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.
Sen. Murkowski: Bipartisan Nuclear Bill Represents Real Progress
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today spoke on the merits of the Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2013 (S. 1240) during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on the bill. Murkowski, along with Sens. Wyden (D-Ore.), Feinstein (D-Calif.), and Alexander (R-Tenn.) introduced the bipartisan legislation last month to address the back end of the nuclear energy fuel cycle. (Click to play video of Murkowski's opening statement.) "We know there are certain s… Continue Reading
07.30.13
Eielson F-16 Move Defunded, Prohibited in Defense Appropriations Subcommittee
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski today thanked her Defense Appropriations Subcommittee colleagues for including language to prohibit the use of FY2014 funds to implement the transfer of the F-16 Aggressor Squadron, a move she requested in an April letter to the Subcommittee Chair and Ranking Republican and subsequently reinforced in a mid-July letter. As a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations subcommitee, Murkowski took the chance to once again lay out the wrongheaded proposal to … Continue Reading
07.26.13
Alaska Delegation Wins Two-Year Reprieve from FCC on Universal Service Fund Changes
WASHINGTON, D.C. - After unrelenting pressure by the Alaska Congressional Delegation, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today announced it will be suspending cuts to small rural Alaska telecommunication companies for nearly two years. This suspension will finally force the FCC to reexamine how its new Universal Service Fund (USF) reforms will impact residents of Alaska. For the last two years the Alaska Congressional Delegation has written nearly a dozen letters to the FCC critical o… Continue Reading
07.26.13
Murkowski Announces Alaska Mobile Office Stops
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today announced her staff will visit select communities throughout Interior, Southcentral, and Southeast Alaska during the month of August in an effort to advance her engagement efforts and expand constituent outreach and response across the state. During mobile office hours members of Senator Murkowski's staff will meet with constituents and community leaders to collect casework requests and listen to concerns about issues and policies related to the f… Continue Reading
07.26.13
Murkowski: Alaska Natives Deserve “More Action Than Rhetoric” from Administration
WASHINGTON, DC - As the Obama administration prepares to convene its new White House Council on Native Affairs next week, Senator Lisa Murkowski is calling for it to pursue policies that are consistent with tribal self-determination - especially allowing tribes to determine the best methods to implement integrated economic policies to promote opportunities for Alaska Natives, rather than top-down guidelines from Washington, D.C. In a letter to the White House (attached), Senator Murkowski urged… Continue Reading
07.26.13
Murkowski: “Get Out and Play” for Ted Stevens Day
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Murkowski today shared the following message with Alaskans in anticipation of the third annual Ted Stevens Day tomorrow, as she prepares to join Alaskans at community gatherings in Anchorage and Fairbanks this weekend: (Click the image above to view Senator Murkowski's remarks) "Happy Ted Stevens Day, Alaska! "This fourth Saturday of July, marks the third time that Alaskans from across the state will join together to "get out and play" in memory of the life and l… Continue Reading
07.25.13
Murkowski Continues Pushback Against Flawed Health Care Bill Through Appropriations Committee Votes
WASHINGTON, DC - With structural flaws, skyrocketing health care costs, cratering public support, and former Congressional supporters calling it a "train wreck" - in addition to a $684 million federally-funded advertising campaign scheduled for this fall selling the policy to Americans - Senator Lisa Murkowski today continued to support efforts to block the most controversial components of the Affordable Care Act. (ACA) The Appropriations Committee took up the FY 2014 Financial Services/General… Continue Reading
07.25.13
Murkowski Backs Park Service Off Its Flawed Fish Policy
WASHINGTON, DC - In an occasionally tense questioning of the National Park Service Director today, Senator Lisa Murkowski convinced him in his public comments to revise the agencies guidelines and take steps to allow wild Alaskan salmon and other wild Alaska seafood back on the concession stands of national parks nationwide. Two weeks ago, Senator Murkowski originally called attention to her problems with the National Park Service's flawed June decision to require high priced eco-endorsements f… Continue Reading
07.25.13
Sen. Murkowski: Park Service Needs to Look at Alternative Funding for Maintenance Backlog
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today expressed her frustration with the National Park Service's (NPS) handling of their maintenance backlog, which they estimate to be up to $13 billion, during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing. (Click to play video.) "We are taking a very important step with today's hearing in starting the discussion about how to begin addressing the National Park Service's $13 billion maintenance backlog," Murkowski said. "This … Continue Reading
07.24.13
Murkowski Votes for Permanent Fix on Student Loan Rates
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski today voted for a bipartisan bill, The Smarter Solutions for Students Act, to provide a permanent fix for all federal student loan rates by tying the rates to the U.S. Treasury's 10-year borrowing rate. The bill passed the U.S. Senate on a vote of 81-18. The bill also grants retroactive relief to new loans received in the brief July period after rates had doubled, and caps rates at certain limits for the duration of the loan. This is the second time in … Continue Reading
07.24.13
Alaska Delegation: Air Force Overlooking Several F-16 Impacts
Alaska Delegation: Air Force Overlooking Several F-16 Impacts Congressional Delegation Seeks Extra Time for Additional DEIS Input, Including Mountain View Community WASHINGTON, D.C. - Alaska's Congressional Delegation is reaching out to the United States Air Force and highlighting several additional concerns that need to be addressed as they conduct their Draft Environmental Impact Statement Review surrounding the proposed transfer of the F-16 Aggressor Squadron from Eielson Air Force Base to … Continue Reading
07.23.13
Eielson Proposal is “Fire, Ready, Aim” Move
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski testified today before the Commission on the Structure of the Air Force - an independent panel designed by Congress to take a strategic view of the Air Force's future direction - and pushed back on the United States Air Force proposal to transfer the F-16 Aggressor Squadron from Eielson Air Force Base to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and "warm base" Eielson. Taking place less than a mile from the Pentagon, Murkowski's presentation touched on the poten… Continue Reading
07.22.13
Murkowski Taking Eielson Argument Directly to Air Force Commission
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski is testifying tomorrow before the Commission on the Structure of the Air Force, stressing the case that if the Department of Defense is truly changing its strategic focus towards the Pacific Rim, the Pentagon should not be considering any Alaskan actions that hinder the nation's defense. For over eighteen months, Murkowski has made the case that the United States Air Force proposal to transfer the F-16 Aggressor Squadron from Eielson AFB to Joint Base E… Continue Reading
07.19.13
Murkowski Co-Sponsors Pension Protection Effort for Rural Co-ops and Charities
Alaska Power Association, Girl Scouts Appreciate Bill Providing Pension Law Change WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski has joined a bipartisan group of her Senate colleagues in introducing legislation designed to make it easier for charities and rural cooperatives to offer pension plans. The Cooperative and Small Employer Charity Pension Flexibility Act of 2013 (CSEC) would make permanent a provision exempting charities and rural cooperatives across the country from participating in the … Continue Reading
07.18.13
Alaska’s Needs Advanced, Approved by Appropriations Committee
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski succeeded today in pushing a wide range of Alaskan priorities through the Senate Appropriations process, as the provisions and funding levels that she successfully passed through two subcommittees on Tuesday were advanced and approved by the entire Appropriations Committee this morning. Those two bills included funding for fishery disasters, Coast Guard operations, icebreaker construction, firefighter grants, tsunami debris funding, prioritizing electroni… Continue Reading
07.18.13
Sen. Murkowski: Oversight an Important First Step in Future of DOE Loan Programs
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today discussed the Department of Energy's (DOE) current loan programs and steps that could help improve them at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on the issue. (click for video of opening statement) "DOE's loan programs can serve a valuable purpose, but right now we need to know if the loans and loan guarantees issued so far have been as effective as we hoped," Murkowski said. "It is vital for our committee to cond… Continue Reading
07.17.13
Murkowski Commemorates 40th Anniversary of Senate Vote on Trans-Alaska Pipeline System
WASHINGTON, D.C. -Senator Lisa Murkowski today highlighted the 40th anniversary of the Senate approving construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) in Alaska. "Four decades ago today, the Senate authorized an ambitious project to construct a pipeline across the entire state of Alaska to deliver North Slope crude oil to the Lower 48," Murkowski said. "It was a monumental decision that has shaped the trajectory of Alaska to this day." On July 17, 1973, the Senate voted 49-49 to… Continue Reading
07.17.13
Greely Missile Defense of "Paramount Importance" to Nation
MDA Head Tells Murkowski Missile Errors Fixed, More Missiles Being Considered Due to Iran WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski received assurance from the head of the Missile Defense Agency today the errors that led to a recent ground-based interceptor missile test failure have been resolved, in his responses to her questions in a hearing of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. Murkowski also reminded the MDA that she had found the 2009 decision to cut Alaska's Fort Greely missil… Continue Reading
07.16.13
Murkowski Addresses Alaska’s Arctic & Travel Concerns in Committee
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski leveraged her position on the U.S. Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee to advance a number of key Alaskan and Arctic priorities - from U.S. Coast Guard icebreakers and Alaska-homeported Cutters to burdensome bureaucracy and fees on Alaskans who travel or work in transportation-related fields. Homeporting a National Security Cutter in Alaska -Months after Murkowski pressed DHS Secretary Napolitano about the inefficiency of homeporting sh… Continue Reading
07.16.13
Commemorating Bering Day, Murkowski Gives Arctic Address
WASHINGTON, D.C. - On the 272nd anniversary of Russian explorer Vitus Bering first coming within view of Alaska's St. Elias Mountains, Senator Lisa Murkowski spoke this morning on the Impacts of an Ice-Diminishing Arctic on Naval and Maritime Operations. While referencing the previous level of Russian engagement in the region, Murkowski pressed all in attendance to advocate for American leadership in the region. She shared her thoughts and ideas at a symposium co-hosted by the U.S. National Ice… Continue Reading
