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.

10.17.12

Murkowski Showcasing Education Innovation at AFN Senate Hearing

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski announced today that she will be holding a field hearing of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee at this week's AFN convention to explore success stories being seen in classrooms statewide. Teachers, school systems, and Native organizations are trying bold new culturally-relevant approaches in building stronger foundations of knowledge for Alaska Native children. Murkowski's hearing will be live-streamed on the Internet and av… Continue Reading


10.12.12

Delegation Details Harsh Impacts of Fall Storms to White House

As Alaska continues to rebuild the damage to roads, railways, homes and communities up and down the railbelt region as a result of the September floods and windstorms, the Congressional Delegation is explaining to the White House the wide range of impacts on communities, from the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Kenai Peninsula and rural Alaska - including damages that have been estimated to surpass $10 million worth of repairs/renovations. Senators Murkowski and Begich, and Congressman Young sent a … Continue Reading


10.10.12

Murkowski Pushes Alaskan, Arctic Priorities in Coast Guard Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. - As the House of Representatives and the Senate consider competing versions of the Coast Guard Authorization Act, Senator Lisa Murkowski is attempting to make sure Alaska's needs are met. In a letter (attached) to the leaders of the relevant House and Senate committees, Senator Murkowski highlighted a number of key sections that she didn't want to see left on the negotiating room floor, writing "these provisions are supported by a number of my constituents, who depend on the m… Continue Reading


10.04.12

Murkowski Honors Alaska Middle School Principal of The Year

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski traveled to the communities of Upper and Lower Kalskag on the Kuskokwim River to honor Greg Wohlman, the principal of the Kalskag schools. Murkowski worked with Kalskag leaders to plan a surprise potluck attended by hundreds of students and parents to honor the humble educator for his contribution to the community. The traditional gathering, held yesterday, included speeches by an elder, Kuspuk School District Superintendent Brad Allen and Senator Murk… Continue Reading


10.04.12

Murkowski Comments on Stakeholder Alignment on Alaska LNG Project

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today welcomed an agreement reached between the three major North Slope producers and a pipeline company to advance a liquefied natural gas project to export Alaskan gas to Pacific Rim countries. "Yesterday's agreement on a timeline with firm deadlines for advancing an LNG export project is encouraging news and shows progress is being made on commercializing our North Slope gas reserves," Murkowski said. "No other single project is as impo… Continue Reading


10.03.12

Murkowski Comments on Start of Arctic Drilling by Shell

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today released the following comment regarding the start of simultaneous preliminary work by Shell at the company's Arctic leases in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas. "Today's announcement is bittersweet," Murkowski said. "It is welcome news that Shell has finally begun exploration in the Beaufort and that work in the Chukchi is progressing, but it shouldn't have required 7 years and $3 billion to get to this point. Something is very wrong wi… Continue Reading


10.03.12

Murkowski Promotes Alaskans to Key State Positions

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski announced today that she is promoting two staff members to senior positions in her Alaska offices, building on the momentum of their contributions. Miles Baker, her current legislative assistant for finance and tourism in her Washington, DC office, will be her new Alaska State Director, running day-to-day operations. Baker will be filling the position opening caused by the retirement of Jim Palmer and work out of her Murkowski's Anchorage office. Bob W… Continue Reading


09.28.12

Murkowski Urges Creation of Arctic Ambassador

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski is encouraging U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to designate a senior political official as the nation's "Ambassador to the Arctic" and to seize the present opportunity to engage more fully with the Arctic community. After a successful trip to the 10th Conference of Arctic Parliamentarians in Akureyri, Iceland in early September, Senator Murkowski came away convinced of the acute need to "make the Arctic more relevant to the rest of the w… Continue Reading


09.28.12

Murkowski Honors Veteran, Cultural Pioneer Jorgy Jorgensen

In honor of Alaska General Aviation Appreciation Month, Senator Lisa Murkowski today released the Veteran Spotlight of Holger "Jorgy" Jorgensen, an Alaska Territorial Guard member and U.S. Army veteran living in Fairbanks, Alaska. Jorgy Jorgensen saw his first airplane flying over the Nome area when he was just six, and knew instantly that he wanted to be a pilot. In 1942, a week after his 15th birthday, Jorgensen volunteered for the Alaska Territorial Guard and worked as a radio operator, mon… Continue Reading


09.27.12

Murkowski to U.S. Army: “Pressing Need” and “Future Demand” for Tracked Vehicles

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski reached out to Army Chief of Staff General Raymond Odierno to inquire about the U.S. Army's aging fleet of M973 Small Unit Support Vehicles (SUSV), which are in the process of being discontinued. The SUSV is an amphibious vehicle, capable of accessing harsh locations and terrain found in Alaska's wetlands and tundra - but also difficult territory like that of Afghanistan and Korea. In a letter to Odierno (attached), Murkowski writes, "With increasing … Continue Reading


09.25.12

Murkowski Conducting Flood Survey of Mat-Su, Kenai Peninsula and Seward Areas

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski is traveling to the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, Kenai Peninsula and Seward this week with Alaska Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services Director John Madden to review the state and local response actions in the wake of last week's dramatic floods and windstorms in southcentral Alaska. "In these two damaged areas, people are slowly shifting from 'what do we do' to 'what happens next,' said Murkowski. "I want to work with Director Madden to… Continue Reading


09.25.12

Murkowski Makes Legacy Wells a Federal Priority

WASHINGTON, D.C. - With the release of the 2013 Interior Appropriations bill today, Senator Lisa Murkowski - Ranking Republican on the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee - demonstrated that her work on the committee is raising the profile of long-overlooked and long-underfunded Alaskan priorities. "Uncapped wells are a blight on our state, and the federal government is derelict in their duty to Alaska," said Murkowski. "If this were a private oil company, Alaska could be looking at bi… Continue Reading


09.24.12

Richard Frank Remembered in Congressional Record

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski entered a tribute to Richard Frank into the Congressional Record before the Senate recessed this weekend. Frank was an Alaska Native leader, veteran, historian and elder who died Thursday, September 20, 2012 at age 85. (Statement attached as PDF) Murkowski writes, "Richard Frank is an individual of great significance in the history of post-statehood Alaska. He was among the first Alaska Native leaders to recognize the risk that development of the mode… Continue Reading


09.22.12

Juneau Courthouse Bill Passes Senate

The U.S. Senate today unanimously passed HR 4347, legislation to name the United States Courthouse in Juneau after Alaskan jurist Robert Boochever. Senator Murkowski - co-sponsor of companion Senate legislation on this issue - had the following statement after passage: "I am thrilled that the Senate unanimously agreed to designate the Juneau Courthouse as the Robert Boochever United States Courthouse. We lost him last October, and I believe naming the courthouse after him is a fitting memoria… Continue Reading


09.22.12

Murkowski Introduces Amendment to Preserve Access, Recreation on Public Lands

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today introduced her Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act as an amendment to legislation currently being considered on the Senate floor. Murkowski's amendment is a first-degree amendment to Sen. Jon Tester's, D-Montana, Sportsmen's Act of 2012 (S. 3525). "While I appreciate Sen. Tester's efforts in putting together the Sportsmen's Act, I am disappointed by the decision to leave out bipartisan measures that I beli… Continue Reading


09.22.12

Murkowski Votes to Maintain Diplomatic Efforts

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today voted against S.3576, a bill to cut American financial support to Libya, Egypt and Pakistan as that region undergoes political tumult. She shared her reasoning after the vote: "The troubling recent events in Libya and surrounding countries underscore the need for soft power through diplomatic influence and foreign assistance programs. These programs require and deserve regular Congressional scrutiny, but are an essential component of our nationa… Continue Reading


09.22.12

Murkowski: Spending Bill is “Symptom of Stalemate”

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski tonight cast her vote in favor of a six-month FY2013 continuing resolution to fund federal operations through March 27, 2013, while expressing deep frustration at the U.S. Senate's inability to responsibly oversee the nation's spending: "This Continuing Resolution is not a solution or a plan; it is a symptom of stalemate on Capitol Hill where Congress cannot work together to provide agencies certainty - and just as importantly, to exercise oversight of… Continue Reading


09.21.12

Alaska Delegation Introduces Denali Commission Reauthorization Bill

Washington, DC - Legislation to reauthorize the Denali Commission, which for nearly a generation has worked to improve living conditions and quality of life in rural Alaska, was introduced today by Alaska's congressional delegation. Senators Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski filed legislation in the Senate while Congressman Don Young offered the companion bill in the House of Representatives. The bill is designed to improve the function and effectiveness of the Denali Commission and overcome some… Continue Reading


09.21.12

Murkowski: Does Indian Health Service Have “Deaf Ear” With Village Built Clinics?

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski took the opportunity of Maniilaq Association President Ian Erlich's Senate testimony to spotlight the chronic underfunding for Alaska's village built clinics by the Indian Health Service (I.H.S.) There are over 150 such clinics in Alaska - with most being the only local option for health care - and Murkowski asked Erlich about the "unresponsive" stance of the agency on requests for payments, and the absence of simple communication with Alaskans. "What h… Continue Reading


09.20.12

Murkowski: Administration is Running Out of Excuses

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today spoke on the Senate floor about the importance of developing America's energy resources to reduce our dependence on OPEC, to create jobs and to raise revenues to address the ballooning deficit without raising taxes. (Click photo to watch video) "Mr. President, the events of the past week are a very clear and direct reminder to us of the need to choose to end our nation's dependence on imported oil. I will remind my colleagues, th… Continue Reading

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