Articles & Op-eds
KTUU (NBC): Alaska's delegation fights to base F-35s at Eielson
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Sen. Lisa Murkowski, along with Sen. Mark Begich and Rep. Don Young, have sent a letter asking Air Force Secretary Michael Donley to station the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter at Alaska's Eielson Air Force Base. Although Eielson is competing with many other U.S. bases, Murkowski says the state's geographic location is strategically important. "We're sitting here as close as anyone could be to the hot spots in Asia, right at the top of the globe," Murkowski said. "We litera… Continue Reading
10.23.09
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Alaska legislators push Eielson as new home for F-35s
FAIRBANKS - Alaska's congressional delegation has sent a letter to the Secretary of the Air Force urging him to station the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter at Eielson Air Force Base. The letter, dated Oct. 1 and signed by Rep. Don Young and Sens. Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski, calls Eielson "the perfect base geographically" for the fighters, given the large amount of available airspace. The letter to Air Force Secretary Michael Donley also touts the strategic importance of Alaska in facing poss… Continue Reading
10.20.09
Op-Ed: Cut Exports of Rare Earth Minerals
Clean energy technologies face a range of obstacles. The credit crunch has slowed capital investment, disputes have arisen over which lands are suitable for infrastructure, and the electric grid has sometimes proved incapable of handling new generation. Over the long run, however, our most difficult challenge may be our most fundamental: ensuring a stable supply of the raw materials needed to manufacture clean energy technologies in the first place. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, our … Continue Reading
10.13.09
Op-Ed: Congress, not the EPA, Should Lead Climate Battle
Congress is currently engaged in one of the most complex policy debates of our time -- how best to mitigate climate change without harming the economy. Even as congressional debate continues, however, the Environmental Protection Agency is moving forward with a plan of its own. The agency recently announced it will regulate emissions from all facilities that emit more than 25,000 tons of greenhouse gases per year, starting as soon as six months from now. Here's the catch: The EPA hailed this a… Continue Reading
10.10.09
Alaska Public Radio Network: Murkowski and EPA Feuding
Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski is in a fight with the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA recently opposed a Murkowski-sponsored amendment, which would've weakened the Agency's ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Murkowski sent the EPA's administrator a letter this week saying she's "extremely disappointed" by the way the EPA handled its response to her proposal. You can <a href="http://aprn.org/2009/10/10/murkowski-and-epa-feuding/">listen to the audio here.</a>… Continue Reading
10.09.09
Bureau of National Affairs (BNA): Murkowski Seeks Information on Opposition By EPA to Greenhouse Gas Amendment
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) wrote Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson on Oct. 7 questioning Jackson's opposition to an amendment Murkowski had filed in the Senate to temporarily suspend EPA authority over greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources. According to the letter, EPA staff failed to respond to Murkowski's request for analysis of her amendment to the appropriations bill funding EPA and other environmental agencies, but the staff did contact outside entit… Continue Reading
09.22.09
The Hill: Senator: Make sure climate bill won't 'kick the economy in the head'
by Originally published by The Hill newspaper on September 22, 2009
Congress should take care to not "kick the economy in the head" when it passes climate change legislation, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaksa) said Tuesday. Murkowski told reporters during a conference call that while the Congress should address climate change, it should do so at its own pace, and examine other alternatives beside the "cap and trade" system currently under consideration. "I appreciate the president's commitment to addressing this, and that Congress does need to act on climate chang… Continue Reading
09.22.09
Alaska Public Radio Network: Debate Heats Up on Murkowski’s Move to Restrict EPA on Greenhouse Gases
by Originally broadcast by the Alaska Public Radio Network on September 22, 2009
Debate is heating up over an amendment Senator Murkowski (R-AK) is considering introducing this week on the Senate floor. It would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating some greenhouse gases. The amendment, which Murkowski would tack on to a spending bill, would ban the EPA from regulating "stationary" places, like industrial plants or power plants - allowing it only to regulate moving sources like cars. On Tuesday, the White House weighed in against Murkowski's possible le… Continue Reading
09.21.09
Anchorage Daily News: EDITORIAL: Next steps?
by Originally published in the Anchorage Daily News on September 21, 2009
As the nation still struggles to recover from the worst economic meltdown since the Great Depression, one thing that is missing is a sense of urgency about preventing a repeat disaster. Given the populist outrage over trillion-dollar bailouts, you'd think Congress would quickly work out new rules of the road to prevent the next catastrophic financial pileup. Instead, Washington, D.C., has a serious case of the slows. (See Monday's Daily News editorial.) Congress only recently established a bi… Continue Reading
09.21.09
Anchorage Daily News: Murkowski wants hold on gas emission rules
by By Erika Bolstad. Originally published by the Anchorage Daily News on September 21, 2009
WASHINGTON -- Environmentalists say they're disappointed in a proposal by Sen. Lisa Murkowski to force the Environmental Protection Agency to hold off for a year on regulating so-called "stationary" emitters of greenhouse gases, such as power plants. The Alaska Republican's proposal essentially forbids the EPA from working to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and large manufacturers while the Senate continues to work on its own global warming proposal. It would not keep the ag… Continue Reading
09.18.09
Alaska Public Radio Network: Murkowski Pondering Limits for EPA
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) is considering proposing an amendment that would limit the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to regulate greenhouse gasses. Environmentalists are slamming the possible legislation. You can listen to the audio here.… Continue Reading
09.18.09
Alaska Public Radio Network: Obama’s Missile Decision Draws Alaska Reaction
Alaska's US Senators are reacting to President Obama's announcement on Thursday that he's scrapping the Bush-era missile defense system in Europe in favor of a more mobile, cheaper system. You can listen to the audio here.… Continue Reading
09.15.09
Kodiak Daily Mirror: Murkowski speaks to Kodiak
The crowd numbered 100, and it had more questions about health care than Sen. Lisa Murkowski had time to answer at Monday's virtual town-hall meeting at the Gerald C. Wilson Auditorium. But in about an hour the senator took questions about a wide number of issues: from perspectives on both sides of the public (health insurance) option, to worries about expanded federal spending, to concerns about the influence of the pharmaceutical and health insurance lobbies. Local interest One major the… Continue Reading
09.15.09
Kodiak Daily Mirror: Video conference a success
by By Sam Friedman. Originally published by the Kodiak Daily Mirror on September 15, 2009
"You're talking in a tin can" were the first words Sen. Lisa Murkowski had for Kodiakans at Monday's town-hall on health care in the Gerald C. Wilson Auditorium. But for most of the rest of the hour her words came through clearly, making the experiment with virtual town-hall meetings a success. "It went well. Technically, very well," said Kodiak Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Debora King. "Especially seeing as it was the fist time we've done this. We were happy with the crowd, and the … Continue Reading
09.15.09
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Fairbanks contractors say they're getting frozen out of Fort Wainwright housing deals
by By Jeff Richardson. Originaly published in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner on September 15, 2009
FAIRBANKS -- Local contractors and union leaders blasted Actus Lend Lease during a legislative hearing on Monday, saying the company is making it difficult for local businesses to compete for housing construction contracts at Fort Wainwright. The Tennessee-based company is starting a half-century contract with the Army to oversee construction of privatized post housing. More than a dozen members of the building industry filled the Fairbanks Legislative Information Office on Monday, complaining … Continue Reading
09.15.09
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Sen. Lisa Murkowski warns of climate bill’s cost
by Originally published in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner on September 15, 2009
FAIRBANKS - Any legislation designed to stop global warming by reducing fossil fuel emissions must avoid causing drastic increases in the cost of energy, Sen. Lisa Murkowski told a committee Tuesday. Murkowski spoke at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on economic costs of climate change legislation. Murkowski is the top-ranked Republican member of the committee. The committee's Democratic leadership has scheduled several hearings in coming weeks on the effects of placing … Continue Reading
09.15.09
Alaska Public Radio Network: Library of Congress Houses Treasures of Alaska
by By LIbby Casey. Originally broadcast by the Alaska Public Radio Network on September 14, 2009
Among the millions of maps, photographs, documents and recordings at the Library of Congress are thousands of items related to Alaska's history. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) toured some of the collection's highlights Friday in honor of the state's 50th anniversary. You can listen to the audio here.… Continue Reading
09.14.09
Op-Ed: North Slope seas contain oil and gas vital to US
Alaska's offshore oil and natural gas resources are vital to the nation's strategic economic and energy security. That's why I strongly support responsible exploration and production in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas. Our North Slope contributes 13 percent of America's total oil production, but that figure could be far higher. The most recent estimate put Alaska's offshore resources at 27 billion barrels of oil and 130 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. That's energy we can and should contrib… Continue Reading
09.14.09
Anchorage Daily News: Senator scans Alaska history at library
by By Erika Bolstad. Originally published by the Anchorage Daily News on September 14, 2009
WASHINGTON -- Peering intently at a richly detailed 1914 fire insurance map of her hometown, Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Friday delighted in the precision, pointing out Ketchikan landmarks familiar to her childhood. "That's the public school where my grandmother taught!" Murkowski said, from an ornate walnut-paneled room in the Library of Congress. "This is fascinating!" Murkowski, who sits on a Senate committee that oversees the Library of Congress, browsed through a collection of maps, oral histo… Continue Reading
09.11.09
The Associated Press: Library of Congress shows off Alaska history
by By Matthew Daly. Originally published by the Associated Press on September 11, 2009
From an 1802 Alaska map made by the Russian Navy to a full-color poster for an 1897 Broadway show on the Klondike Gold Rush, Alaska's history comes alive at the Library of Congress. The library showed off some of its extensive Alaska collection Friday in honor of the state's 50th anniversary. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Librarian of Congress James Billington marveled at the collection, which contains items dating back more than two centuries, when Alaska was still part of Russia. The exhibit featu… Continue Reading
