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.
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
07.16.13
Sen. Murkowski Highlights Significant Benefits of Rising U.S. Oil Production
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today discussed the significant benefits of rising American oil production at a hearing held by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The purpose of the hearing was to consider gasoline prices, including a number of factors that could be affecting them, and broader changes taking place in the petroleum industry. In her opening statement, Murkowski highlighted high fuel costs in Alaska. She spoke of the need to increase oil pr… Continue Reading
07.16.13
Murkowski Fish Fights Get Alaskan Results in Committee
Murkowski Fish Fights Get Alaskan Results in Committee Senator's Work with Colleagues on Appropriations Advances Efforts WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski supported a bill today that includes important funding for Alaska's fisheries to strengthen the communities and businesses reliant upon them. Included in the Senate's 2014 Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations bill adopted by the subcommittee is $150 million for federal fisheries disasters, which could help address Alaska's low… Continue Reading
07.12.13
Murkowski Demands Answers on Harmful Federal Fish Policies
WASHINGTON, DC - With the National Park Service recently announcing it would only sell fish deemed to be "sustainable" by outside groups that presently do not recognize Alaska's fisheries as sustainable despite ample evidence to the contrary, Senator Lisa Murkowski today reached out to federal officials seeking alternatives to this flawed process. In a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services, General Services Administration and the National Park Service, Murkowski criticized the g… Continue Reading
07.11.13
Wyden, Murkowski Applaud Passage of Public Lands, Energy Measures
Washington, D.C. - Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Ranking Member Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, applauded their Senate colleagues for passing a public lands bill and two energy measures last night - the Vietnam Veterans Donor Acknowledgement Act (H.R. 588), the South Utah Valley Electric Service District (H.R. 251), and the Bonneville Unit Clean Hydropower Facilitation (H.R. 254). H.R. 588, introduced by Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, allows for the acknowl… Continue Reading
07.11.13
Murkowski: Committee Vote is “Exhibit A” of Public Anger at Congress
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski today expressed disappointment at Democrats in the United States Senate Appropriations Committee for approving an increase in the Legislative Branch budget amid nationwide budget cuts and passing the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education budget that includes funding for the now-postponed employer mandate. "Today Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee chose to allocate billions of dollars to the Affordable Care Act - a law leaders of the… Continue Reading
07.10.13
Murkowski Votes Against Tax Hike, Student Loan “Band Aid Bill”
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski today maintained her support for a permanent, comprehensive solution to the student loan rate issue she has co-sponsored with Republicans, Democrats and Independents in the Senate: the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act. In doing so, she again rejected the Senate Majority's one-year, partial solution that only addresses subsidized undergraduate Stafford loans and would be paid for by raising taxes on pension and retirement account benefits. "America's… Continue Reading
07.10.13
Murkowski Calls for Permanent Delay of “Unworkable” Health Care Law
WASHINGTON, DC - With the Obama Administration postponing its health care employer mandate for a year - a decision leading Senate architects of the bill to say "This was the law. How can they change the law?" - Senator Lisa Murkowski and dozens of her Senate colleagues are urging the entire health care reform law be permanently postponed in the face of public backlash and projected cost spikes. Last Tuesday, the White House's Senior Policy Director Valerie Jarrett discussed the one year repriev… Continue Reading
07.10.13
Murkowski Votes to Curb Discrimination in the Workplace
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski today voted in favor of the bipartisan Employment Non-Discrimination Act this morning, which passed out of the Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee (HELP) on a 15-7 vote. "I was pleased to be able to support the Employee Non-Discrimination Act passing out of committee today. I am a strong believer that individuals should be judged on whether they can do the job, not their sexual orientation - and I appreciate the hundreds of Alaskans who shared … Continue Reading
07.09.13
Murkowski’s Second Group of Interns Get to Work in Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -Senator Lisa Murkowski today met with her second group of summer interns upon their arrival to Washington, D.C.-as they prepare to observe and participate in the daily operations of the United States Senate and witness the legislative process. Senator Murkowski's D.C. office is the only U.S. Senate office on Capitol Hill to bring on newly-graduated high school students for full-time help. The 10 Alaskan students from across the state will spend the next 4 weeks assisting in th… Continue Reading
07.09.13
Sen. Murkowski Visits with Wounded Veterans at Lake Clark National Park
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, met July 2 with wounded veterans and their spouses during a visit to Alaska's Lake Clark National Park and Preserve as part of the National Park Service partnership with Operation Heal Our Patriots. Sen. Murkowski and several Operation Heal Our Patriots wounded veterans and their spouses at Lake Clark National Park and Preserve in Alaska on Tuesday, July 2. (Photo: NPS) "I'm thankful that I was able to spend some time with a few of Ameri… Continue Reading
07.09.13
Murkowski Co-Sponsors Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski today co-sponsored S.1241 the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act to keep loan rates low for new college students - representing a permanent fix to "lock and lower" interest rates for 100 percent of newly-issued student loans. Though rates on new loans officially doubled on July 1st, if this bill is enacted, the U.S. Department of Education would originate all new loans for the coming school year at the new, lower rates. This bipartisan measure uses a … Continue Reading
07.03.13
Murkowski Urges NOAA to Extend Catch Share Plan Comment Period Beyond “Prime Fishing Season in Alaska”
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski reached out to the Acting Administrator of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), advocating for a common-sense extension of the 45 day comment period on the Proposed Rule unveiled Friday for the Catch Share Plan (CSP) for Guided Sport and Commercial Fisheries in Alaska - a comment period that takes place entirely within one of the busiest times for Alaska's halibut fisherman. When NOAA released a proposed rule last Friday, it d… Continue Reading
07.03.13
Senator Murkowski Celebrates Alaskan Patriotism on 4th of July
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today offered the following words in celebration of Independence Day. (Click image to watch video message) "This 4th of July, we celebrate the 237th anniversary of our nation's independence and honor the brave collection of thoughtful men who put their lives on the line to support a visionary idea, what many called 'The American Experiment.' Though we know the words by heart now, it was truly revolutionary to believe in the 18th Century that 'all me… Continue Reading
07.03.13
Murkowski Unites POW's Family With Alaskan Who Honored Him For Decades Wearing Bracelet
ANCHORAGE, AK -This Independence Day 2013, a small narrow metal band has connected the Lower 48 family of a United States Air Force Missing in Action-Prisoner of War (MIA/POW) from the Vietnam War with an Alaskan woman who - despite never having met this pilot or spoken with - started wearing his commemorative bracelet during the war and thought of him and prayed for him for decades. Through the efforts of Senator Lisa Murkowski's staff, Virginia Spreen of Wasilla was able to track down the pil… Continue Reading
