
Alaska U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski raised the issue of sexual assaults involving minors on military bases during a Senate Defense Appropriations hearing last week. "Investigators released a total of eight cases at Alaska installations, five of them reportedly at Fort Wainwright," Murkowski said. "So, of course this certainly gets your attention." Senator Murkowski asked U.S. Army Secretary Mark Esper about how youth on youth assaults are handled. Esper responded that the Army conducts … Continue Reading
05.09.18
Gray TV: Alaska Native Tara Sweeney inching closer to history at Department of the Interior
by Peter Zampa
A long wait could be over soon for an Alaska Native to take the nation's top job in Indian Affairs. Before Tara Sweeney leads the Bureau of Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior, she has to pass through the U.S. Senate. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) says Tara Sweeney's knowledge of Alaska Natives will carry over for all native peoples. The Senate Indian Affairs Committee held a hearing Wednesday Sweeney's nomination to become the assistant secretary. The Inupiat Native from Bar… Continue Reading
05.08.18
Business Wire: Laos, Hmong Veterans Laud Passage, Enactment, by U.S. Congress, President Trump of Burial Honors Bill
Lao and Hmong-American U.S. Secret Army veterans of the Vietnam War in Laos, and their refugee families across the United States, are lauding the passage, and seeking timely and appropriate implementation, of the "Hmong Veterans' Service Recognition Act" by President Donald Trump and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), according to the Center for Public Policy Analysis. Laos,Hmong U.S. Secret Army veterans of the Vietnam War are lauding the passage and implementation, of the Lao Hmong … Continue Reading
04.30.18
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Sen. Murkowski tells AASG attendees their voices matter and are heard
by Kris Capps
Sen. Lisa Murkowski assured 350 student leaders over the weekend that she and other national leaders are hearing what young people have to say. She made the comments while Skyping with teen delegates from more than 40 Alaska communities, all gathered in Healy for the 2018 Alaska Association Student Government spring conference. There was even time for some questions and answers. The statewide student organization meets twice every year around the state. "You are the ones who make things happen… Continue Reading
04.28.18
Cordova Times: Senate committee advances opioid bill
Legislation aimed at halting the nation's opioid crisis has been approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, of which Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is a member. The bipartisan Opioid Response Act of 2018 "takes a multi-faceted approach, from prevention and enforcement, down to care and treatment," Murkowski said. "We recognize this problem isn't going to be solved overnight, but fully addressing this epidemic through an all-hands-on-deck approach must be a priority.… Continue Reading
04.10.18
Saipan Tribune: We should all be proud
by Bill and Brenda Satterberg
This letter is to express my personal gratitude to the residents of Saipan and Tinian for the gracious hospitality and reception extended to Senator Murkowski and the other members of the congressional delegation, which visited the CNMI on March 27, 2018. As a person who resides primarily in Alaska, but who spends approximately a quarter of each year on island on various matters, I was honored to be able to assist Senator Murkowski in her visit to Tinian and Saipan. As indicated, my wife, Brend… Continue Reading
03.29.18
Marianas Variety: Tinian mayor: Thank you Sen. Murkowski
by Cherrie Anne E. Villahermosa
TINIAN Mayor Joey Patrick San Nicolas is grateful to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski for visiting the island and discussing with leaders some of the issues they are facing. In an interview on Wednesday, the mayor said he has "nothing but praise for the senator who really took time and made an effort to see the situation on Tinian for herself." Murkowski arrived on Tinian Tuesday morning with her husband Verne Martell, American Samoa Delegate Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen and Rear Adm. Shoshana Chatfi… Continue Reading
03.28.18
Alaska Public Media: Newtok to Congress: thank you for saving our village
by Rachel Waldholz
On the day President Trump signed a massive spending bill in Washington, D.C., Paul Charles and George Carl of Newtok sat down in a hotel conference room in midtown Anchorage to take stock of an event they still couldn't quite believe was real. The budget bill included $1.3 trillion in spending and was more than 2,200 pages long. But for Newtok, there's just one page that matters. That's page 458. It doubles funding for the federal Denali Commission, giving the agency an extra $15 million. The… Continue Reading
03.28.18
Juneau Empire: The internet must remain free and open
by Senator Lisa Murkowski
by Senator Lisa Murkowski Alaskans are fond of reminding outsiders that "Alaska is different." Our vast geography, strategic location, diverse communities, abundant natural resources and relative youth compared to other states combine to create an exceptionalism that makes Alaska truly unique. Our challenge as a delegation has always been to remind others of our state's unique challenges and to adapt national policies to meet Alaska's particular needs. When our colleagues are arguing about rep… Continue Reading
03.14.18
Peninsula Clarion: Opportunity zones for Alaska– time is short to act
by Curtis Thayer
As the President and CEO of the Alaska Chamber of Commerce, I was pleased with the recent passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Its enactment is having a positive effect on our economy. Already, because of the tax bill, we are seeing new business investments, workers are seeing bigger pay checks because of less withholding, and in some cases getting bonuses. And, let's not forget that opening the 1002 area of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) was included in the bill as well. T… Continue Reading
02.26.18
KRBD-Ketchikan: Forest Service Chief, Murkowski Hear From Tongass Stakeholders
by Leila Kheiry
If one had to choose a theme for Sen. Lisa Murkowski's roundtable discussions on the Tongass National Forest, it would be "Access." Over and over, the senator and U.S. Forest Service Chief Tony Tooke heard panelists say they need more access to the forest. Through roads, through less-cumbersome permitting, through whatever means. They want access. It was a nearly three-hour discussion Friday at the Ketchikan public library. Below is a summary. "The communities on the island have said this ove… Continue Reading
02.23.18
Sen. Murkowski offers optimism for state mired in recession and deficit
by James Brooks
This is Lisa Murkowski, victorious. On Thursday morning, Murkowski addressed to a joint session of the Alaska Legislature and delivered a 30-minute ray of optimism. To a body concerned with a $2.5 billion annual deficit, high unemployment and an economy in recession, Murkowski was Santa Claus bringing gifts. "It was a good year for us. We had a good year as a state because we opened up ANWR," she said to a round of applause from lawmakers and a crowded gallery of guests. Murko… Continue Reading
02.22.18
Congress appropriates $200M for fisheries disasters
by Elizabeth Earl
Commercial fishermen across the Gulf of Alaska might finally receive some checks from the federal government after the pink salmon disaster in 2016. The most recent federal budget continuing resolution - which funds the government up through March 23, 2018 - includes $200 million for fisheries disasters declared by the Secretary of Commerce in 2017. Gov. Bill Walker requested the declaration in October 2016 and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker declared the disaster in January 2017. The $20… Continue Reading
02.12.18
AP: Murkowski: Bill would create new Native corporations
A proposed bill would give 100,000 acres of federal land in total to Native groups in five Southeast Alaska towns, according to Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Murkowski discussed the proposed legislation Wednesday during a hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests and Mining, saying a major component of the legislation involves the formation of Native corporations in Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Tenakee and Haines. The proposed legislation - also called the "Alask… Continue Reading
