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 Applauds Passage of Bill to Rename Mount McKinley
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today commended her colleagues on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for helping advance legislation to officially restore the nation's tallest peak, Mount McKinley, to its traditional Koyukon Athabascan name, Denali. The energy panel on Tuesday approved the measure by voice vote, clearing it for consideration by the full Senate. (Photo credit: National Parks Service) "In Alaska, we don't refer to it as Mount McKinley; we… Continue Reading
06.18.13
Energy Committee Advances 12 Lands, Energy Bills to Full Senate
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today applauded her colleagues on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for advancing 12 energy and lands bills out of the panel for consideration by the full Senate. "It's important to acknowledge the work that has gone into these bills, as some have been worked on for many years," said Murkowski, the ranking Republican on the panel. "To be able get to a point where we can move these bills out on a bipartisan basis really says … Continue Reading
06.18.13
Sen. Murkowski Delivered Keynote Address at EIA Annual Conference
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today delivered a keynote address during the Energy Information Administration (EIA)'s annual conference. The conference focused on current and future challenges facing domestic and international energy markets and policymakers. 2013 EIA Annual Conference Senator Lisa Murkowski June 18, 2013 "Good morning, and thank you, Adam, for that kind introduction. It is a true pleasure to be here. At this early hour I'm reminded of advice the Engl… Continue Reading
06.18.13
Murkowski Co-Sponsors Effort to Restrict Surveillance “Rubber Stamp”
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski today joined a bipartisan effort to tighten the standards required for federal intelligence workers to be permitted to search through Americans' phone and/or Internet records - a practice recently dubbed "metadata surveillance." Murkowski's decade-long concern over surveillance activities have been borne out by recent reports that the government has collected millions of Americans' call data - who they are calling and for how long - as well as the appeara… Continue Reading
06.13.13
Murkowski Calls on White House to Expedite Disaster Funds for Alaskan Flood Victims
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today wrote President Barack Obama to ensure Interior Alaskans recovering from receding spring flood waters and devastating damage are given the same federal assistance to help their communities recover as all others across the nation. In doing so, she stressed equal attention to Alaska's rural community needs, saying it would be wrong "to exclude these communities from individual assistance simply because they are small and remote." "This spring, whil… Continue Reading
06.13.13
Murkowski-Backed Measures Combating Sexual Assault Included in Defense Bill
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski today expressed appreciation that language and provisions from a bill she co-sponsored to prevent military sexual assaults and protect victims has been included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) considered in the Senate Armed Services Committee this week. Key provisions from within bipartisan legislation cosponsored by Senator Murkowski - the Combating Military Sexual Assault Act introduced by Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Kelly Ayotte (… Continue Reading
06.12.13
Sen. Murkowski Delivers Keynote Address on Geological Impacts of U.S. Tight Oil Boom
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today delivered the keynote address at the Bipartisan Policy Center's event, "The Geopolitical Impacts of the U.S. Tight Oil Boom: Implications for OPEC and the U.S. Strategic Posture." The event is the first of four the BPC will host on the geopolitics of petroleum and natural gas over the course of 2013. The Geopolitical Impacts of the U.S. Tight Oil Boom Sen. Lisa Murkowski June 12, 2013 "Thank you, Senator Domenici for that wonderfu… Continue Reading
06.12.13
Murkowski Chides Washington, D.C. Dictating Rural Education Policies
WASHINGTON, D.C. - There are at least fifteen different and distinct federal definitions of 'rural' in the U.S. government - eleven alone from an agricultural policy perspective - and today Senator Lisa Murkowski argued for more sensible policies to address America's rural regions that reflects the needs of the nation's less populated areas. This priority was a driving force in Murkowski introducing The Educational Accountability and State Flexibility Act, which would take power from Washington… Continue Reading
06.11.13
Murkowski to Testify on Importance of Honoring Hmong Allies
ANCHORAGE, AK - Though Senator Lisa Murkowski is regularly the one posing questions towards U.S. Senate committee witnesses, Murkowski herself has been invited to testify tomorrow before the Veterans Affairs Committee about the value and importance of her bill that would give an enduring honor to Hmong covert operations volunteers who came to America's aid during the Vietnam War - by allowing these veterans to be buried in national cemeteries. During Vietnam, the CIA conducted covert operations… Continue Reading
06.11.13
Murkowski Works to Alaskanize No Child Left Behind Law
WASHINGTON, D.C. - As the United States Senate opens discussions this week on reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) education law, Senator Lisa Murkowski has introduced two pieces of legislation designed to improve the one-size-fits-all policies that are clearly not working for Alaska's students. The two bills she has introduced would work to address the frightening national level of high school dropouts and ensure accountability for billions in federal tax dollars, while allowing Alas… Continue Reading
06.10.13
Murkowski Fends Off ‘Beat the Clock’ Tactic, Gets One Month Eielson Hearings Reprieve
ANCHORAGE, AK - Senator Lisa Murkowski today welcomed the news that the United States Air Force will delay hearings on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement regarding their proposed downsizing of Eielson Air Force Base. The hearings were initially scheduled to begin next Monday - meaning only ten business days after the DEIS release - but now will be postponed until the week of July 15th, according to the Air Force's official Eielson DEIS website. "While I strongly disagree with the finding… Continue Reading
06.07.13
Murkowski: No “Blank Check” for Government on Privacy, Surveillance
WASHINGTON, DC - Ten years after urging Congress to rethink federal surveillance policies and address concerns about the potential infringement of civil liberties - beginning a decade of privacy rights vigilance on behalf of Alaskans - Senator Lisa Murkowski today shared her concerns with Alaskans at the Obama administration's far-reaching tracking of Americans phone call records and Internet data mining, saying: "Alaskans believe the government has no business snooping around our property, our… Continue Reading
06.06.13
Murkowski Presses Interior Secretary on Key Alaskan Concerns
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today pressed Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on her department's handling of decades-old exploration wells drilled by the federal government in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), and on the slow pace of conveying land owed to the state of Alaska and Alaska Natives. (Click for video of Sen. Murkowski's opening statement.) NPR-A Legacy Wells "The department is presiding over an environmental disaster in the NPR-A that must be remedied,… Continue Reading
06.06.13
AG to Murkowski: I Will Appeal Stevens Prosecutors “Given a Pass”
WASHINGTON, DC - Over a year after a team of Department of Justice prosecutors was found to have hidden evidence and other professional misconduct in the trial of Senator Ted Stevens and months after the punishment meted out to them was overturned, Senator Lisa Murkowski questioned Attorney General Eric Holder about the matter and asked if he planned to allow this dubious decision to stand, because she said it seems to Alaskans that while some inside the DoJ were found accountable, many higher-… Continue Reading
06.06.13
Murkowski Co-Sponsoring Effort to Protect Military Sexual Assault Victims from Retaliation
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski today announced her continued support to combat military sexual assault through every angle, co-sponsoring S. 1092, legislation aimed at increasing protections for victims, particularly from possible retaliation after reporting a violation. An outspoken advocate for the needed culture change within the military, Murkowski believes that the current rates of military sexual assault are a fraction of the actual occurrences - with victims frequently reluctant… Continue Reading
06.05.13
Murkowski Changes TSA’s Mind on Knife Threat to Air Safety
WASHINGTON, DC-Senator Lisa Murkowski is welcoming the Transportation Security Administration reversing course on its plan to begin allowing knives back on passenger airplanes. Today's announcement from the TSA comes after passengers, pilots, and flight attendants nationwide spoke out against the policy change, with Murkowski leading the charge in a three-month campaign that included filing legislation, letters of pressure to department heads, and questioning Department of Homeland Security Secr… Continue Reading
06.05.13
Murkowski Fighting to Bring “Veterans’ Claims into the Daylight”
WASHINGTON, DC - As part of her ongoing attempt to break the logjam of delays for veterans' benefits, Senator Lisa Murkowski is co-sponsoring a bill designed to improve the needlessly-bureaucratic process and cut some paperwork timelines in half. S. 674, the Accountability for Veterans Act would streamline the process while also demanding answers for any delays incurred along the way in records requests between the Veterans Administration and Department of Defense (DoD) or Social Security Admin… Continue Reading
06.04.13
Alaska-Hawaii Delegations Continue Tradition of Working Together for Native Peoples
WASHINGTON- U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mark Begich (D-AK), Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) today continued the long legacy of two states working together and working for their native populations. The Senators were joined by roughly 100 Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian business, policy, and community leaders to discuss a range of topics including ways to improve education in Native communities, and how to stimulate Native owned businesses. The roundtable was hosted by the … Continue Reading
06.04.13
Over 130 Alaskans Hired Due to Murkowski Local Hire Efforts
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski welcomed news from the Department of the Interior that more than 130 Alaskans are benefiting from a Department-wide local hire program she was able to restore in a recent Department of the Interior spending bill through her role as the top Republican on the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee. "On the subcommittee, we worked extremely hard to improve the local-hire program that for years had been bogged down and misinterpreted by federal governm… Continue Reading
06.03.13
Murkowski Welcomes 10 of Alaska’s Brightest to Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski this week is welcoming her first session of summer interns to observe and participate in the daily operations of the United States Senate and observe the legislative process firsthand. 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 young Alaskans from across the state will spend 4 weeks assisting in clerical and administrative tasks such as directin… Continue Reading
