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.
Murkowski Demands Fix for Veteran Backlogs from President
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski joined a bipartisan group of 66 Senators today in urging President Obama to address the massive backlog in Veterans' Administration (VA) disabilities claims. In Alaska, veterans wait an average of 467 days to see the benefits they have earned; nationwide, the average is 300 days for the approximately 600,000 total veterans stuck in the backlog. The bi-partisan letter (attached) calls for a renewed commitment on the part of President Obama and his "admi… Continue Reading
04.29.13
Murkowski Honors U.S. Army Vietnam Veteran, Alaskan Homesteader
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski is releasing her 11th Veteran Spotlight installment today, featuring Jim VanOss, a U.S. Army Veteran drafted during the Vietnam War who served as a military police officer and an embassy guard in Saigon during the Tet Offensive. During his Veteran Spotlight interview, VanOss recalls being 20-years-old when he was drafted into the Army after failing a college class at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. When he arrived in Vietnam, last minute order cha… Continue Reading
04.26.13
Murkowski Building Coalition to Support Fishery Disaster Relief
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today continued her campaign on Capitol Hill to secure federal disaster relief funds for Alaskan communities damaged by last summer's low salmon runs, building on the momentum she gained in forming a large and influential bipartisan Senate coalition of sixteen co-sponsors of an amendment that was adopted to the Senate FY2014 budget resolution. Senators from Alaska to New England to the Gulf of Mexico joined Murkowski on a letter to the Chairwoman and V… Continue Reading
04.26.13
Senator Murkowski Announces Media Schedule for Upcoming State Work Period
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today announced she will be visiting Ketchikan, Anchorage, Fort Greely, Glennallen and Fairbanks over the upcoming state work period and will be available for media opportunities at several events. Following are details of media availabilities: KETCHIKAN WHAT: Senator Murkowski Media Availability WHEN: Monday, April 29, 2013; 1:00 - 1:45 p.m. WHERE: Ketchikan Daily News Office 501 Dock St., Ketchikan, AK WASILLA WHAT: Speech - … Continue Reading
04.25.13
Murkowski Cosponsors Fix for FAA Control Tower Furloughs
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today continued to work towards common-sense solutions to needless - and possibly politically motivated -- flight delays being imposed upon Alaskans and Americans because of the Federal Aviation Administration's nationwide furloughs due to sequestration cuts, by cosponsoring the Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013 to allow the FAA to reallocate existing funds to avoid further furloughs of air traffic controllers. The bill passed the Senate this evening b… Continue Reading
04.25.13
Murkowski: Marketplace Fairness Act is not Fair
WASHINGTON, D.C. - With the United States Senate currently considering S. 743, The Marketplace Fairness Act, Senator Lisa Murkowski took to the floor of the Senate to criticize the bill for unfairly infringing upon states' sovereign rights and exposing remote online sellers to other states' sales tax requirements. For states like Alaska who have chosen not to have a statewide sales tax, this bill creates an unlevel playing field among other states with sales taxes. (Senator Murkowski Speaks… Continue Reading
04.25.13
Alaska Senators Rally Over Thirty Members of Congress to Oppose Frankenfish
WASHINGTON, DC - With the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considering proceeding toward approval of Genetically Engineered (GE) salmon, or "Frankenfish," for human consumption, U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich voiced serious objections to the review process and expressed alarm at a long list of hazards potentially associated with bringing these fake fish to market. The Alaska Senators organized a group of 12 Senators and 20 House members in a letter sent Thursday to FDA Comm… Continue Reading
04.25.13
Senate Subcommittee Advances Sealaska Lands Bill to Fulfill ANCSA Promises
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today testified before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Public Lands Subcommittee in support of legislation to complete the aboriginal land claims promised to shareholders of the Sealaska Native Regional Corp. more than 40 years ago under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). (Click to play video) "The primary purpose of the Sealaska legislation is simple: it settles the outstanding aboriginal land claims under the ANC… Continue Reading
04.25.13
Murkowski: Administration Avoiding Justice for Indian Tribes
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski took the opportunity during a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing to express her deep disappointment with the Obama Administration's decision to alter the operation of Indian Self-Determination Act contracts - which she called the "core of the Nation's federal trust relationship" - through the budget and congressional appropriations process. "Must I remind the Obama Administration that self-determination contracts are the core of our nation's fed… Continue Reading
04.25.13
Murkowski to Hold Second Subsistence Public Meeting in Glennallen
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today announced the second of her subsistence public meetings will be held in Glennallen on May 2nd. The subsistence listening session will provide a forum for Alaskans to be heard on this important cultural and food security issue, and to have their testimony taken back to Congress. The Glennallen event comes one month after a Bethel subsistence listening session on April 2nd. Senator Murkowski made a commitment last fall at the Alaska Federation of… Continue Reading
04.24.13
Sen. Murkowski Raises Concerns Over Impact of EPA Rulemakings
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today raised concerns with a number of rulemakings the Environmental Protection Administration is working on and the potential impact on the national economy, as well as Alaska. "The sheer number of rulemakings the agency is currently proposing, the cost of compliance with the vast array of regulations already on the books, and what, at times, are the unreasonable consequences of their enforcement is incredibly frustrating to the public," Murkowski told… Continue Reading
04.24.13
Murkowski: Knives on Planes Add to Delays, Make Skies Less Safe
WASHINGTON, D.C - On the heels of Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano telling Senator Lisa Murkowski that she believes the Transportation Security Administration's decision to permit small knives on planes is inevitable despite its present delay, Murkowski joined her colleague Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) to urge the DHS Inspector General to scrutinize and investigate the policy change, considering their numerous concerns. Chief among the Senators concerns are new security risks … Continue Reading
04.23.13
Senators Murkowski and Wyden Unveil “Follow the Money” Reform Bill
WASHINGTON - Senator Lisa Murkowski today joined her colleague Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) to introduce the first attempt at bipartisan campaign finance reform legislation in a decade: The Follow the Money Act of 2013. In order to address the influx of anonymous federal election spending and bring transparency and consistency to campaign finance law, the bill creates a simple and universal system of disclosure for independent spending in federal campaigns. The legislation would require the source … Continue Reading
04.20.13
Murkowski Statement on Boston Terror Arrest
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski shared the following thoughts upon the arrest of the second suspect in Monday's Boston Marathon bomb attack: "Alaskans and Americans salute the well-coordinated effort of the brave and vigilant law-enforcement teams that cooperated today in Boston to apprehend the suspect and put an end to one of the most difficult weeks in our nation's recent history. The men who perpetrated Monday's attack tried to sow chaos and fear, but instead they created a unity o… Continue Reading
04.19.13
Murkowski Receives Congressional Justice Award
WASHINGTON, D.C - Senator Lisa Murkowski was honored this week by the American Bar Association (ABA), receiving the Congressional Justice Award for her leadership and advocacy in the realm of civil liberties and law reform. The ABA specifically recognized Murkowski for her legislation, the Fairness in Disclosure of Evidence Act, which requires that prosecutors disclose exculpatory evidence to criminal defendants. The ABA group included Attorney Lynn Allingham of the Alaska Bar Association, who s… Continue Reading
04.18.13
Senator Murkowski Statement on Gun Legislation Proposals
WASHINGTON, D.C. - As the United States Senate concluded a series of votes on proposed gun legislation, Senator Lisa Murkowski offered the following statement: "I'd like to thank you for sharing a few moments with me on a very important issues that's been facing the U. S. Senate this week, and that is our 2nd amendment rights and gun violence. "Alaskans have been watching the Senate debate gun legislation very, very, closely, because they want to keep Americans safe as much as anyone. We just… Continue Reading
04.18.13
VA Secretary Committed to ‘All of the Above’ Care for Rural Veterans
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Secretary of Veterans Affairs General Eric Shinseki today assured Senator Lisa Murkowski that he is deeply committed to delivering the care earned by America's veterans in rural and remote areas - critically important in Alaska where 80 percent of communities are "off the road system" - during a hearing of the Senate Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee. After Senator Murkowski pointed out that there have been some difficulties in creating "c… Continue Reading
04.18.13
Sen. Murkowski: ‘All of the Above’ Missing from DOE Budget
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today said the Department of Energy's $28.4 billion budget proposal fails to support the kind of comprehensive policies needed to improve the nation's security and return its economic vitality. (Click for video of Murkowski's opening statement) "While the administration has repeatedly pledged to support an 'all of the above' energy policy, I still do not see that reflected here," Murkowski told Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman at … Continue Reading
04.17.13
Murkowski Brings Nautical Officials Together for Maritime Boundary Line/ IUU Panel
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today hosted top oceans and marine officials at the U.S. Capitol to discuss the many issues surrounding the Maritime Boundary Line (MBL) and Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU) - from the government's mission of enforcement to protecting vital marine resources like Alaska's $4.5B fishing industry. In the second briefing on maritime issues requested by Senator Murkowski in as many years, officials from the Department of State, Coast Guard, N… Continue Reading
04.17.13
ANG Tells Murkowski It Supports Added Staff and Equipment for 168th Refueling Wing
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today received a response indicating support from the Director of the Air National Guard for added staff and equipment for the 168th Air Refueling Wing through an Active Association with the United States Air Force - saying it would increase its ability to be the "mobility backbone" of the Air Force. Active Associations are partnerships where National Guard operations share supplemental staff and equipment with the United States Air Force. Murkowski to… Continue Reading