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.

03.09.11

Murkowski Votes in Favor of H.R. 1 In an Effort to End Budget Stalemate

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U. S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today voted in favor of a measure that would fund the government through the end of Fiscal Year 2011 (FY11), which includes $57 Billion in cuts from last year's budget. "I voted for H.R. 1 because it was an important and necessary step to reach our ultimate goal of passing a budget for the remainder of the fiscal year," Murkowski said. "The package is clearly not the bill I would have written, but I felt it was essential to send a s… Continue Reading


03.08.11

Murkowski: Proposed SPR Sell-Off is Political Shortcut

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today released the following statement regarding calls to raid the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to attempt to lower rising oil prices: "The SPR is our nation's insurance policy against serious disruptions in oil supply. It is not a political lever to be pulled when rising prices at the gas pump demonstrate our lack of a coherent energy policy. Right now, we do not face a supply crisis, but we could very well in the near future i… Continue Reading


03.08.11

Murkowski Announces Additions to Staff

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has announced two new additions to her legislative team in Washington, D.C. Murkowski has added Jeremy Price as her Legislative Assistant for appropriations, transportation and telecom issues, and Kristi Williams as her Legislative Assistant for Alaska Native and Indian Affairs. "As I continue to work for Alaska, I am glad to have the support of dedicated and hard-working staff," Murkowski said. "I look forward to the contributions… Continue Reading


03.08.11

EPA Adds Hardrock Mining Financial Assurances to Growing List of Agency Power Grabs

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today sent letters to Secretaries Salazar and Vilsack regarding actions by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) efforts to impose financial assurance requirements on hardrock mining operations. "The EPA has repeatedly sought to duplicate or supplant the jurisdictional activities of other federal agencies and the states," Murkowski said. "In this case, either the EPA has failed to look at the facts, agencies with existing progr… Continue Reading


03.05.11

Murkowski Concerned about Economic Impacts of Roadless Ruling

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today released the following comment on an Anchorage federal judge's decision to impose the 2001 roadless rule in the Tongass National Forest. "The decision further damages the economy in Southeast," Murkowski said. "The roadless rule was never intended to apply to the Tongass because ANILCA already set logging limits for the forest, as did the Tongass Timber Reform Act. This will make it all the more difficult for the few remaini… Continue Reading


03.04.11

Murkowski Questions Secretary Salazar over Punitive Fees on Oil Leases

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, on Wednesday questioned Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on whether the Department of Interior will fine energy companies for failing to produce oil and natural gas on federal leases if those companies have been blocked from exploration or production by the actions of federal agencies. Exploration projects by ConocoPhillips - the CD-5 field in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska - and Shell have been stalled because of federal obstru… Continue Reading


03.03.11

Murkowski Questions Department of Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano on Issues Important to Alaska

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, during a Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee hearing yesterday, questioned Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano regarding a recent incident involving Alaska State Representative Sharon Cissna and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. On a return trip to Juneau, Alaska, Rep. Cissna, a breast cancer survivor, passed through TSA's full body image… Continue Reading


03.03.11

Murkowski: Five Ways to Boost America’s Oil Production

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, delivered a speech on the floor of the Senate today focusing on ways to improve America's energy policy, particularly the need for greater domestic oil production. The prepared remarks are attached and the speech can be viewed here. The combination of international events and domestic policy restrictions threaten both America's economic recovery and national security. Unrest and instability abroad have pushed oil prices to their hig… Continue Reading


03.03.11

Murkowski Commends NOAA for Resolution of State Boundary Conflict

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, today commended the National Ocean Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for cooperating with the state of Alaska on resolving a dispute over state water boundaries. NOAA acting under authority of the U.S. Baseline Committee, redefined the baseline and various offshore lines that determine state and federal waters off of Alaska. Some of Alaska's state water cod fisheries were to take place in these areas and would have been seriously disrupted by … Continue Reading


03.03.11

Murkowski Questions Forest Service Spending, Timber Sales

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today made the following comments to Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell in her opening statement at the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee's hearing on the service's 2012 budget proposal: "Once again the Forest Service is recommending changes to the budget structure, including the combination of a significant number of programs into the Integrated Resource Restoration account. "Given the difficulty the Forest Service seem… Continue Reading


03.02.11

Murkowski Votes in Favor of Continuing Resolution to Avoid Government Shutdown

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today voted to continue providing funding for federal government operations until March 18, 2011, including $4 billion in spending cuts, and issued the following statement: "I am pleased to see such a bi-partisan effort, as the Senate voted 91-9 to continue funding the government until March 18th. This budget resolution contains spending reductions that help as we deal with overall federal spending. Today's action is a positive dev… Continue Reading


03.02.11

Murkowski Questions Proposed Budget for Interior Department

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today made the following statement during the Department of Interior fiscal year 2012 budget hearing in the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee: "Chairman Bingaman, thank you for scheduling this hearing. "Before we begin, I would like to note with sadness the recent passing of former Chairman Jim McClure. Chairman McClure's strong work ethic and sense of fairness is a vital part of this Committee's legacy. He was one o… Continue Reading


03.01.11

Murkowski: Pace of Offshore Permitting Remains Priority

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, commented on the Interior Department's issuance yesterday of the first deepwater oil drilling permit since the Gulf of Mexico oil spill: "Yesterday's announcement is the first step to putting us back into the race for greater energy security and economic recovery," Murkowski said. "While this approval for a bypass well isn't the new exploration we need to see, this does put the administration closer to compliance with the law as dir… Continue Reading


03.01.11

Murkowski: Rising Oil Prices Threaten Economic Recovery

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today commented on the rapid increase of gasoline prices and the resulting impact on the United States' struggling economic recovery. "The recent dramatic increase in the cost of gasoline has an effect on every single American - from soccer moms, to senior citizens, to college students," Murkowski said. "The fragile recovery trajectory that we're on is threatened by the hits that every family is facing due to skyrocketing prices at th… Continue Reading


03.01.11

Murkowski Delivers Keynote Speech at ARPA-E Summit

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today gave the following speech at the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit in Washington, D.C. "Good morning and thank you, Secretary Chu, for the invitation to join you here today. As I look around the room, I'm reminded of an observation by the astronomer Carl Sagan, who once wrote, "We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology." I think w… Continue Reading


02.28.11

Murkowski Comments on Libya

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today released the following statement on the situation in Libya: "I strongly condemn the actions taken by Colonel Moammar Gadhafi and his regime. Libya, like many other North African countries is in the midst of generational political change. Col. Gadhafi's 42- year reign has come to a tipping point. I support recently imposed sanctions by the United Nations, United States and the European Union on the Libyan government, and ho… Continue Reading


02.24.11

Murkowski Gives Annual Address to Alaska State Legislature

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, delivered her annual address to the Alaska State Legislature today in Juneau. In her speech, Murkowski highlighted the urgent need to increase production from the state's northern oil fields to keep declining oil throughput from forcing a permanent shutdown of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. Attached is the full text of her speech, as prepared for delivery. ###… Continue Reading


02.23.11

Murkowski Calls On Tsa To Clarify Screening Policy

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today sent a letter to Transportation Security Administration Administrator John Pistole requesting the TSA immediately clarify it's screening policy for airline passengers with special medical conditions. Murkowski sent the letter following an incident on Sunday at Seattle's airport involving Alaska state Rep. Sharon Cissna, D-Anchorage, a breast cancer survivor who was singled out for an invasive pat-down search by TSA agents after… Continue Reading


02.18.11

Murkowski: Stevens Crash Prompts Senate to Tighten Inspections of Aircraft Emergency Locator Transmitters

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Acting on a federal safety recommendation stemming from the airplane crash that claimed the life of former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, the Senate late Thursday approved a proposal to ensure that aircraft emergency locator transmitters (ELT) are properly mounted and maintained, according to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. During its inspection of the Stevens crash last summer, which also claimed the lives of pilot Theron "Terry" Smith, William "Bill" Phillips S… Continue Reading


02.18.11

Murkowski Comments on Sen. Jeff Bingaman’s Retirement

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today released the following reaction to the news that New Mexico Democratic Sen. Jeff Bingaman, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, plans to announce that he will not run for re-election. "I have very much enjoyed my time working with Chairman Bingaman on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee," Murkowski said. "He has been an honest partner in developing legislation, and under his leadership there's b… Continue Reading

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