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.

05.13.14

Sen. Murkowski Criticizes Democratic Leadership for Blocking Energy Debate

Senator Lisa Murkowski today issued the following statement on Sen. Harry Reid's refusal Monday to block bipartisan debate on energy efficiency legislation and disallow relevant energy-related amendments from Republicans: "I was greatly disappointed in the majority leader's refusal to allow an open debate in the Senate on energy policy - something it hasn't done in seven years. We used to hold hundreds of votes on amendments. Now it's all politics all the time. "Sen. Reid's decision to deny Re… Continue Reading


05.09.14

Murkowski Leads Senate Effort to Protect Threatened Native Languages

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski is introducing the Native American Languages Reauthorization Act of 2014 with Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD), to reauthorize the Native American languages grant program - funding and maintaining the program administered by the Health and Human Services Administration for Native Americans through 2019. "Our Alaska Native languages are alive and spoken today, yet we have much work to do to keep them alive," said Murkowski, "Our Native languages are at risk, a… Continue Reading


05.08.14

Murkowski Leading Capitol Hill Fight Against Combat Veteran Suicide

WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski today co-sponsored the Suicide Prevention for America's Veterans Act of 2014 (the SAV Act) to empower America's soldiers returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan against the continuing toll of war and self-threatening behavior. With veteran suicide claiming 22 American lives a day on average, the SAV Act would dramatically improve the care available to veterans, remove layers of red tape and expand safeguards that provide critical therapy and medication t… Continue Reading


05.08.14

Murkowski to HHS Nominee: Instead of ‘Affordable,’ Many Alaska Health Care Premiums Doubling

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today stressed the costly and potentially-harmful Alaskan impacts of the Affordable Care Act with the nominee to become the next Secretary of Health and Human Services - who would oversee the further implementation of health care reform if approved. During a hearing of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Murkowski informed the nominee Sylvia Burwell that not only are health care premiums more than doubling for many Alaskans, but that so… Continue Reading


05.06.14

Murkowski Honors Fallen Alaska State Troopers on Senate Floor

WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski today spoke on the floor of the United States Senate, honoring the memories of Sergeant Patrick Johnson and Gabriel Rich of the Alaska State Troopers - the two peace officers that were shot and killed in the line of duty last week in Tanana. After recounting their heroism and selfless sense of duty to her Senate colleagues, she then spoke to the strength of the Tanana community, saying: Tanana is a community of about 280 people. It sits at the confluence… Continue Reading


05.06.14

Murkowski Condemns Abduction, Mistreatment of Nigerian Women

WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski and all twenty Senate women today sent a letter (attached) to President Obama condemning the abduction and mistreatment of more than 200 girls by the terrorist group Boko Haram in Chibok, Nigeria and calling for additional international sanctions against the organization. Boko Haram has threatened to sell the girls as slaves, and some may have already been sold into child marriages. "We are outraged and horrified that these young women have been kidnapped… Continue Reading


05.05.14

Murkowski Working with FDA to Protect Alaskan Women’s Health

Senator Lisa Murkowski and 14 of her women Senate colleagues are urging the Obama administration to stand up for women's health and to make sure medical treatments are safe and effective for women. In a letter (attached) to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Murkowski and her colleagues are asking that more women and minorities be included in clinical trials to ensure accurate information on the safety and effectiveness of new drugs and medical devices is made available. Though this actio… Continue Reading


05.01.14

Murkowski Seeks Answers from Odierno on “Pivot to the Pacific”

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski focused on Alaska's strategic location to the Pacific theater when U.S. Army Chief of Staff General Raymond Odierno appeared before her in the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, inquiring how safe its Army assets are from the larger budget cuts contained within the bipartisan Budget Control Act (BCA) passed in 2011. Murkowski also thanked General Odierno for Major General Karen E. Dyson, Director of the Army Budget traveling to Fairbanks to del… Continue Reading


04.30.14

Murkowski “Shocked” at National Guard’s Lack of Intervention on Sexual Assault

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today pressed the National Guard's Chief about whether it is able to adequately pursue answers and justice when allegations of sexual assault arise among members of the Alaska National Guard - saying she is "surprised and shocked that the National Guard says it has no power to pursue them" at the state level. In a hearing of a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee, Murkowski asked General Frank J. Grass why more wasn't done by the National Guard when accus… Continue Reading


04.30.14

Murkowski: “It’s Groundhog Day” on Tongass Timber Problems

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today pressed U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell on his failure to increase the amount of timber cut annually in Alaska's Tongass National Forest. (Click to play video) Murkowski referred to Chief Tidwell's appearance Wednesday before the Senate Appropriations Interior and Environment Subcommittee hearing on the Forest Service's budget request as "Groundhog Day." "Because every year you commit to working with me to improve the timber sale prog… Continue Reading


04.29.14

Murkowski Unveils Smart Phone Friendly Website

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today introduced Alaskans to her new website connection with constituents, providing a user-friendly stream of news and contact information for Alaskans searching the web from smart phones or tablets. Instead of previous technology which displayed the website as it appeared on a laptop or desktop computer, the new website will convert and customize the new website's appearance to best suit the type of device being used. "More and more Alaskans are keep… Continue Reading


04.29.14

Murkowski Announces 1st Session of Summer Interns

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today announced the names of her first session summer interns who will work in her Washington, D.C. office next month. Just weeks after graduating from high school, these young Alaskans will participate in the operations of a fast-paced Senate office and get an up-close view of the legislative process. "Being a Senate intern years ago instilled in me a deep respect and appreciation for service to Alaskans and the importance of influencing federal polic… Continue Reading


04.25.14

Murkowski Thanks Forest Service for Administrative Fix to Cabin Fees in the Tongass

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) today commended the U.S. Forest Service for administratively enacting language to limit fees on subsistence cabins in the Tongass National Forest that Murkowski originally proposed in the Alaska Subsistence Structure Protection Act of 2013 (S. 736). "It was wrong for the Forest Service to charge subsistence users for owning cabins on national forestry land at the same rate they charged non-subsistence users," Murkowski said. "With today's a… Continue Reading


04.24.14

Murkowski Welcomes IHS Payment to Alaska Native Healthcare Provider

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski is applauding news that the Indian Health Service has reached an agreement with one of Alaska's largest Native health care providers to pay the contract support costs IHS owes it. Southcentral Foundation President/CEO Katherine Gottlieb informed Murkowski yesterday that Acting Director of the Indian Health Service, Dr. Yvette Roubideaux, is agreeing to pay $96 million to SCF so the organization can continue to provide health care for Alaska Native and A… Continue Reading


04.22.14

AK Delegation to FCC: Fulfill Universal Service Obligations for Alaska

WASHINGTON, DC - Alaska's Congressional delegation raised concerns this week with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about its lack of progress in fulfilling universal service goals established by Congress and crucial to expanding Alaska's telecommunications network. Universal service is the principle that all Americans should have access to communications services. In a letter sent to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, Senators Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich and Congressman Don Young emphasiz… Continue Reading


04.18.14

Murkowski Responds to GAO Arctic Report

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today responded to the Government Accountability Office's report on Maritime Infrastructure: Key Issues Related to Commercial Activity in the U.S. Arctic in the Next Decade, saying: "I appreciate the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for its focus on our nation's Arctic Maritime Infrastructure needs, though I disagree with the suggestion that our development and activity are not on the rise. Given the substantial lack of Arctic infrastructure, now … Continue Reading


04.18.14

Sen. Murkowski Blasts State Department Decision to Further Delay Keystone XL Approval

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) today issued the following response to the U.S. State Department's decision to indefinitely delay the process for approving the Keystone XL pipeline project: "The administration's choice to delay indefinitely a decision on extending the Keystone XL pipeline is nothing short of a stunning act of political cowardice. And the timing of this announcement - waiting until a Friday afternoon during the holy Passover holiday in the hope that most A… Continue Reading


04.16.14

Murkowski Questions “Nickel and Diming” of Military Health Care Cost Increases

With military retirees and family members facing a surge in out-of-pocket costs for medical care co-pays due to new TRICARE policies within the Fiscal Year 2015 Pentagon budget, Senator Lisa Murkowski is pressing the military for the reasoning behind these fee hikes. In a recent Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, Murkowski asked the Surgeon Generals of the military whether these increases were fully thought out in addressing the military's bottom line or strictly to hit a budge… Continue Reading


04.15.14

Murkowski Urges Agriculture Secretary to Alaskanize Food Assistance Policies

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski reached out to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to remind him of guidance she placed in the recently-enacted Farm Bill as he crafts rules for stores participating in the food stamp program, warning without such guidance, "proposed regulations may be drafted based on circumstances commonly found in the Lower 48, rather than the more unique and challenging environment of rural Alaska." The Agriculture Bill of 2014 (also known at the Far… Continue Reading


04.11.14

Alaska Senators Congratulate 2014 Cherry Blossom Princess

WASHINGTON, DC - Alaska's United States senators were thrilled this week to congratulate Anchorage born-and-raised Chelsea Marlow for being this year's Alaska representative in the Cherry Blossom Princess Program. Senator Mark Begich was pleased to nominate Marlow, who works in his Washington, DC office, to represent Alaska in this week's festivities. Senator Lisa Murkowski - a former Cherry Blossom Princess herself, served as an honorary Chair of the Cherry Blossom Congressional Reception thi… Continue Reading

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