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 “Outraged” by Benghazi Attack Developments
ANCHORAGE, AK - As questions continue to emerge from the continuing inconsistencies in official accounts of the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, Senator Lisa Murkowski issued the following statement and call to action: "I am outraged to hear reports that the United States Government failed to address security needs in Libya, even more with reports that trained personnel on the ground were discouraged from responding to reports of trouble at our Consulate in Benghazi. The adminis… Continue Reading
10.30.12
Murkowski Honors Army Veteran, ATG Member Earl Wineck
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski is releasing her 5th Veteran Spotlight installment today, featuring Earl Wineck of Anchorage - an Alaska Territorial Guard (ATG) member and U.S. Army veteran. In 1934, before World War II, Wineck's father headed to the Matanuska-Susitna Valley to make a place for his family. Two years later, Earl's mother took the rest of the family to Alaska in a Studebaker to join up with his father and begin farming. In 1942, Wineck joined the ATG at 15, the earlie… Continue Reading
10.25.12
Murkowski Joining Alaska National Guard on Little Diomede Trip
ANCHORAGE, AK - Senator Lisa Murkowski is going to Little Diomede Island in the middle of the Bering Strait this Friday to get a first-hand look at the community's challenges and military infrastructure needs. The first U.S. Senator to visit the island since Senator Ted Stevens, Murkowski will join Major General Thomas Katkus, Adjutant General of the Alaska National Guard, and Rear Admiral Thomas P. Ostebo, Commander of the Seventeenth District United States Coast Guard to survey the island and… Continue Reading
10.24.12
Murkowski Discusses Alaska Natural Gas “Window of Opportunity” with Producers
HOUSTON, TEXAS - U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, met this week with executives from the North Slope's three major producers to discuss the current state of plans and next steps for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project for commercializing Alaska's gas resources. "I wanted to hear directly from the companies about where they are in the planning and design process, and what they see as the next step to advance the project," Murkowski said. Murkowski said she was encouraged by the level… Continue Reading
10.24.12
Murkowski, Inhofe Call for Joint California Gas Price Hearing
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., today sent a letter to the Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Sen. Jeff Bingaman, and the Chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works, Sen. Barbara Boxer, requesting a joint committee hearing on the cause of the recent surge in California gas prices. "Many have already inquired as to why gasoline prices in California climbed to record highs, rising from about $4.20 per gallon to $4.70 per g… Continue Reading
10.19.12
Murkowski Creating “Alaskan Education Library” Online
WASHINGTON, D.C. -Senator Lisa Murkowski is holding a Senate field hearing at the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention this afternoon, bringing Alaskans involved in education together to share new ideas and success stories from their classrooms. Due to the statewide interest in the topic and abundance of effective approaches, all educators, school board members, Native organizations and Tribes are being invited to submit their lessons learned in an online clearinghouse being created on Murko… Continue Reading
10.18.12
Murkowski to Address AFN Friday Morning
WASHINGTON, D.C. -Senator Lisa Murkowski today announced her schedule of formal official activities at the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention the next few days at the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center. She also plans to spend time each day visiting with attendees and constituents for valuable one-on-ones to discuss issues close to home. The media is invited to interview her after these public activities: WHEN: Friday, October 19, 2012; 9:40am AKT WHAT: Remarks to Alaska Federation … Continue Reading
10.18.12
Murkowski, Young Participating in Delegation Dialogue at AFN
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski and Congressman Don Young today announced they will participate in a Delegation Dialogue during the 2012 Alaska Federation of Natives Convention in Anchorage. The event will be live-streamed on the Internet and available for all Alaskans to watch as it happens on www.Murkowski.Senate.Gov. The Delegation Dialogue will focus on four main issues important to Alaska Native people: Health, Education, Energy and Subsistence. An expert will address each iss… Continue Reading
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
