Press Releases
Media Requests: Members of the media can contact the press office by emailing Joseph_Plesha@murkowski.senate.gov or by calling 206-302-8317 and asking for the press office.
Murkowski Encouraged by Secretary of Energy Nominee Chris Wright in Committee Hearing
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), former Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee (ENR), today expressed her strong support for Chris Wright to lead the Department of Energy (DOE) in the incoming Trump administration. During an ENR hearing to consider his nomination, Murkowski and Wright discussed the projects that DOE has funded in Alaska under the bipartisan infrastructure law, the need to prioritize domestic mineral production, the untapped potential of ge… Continue Reading
01.08.25
Alaska Delegation Condemns Interior as ANWR Leasing Charade Receives Zero Bids
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, and Congressman Nick Begich III (all R-Alaska), today slammed the Department of the Interior (DOI) for holding a lease sale in the non-wilderness Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in a manner that predictably resulted in no bids. The lease sale, announced in December after DOI arbitrarily rewrote the Coastal Plain oil and gas program to make development impossible, was clearly designed to fail. Interior dramatic… Continue Reading
01.07.25
ICYMI: FISHES Act Becomes Law
Washington, DC - H.R. 5103, the Fishery Improvement to Streamline untimely regulatory hurdles post Emergency-Situation Act (FISHES) Act. This legislation, which Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (both R-Alaska) co-sponsored, aims to ameliorate the federal process that oversees the distribution of fishery disaster relief after fishery disaster declarations. The delegation also led in securing $300 million that will go to refill the U.S. Department of Commerce’s fishery disaster assistance … Continue Reading
01.06.25
Social Security Fairness Act Becomes Law
Washington, DC - Yesterday, President Joe Biden signed into law H.R. 82 The Social Security Fairness Act, legislation that repeals the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who has co-sponsored the legislation every year since 2003, praised the long over-due passage of the law. “I have been working on the Social Security Fairness Act for as long as I’ve been representing Alaska in the United States Senate,” Senator Murkowski… Continue Reading
12.31.24
ICYMI: Senate Passes Five Alaska Bills
Anchorage, AK— In case you missed it, five Alaska-related bills passed the Senate by unanimous consent during the final week of the current 118th Congress. The Senate passed these measures on a standalone basis after a package of public lands measures prepared by the Energy and Natural Resources Committee was not included in a year-end vehicle such as the Continuing Resolution. The Senate passed the following measures by unanimous consent: S. 623, a bill to amend the Alaska Native Claims Set… Continue Reading
12.23.24
Senator Murkowski Opposes Denali Name Change
Washington, DC - In response to recent comments from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) reaffirmed her support for Denali to remain the officially recognized name of North America’s tallest mountain. “You can’t improve upon the name that Alaska’s Koyukon Athabascans bestowed on North America’s tallest peak, Denali - the Great One,” Senator Murkowski said. “For years, I advocated in Congress to restore the rightful name for this majestic mountain to respect Alas… Continue Reading
12.21.24
Murkowski: “Never, Ever a Time When a Government Shutdown is a Good Thing for Americans or Alaskans”
Washington, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) supported a stopgap package that extends the federal government funding deadline to March 14, 2025, thus avoiding a costly and unnecessary government shutdown while also providing critical disaster recovery funds for communities across the country. This package garnered bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress and included $300 million to refill the U.S. Department of Commerce’s fishery disaster assistance accounts, which Senator Murkowsk… Continue Reading
12.21.24
Murkowski: “Never, Ever a Time When a Government Shutdown is a Good Thing for Americans or Alaskans”
Washington, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) supported a stopgap package that extends the federal government funding deadline to March 14, 2025, thus avoiding a costly and unnecessary government shutdown while also providing critical disaster recovery funds for communities across the country. This package garnered bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress and included $300 million to refill the U.S. Department of Commerce’s fishery disaster assistance accounts, which Senator Murkowsk… Continue Reading
12.21.24
Murkowski Celebrates Long-Overdue Passage of Social Security Fairness Act
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) announced that the Senate passed H.R. 82 The Social Security Fairness Act tonight in a bipartisan vote of 76-20. This legislation repeals the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), which have reduced the amount of Social Security benefits accessible to select federal, state, local employees, and to their spouses and survivors. Senator Murkowski has been a longstanding supporter of the Social Security Fairness … Continue Reading
12.21.24
Murkowski: “Never, Ever a Time When a Government Shutdown is a Good Thing for Americans or Alaskans”
Washington, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) supported a stopgap package that extends the federal government funding deadline to March 14, 2025, thus avoiding a costly and unnecessary government shutdown while also providing critical disaster recovery funds for communities across the country. This package garnered bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress and included $300 million to refill the U.S. Department of Commerce’s fishery disaster assistance accounts, which Senator Murkowsk… Continue Reading
12.20.24
Murkowski Praises Alaska Provisions in Water Resource Development Act
Washington, DC - This week, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) supported S.4367, the Thomas R. Carper Water Resource Development of 2024, which overwhelmingly passed the U.S. Senate in a bipartisan vote of 97-1. The legislation authorizes projects to construct and improve new ports, harbors, and waterways across the country, while also installing a series of policy changes at the Army Corps of Engineers aimed at accelerating the agency’s work and expanding tribal partnerships. The U.S. House o… Continue Reading
12.18.24
Murkowski Supports Alaska Guardsmen and Alaska Service Members in National Defense Authorization Act
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) voted in favor of S.4638 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (NDAA FY25), which passed the Senate by a bipartisan vote of 85-14. This year’s NDAA authorizes $923.3 billion for national defense, with $878.4 billion for the Department of Defense (DoD) and $33.4 billion for national security programs within the Department of Energy (DOE). Significantly, it provides a 14.5 percent pay raise for junior enlisted service memb… Continue Reading
12.12.24
Older Americans Act and Murkowski’s Native ELDER Act Pass Senate
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) applauded the Senate passage of the Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2024, which included provisions of her bill, the Enhancing Native Elders’ Longevity, Dignity, Empowerment, and Respect (Native ELDER) Act. Co-sponsored by Senator Tina Smith (D-Minnesota), the Native ELDER Act will improve federal programs and services for Alaska Native, American Indian, and Native Hawaiian Elders. The legislation now heads to the U.S. House of … Continue Reading
12.11.24
Senators Murkowski, Sullivan Celebrate Victory for Accessibility and Affordability of Groceries in Alaska
Washington, DC - Following the news that Albertsons has backed out of the $24.6 billion merger with Kroger after a federal judge in Oregon and state judge in Washington blocked the deal yesterday, Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (both R-Alaska) released the following statements: "I have been working with the delegation for over a year to amplify the justified concerns Alaskans have about this merger, and I’m pleased that the courts have now recognized what we knew, that it would have i… Continue Reading
12.11.24
Murkowski Applauds Senate Passage of Firefighter Cancer Registry Reauthorization Act of 2023
Washington, DC -U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) announced that the United States Senate passed the Firefighter Cancer Registry Reauthorization Act of 2023. This legislation, which Senator Murkowski has spearheaded since 2016, maintains a national cancer registry for firefighters diagnosed with cancer in order to bolster research and data collection efforts to better understand the relationship between exposure to toxins and fumes, and higher cancer rates among firefighters. “Firefighters pro… Continue Reading
12.10.24
Coastal Plain ROD is a Complete Failure
Washington, DC—U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) slammed the Department of the Interior (DOI) after it released an unlawful Record of Decision (ROD) for the federally-mandated oil and gas program on the Coastal Plain of the non-wilderness Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in northeast Alaska. Interior’s ROD dramatically restricts leasing and future development on the 1.57-million-acre Coastal Plain by deliberately departing from the clear and unambiguous language tha… Continue Reading
12.06.24
Senate Passes Murkowski, Padilla Bill to Reauthorize National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program
Washington, D.C. —U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) announced that the Senate last night passed their bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) through Fiscal Year 2028 (FY28). The legislation now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill would authorize a total of $175.4 million per year from FY24-FY28 across the four federal agencies responsible for long-term earthquake risk reduction under NEHR… Continue Reading
12.02.24
ICYMI: The King Cove Road is a Matter of Human Rights
Washington, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) wrote a longform essay on King Cove, Alaska, for the latest issue of the American Bar Association’s Human Rights magazine. The full piece - which is copied below and available online here - makes the case for a life-saving road to connect King Cove with the all-weather airport in nearby Cold Bay. This simple, one-lane, gravel, non-commercial use road is needed to ensure reliable transportation access to and from the predominantly Aleut community dur… Continue Reading
11.21.24
Murkowski, Padilla Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Establish the Atmospheric River Forecasting Program
Washington, DC -U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) introduced bipartisan legislation that will bolster emergency preparedness by improving atmospheric river forecasting to more precisely predict the timing and location of these storms. The Improving Atmospheric River Forecasts Act would require the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to establish a forecast improvement program within the National Weather Service (NWS). Atmospheric rivers, often de… Continue Reading
11.21.24
Murkowski, Bennet Introduce Bill to Support Wide Range of Carbon Dioxide Removal Approaches
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) introduced the Carbon Dioxide Removal Investment Act to establish a new production tax credit designed to jumpstart the United States’ carbon dioxide removal (CDR) industry. The tax credit would support innovative CDR approaches that are ready to be deployed today, while also creating pathways for those still in development. “Alaska possesses unique characteristics that make it a perfect candidate to be a nati… Continue Reading
