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.

03.07.14

Murkowski Teams to Reform Jobless Programs, Fund Long-Term Unemployment Insurance Extension

With the nation's economy recovering at a sluggish pace, Senator Lisa Murkowski today announced she joined with six of her Republican colleagues in proposing a five-month extension of long-term unemployment benefits that also reforms key jobless programs without adding a dime to the federal deficit. The measure - co-sponsored by Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Mark Kirk (R-IL), Dan Coats (R-IN), Rob Portman (R-OH) and Dean Heller (R-NV) - would retroactively provide relief back to when long-term… Continue Reading


03.07.14

Murkowski Questions Delay on Shellfish Negotiations

On the heels of conversations with Southeast Alaskan fishermen economically impacted by a Chinese ban on West Coast shellfish, Senator Lisa Murkowski is reaching out to federal authorities to encourage them to follow through quickly on plans to travel to China and resolve the dispute. Though the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration planned on sending representatives to China this past week to work through issues preventing imports of American products into China and determine how bes… Continue Reading


03.07.14

Murkowski Pushes Pentagon for Pearl Harbor Victims to be “Unknown” No Longer

Senator Lisa Murkowski joined a bipartisan group of 15 Senate colleagues in urging the Department of Defense to have the bodies of 21 victims of the Pearl Harbor attack exhumed and identified so that they can either be brought home for burial in their community, or be buried in a marked grave in Hawaii. Military researchers and scientists have concluded that the remains of 21 of the 429 men who perished in the explosive beginning of America's involvement in World War II are buried at the Nat… Continue Reading


03.06.14

Murkowski: Military Sexual Assault is “Underside of Military Culture,” Calls for Reform

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today took to the floor of the United States Senate to encourage her Senate colleagues to pass legislation providing reforms to the military when seeking justice for victims of military sexual assault. After over a year of pressing the Pentagon for a 'culture change' and co-sponsoring several bills that would improve and expand victims' rights and protections, the Senate held procedural votes on two bills offering such measures to get within one step of… Continue Reading


03.05.14

Murkowski: White House “Putting Politics First” with Health Care Delays

WASHINGTON, D.C. - With the White House today announcing another change to its signature health care law - an additional extension of the deadline where Americans can keep existing plans it had previously outlawed until 2017, past this year's mid-term elections and after the Obama administration's end - Senator Lisa Murkowski today shared the following thoughts with Alaska: "The President promised Americans that if they liked their health plans, they could keep them - and that broken promise wa… Continue Reading


03.05.14

Murkowski: President’s Budget Features No Arctic Focus

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today had the following response after finding the President's budget released yesterday does not prioritize Arctic issues, in contrast to the recent public comments claiming otherwise: "Though the administration claims it is taking America's Arctic future seriously, time and time again it has failed to put its money where its mouth is. The President's budget is his yearly opportunity to lay out his priorities. Unfortunately for Alaska and America, he… Continue Reading


03.04.14

Alaska Delegation Fights House Attempt to Meddle with Bypass Mail

WASHINGTON, DC - The Alaska Delegation today vigorously defended Alaska's bypass mail system against proposed changes that would leave Alaskans with higher costs and less reliable delivery during a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. U.S. Senator Mark Begich and Representative Don Young testified before the committee and Senator Lisa Murkowski submitted testimony as part of the delegation's joint efforts to protect bypass mail. During the provocatively titled heari… Continue Reading


03.03.14

Murkowski: New USCG Alaska District Commander Signals Alaskan, Arctic Importance

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski responded to the United States Coast Guard today naming Rear Admiral Daniel B. Abel to be the Commander of the 17th District, which oversees all of Alaska's waters: "Once again the Coast Guard challenges in Alaska have attracted one of the service's best and brightest. I look forward to working with Rear Admiral Abel as we increase our focus on Arctic strategic priorities. "Of course, this announcement also means a new opportunity for his predecessor … Continue Reading


03.03.14

Sen. Murkowski Offers Roadmap for Lifting Ban on Crude Oil Exports

HOUSTON, TEXAS - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) today presented a road map for lifting the prohibition against exporting American crude oil. Murkowski, in her keynote address to national and international energy leaders at the 33rd annual CERAWeek conference, called on the Obama administration to update archaic regulations blocking shipments of light oil or "condensates," and to make a presidential finding that oil exports in general are in the national interest. America's unconventional e… Continue Reading


02.28.14

Murkowski Welcomes Coast Guard Commandant Nominee

Senator Lisa Murkowski responded to today's White House nomination of Pacific Area Commander Vice Admiral Paul F. Zukunft to be the 25th Commandant of the United States Coast Guard: "Today's announcement is good news for the nation, great news for Alaska and a positive step forward for America's Arctic future. I had the chance to meet Vice Admiral Zukunft last month and get to know him when he guided me around the new Coast Guard Sector Anchorage building. I was impressed immediately with his… Continue Reading


02.26.14

Murkowski Fisheries Failure Funding Fight Secures Over $20M for Alaska

Last week in her speech to the Alaska State Legislature, Senator Lisa Murkowski cited her 'Coastal Coalition' of 38 Congressmen she built seeking federal relief from fishery failures as an example of her consensus-building in Congress and diligent, daily efforts for Alaska. Today, that fight finally has a dollar amount attached to it, headed to Alaskan communities along the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers and in Cook Inlet damaged by low Chinook runs in 2012: $20.8 million, as announced this morning… Continue Reading


02.25.14

Murkowski: F-35 Announcement Cements Alaska’s Military Importance

Senator Lisa Murkowski today responded to the United States Air Force's announcement that both Eielson Air Force Base and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson are being considered as potential home bases for F-35s, saying: "In the 21stcentury, Alaska is prime military real estate: we have the skies, we have the community support and we reside on the frontlines of the Asia-Pacific region, overlooking the emerging threats from the West. Today's announcement only cements the fact that the Last Frontie… Continue Reading


02.24.14

Murkowski Representing Nation at International Arctic Conference

Senator Lisa Murkowski today is representing the United States of America at a meeting of the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region (SCPAR) in Ottawa, Canada. She is working alongside representatives from the other Arctic nations, as they study and discuss emerging possibilities and challenges in the region. Among the topics of discussion today are shipping routes through the Northwest Passage and intelligent investment in the region. "It is so encouraging and energizing… Continue Reading


02.21.14

Navy Veteran Overcomes Stereotypes to Excel

WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski is today releasing her 21st Veteran Spotlight interview, focusing on the military service of Soldotna resident Jane Fuerstenau who served in the U.S. Navy for five years as a jet mechanic and then served our country in the reserves. During her Veteran Spotlight interview, Fuerstenau recalls being 18 years old and a year and a half into college when she realized it wasn't for her. She decided to join the military. It was the luck of the draw that br… Continue Reading


02.20.14

Murkowski Seeks to Pull Back "Window Dressing" of Arctic Rep

KETCHIKAN, Alaska -One day after sharing her concerns that the recently-announced 'Special Representative for the Arctic' position represents mere "window dressing" on Arctic engagement, Senator Lisa Murkowski called on Secretary John Kerry to meet with her and provide more information about the nature of the position -- and why he is declining to name an official to a full Ambassador position. With Senator Murkowski having recently delivered the Keynote Address at the Global Arctic Symposium a… Continue Reading


02.20.14

Murkowski Celebrates “Hidden Heroes” of Black History Month

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Murkowski today shared with Alaskans her commemorating for Black History Month: Click on the image above to watch her video message "Every February, Americans come together to celebrate Black History Month. It is a valuable way for Americans across the country to appreciate and recall the profound impact African Americans have had on American history. There are many leaders you have heard of, including Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson, Malcom X, … Continue Reading


02.18.14

Murkowski Success Finalized on Alaska Native Care, Hundreds of Jobs Statewide

WASHINGTON, D.C. - For years, Senator Lisa Murkowski has urged the federal government to follow through on its trust responsibility to America's first people and provide the necessary - and legally-required - resources to attend to their medical needs nationwide. Murkowski today is pleased to see the funding levels, or 'operating plans' of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Service reflect her success in the Interior Appropriations Committee in rejecting the injustice of shortchang… Continue Reading


02.14.14

Murkowski: Arctic Representative An Improvement, but Questions Remain

Three days after Senator Lisa Murkowski expressed criticism of the Obama administration's lack of thoughtful, active engagement in the Arctic - through her letter to the President about his 'Implementation Plan' - Secretary of State John Kerry sent her a letter (attached) informing her of his plans to announce a 'Special Representative for the Arctic Region.' Today's letter from Secretary Kerry follows a series of discussions between Senator Murkowski and Vice President Joe Biden on this matter… Continue Reading


02.14.14

Murkowski Honors Former Alaska Territorial Governor Michael Stepovich

Senator Lisa Murkowski today shared her reflections on the legacy of Michael Stepovich, who passed away this morning at the age of 94: "I am incredibly saddened to learn of the loss of Mike Stepovich, the last of Alaska's territorial Governors. Mike played a vital role in Alaska's admission to statehood, and for the 54 years that followed he occupied a prominent place on the public policy scene. Today we have lost another link to Alaska's territorial history and that leaves a huge hole in my he… Continue Reading


02.13.14

Murkowski Slams “Unambitious” White House Arctic Plan

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today reached out to the Obama administration and expressed her disappointment that its recently-released "Arctic Strategy Implementation Plan" falls far short of America's needs as the nation slips further behind other nations investing in the region. The United States is scheduled to become the Chair of the Arctic Council next year, and Senator Murkowski has been working with Cabinet officials, top military brass and international leaders to advocate … Continue Reading

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