07.29.09

Murkowski Announces Senate Passage of Funding for Alaska Projects in the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. - More than $54 million in projects for Alaska has been included in the Energy and Water Development spending bill that cleared the full Senate today, according to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill, which passed by a 85-9 vote, must now be reconciled with the House-passed version. The bill includes $11.96 million for the Denali Commission. The Denali Commission money woul… Continue Reading

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07.29.09

Murkowski Urges Obama Administration to Send in Federal Health Personnel to Help Alleviate Medicaid Moratorium Patient Backlog

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today asked Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to send in federal reinforcements to ensure that disabled, elderly and low income Alaskans are able to access critical in-home care services. In a phone call with and follow-up letter to Sebelius, Murkowski asked the Secretary to send U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps doctors, nurses and other health professionals to Alaska to eliminate the backlog affecting pa… Continue Reading

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07.29.09

Murkowski Secures Funding for Anchorage’s Abused Women’s Shelter

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, secured $200,000 for the Abused Women's Aid in Crisis, or AWAIC, shelter in Anchorage in a Fiscal Year 2010 appropriations bill that cleared the Transportation and Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee today. "This funding will help AWAIC make needed structural repairs to its facility so they can continue providing a safe haven for victims of domestic violence," said Murkowski, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The Tr… Continue Reading

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07.29.09

Murkowski Donates Library of Congress Books to Alaska Schools

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today announced donations of books from the Library of Congress to rural school districts in the unorganized areas of the state that have few local resources available for book purchases. In recent weeks, Sen. Murkowski has sent new books and maps to the Alaska Gateway, Bering Strait, Delta-Greely, Kashunamiut, Kuspuk, Lower Kuskokwim, Lower Yukon, Pribilof and Southeast Island school districts. Over the coming weeks and months, Sen. Mur… Continue Reading

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07.29.09

Murkowski Requests Indian Affairs Hearing on 8(a) Contracting Preferences

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today called on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee to hold a hearing this fall on the Native American 8(a) program. Murkowski is a member and former vice-chair of the panel. In a letter to Committee Chairman Byron Dorgan, D-ND, and Vice Chairman John Barrasso, R-WY, Murkowski referenced a July 16, 2009, hearing chaired by Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-MO, on "Contracting Preferences for Alaska Native Corporations." McCaskill chairs the Subco… Continue Reading

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07.29.09

Delegation Letter Details Flaws in EPA's Position on Kensington Mine

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Mark Begich, D-Alaska, today sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson urging her agency to clear the way for development of the Kensington gold mine near Juneau, which could create hundreds of jobs for a region hard-hit economically. The letter detailed the senators' concerns with EPA's position on the mine and cited factual and legal flaws in the agency's arguments opposing Coeur Alaska's tailings permit for the mine. T… Continue Reading

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07.28.09

Murkowski Announces $16.8 Million in Funding for Alaska Projects in Appropriations Bill for Health, Education and Labor Departments

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Nearly $17 million in projects for Alaska has been included in a $163.1 billion Fiscal Year 2010 appropriations bill that cleared the Senate Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Subcommittee today, announced U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The bill is scheduled for a vote by the full appropriations panel Thursday before moving to the Senate floor for consideration. Funding for the Denali Commissi… Continue Reading

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07.27.09

Senate Passes Feingold-Murkowski Effort to Help Wounded Troops

Washington, D.C. - Last week, the U.S. Senate passed a Defense authorization bill, which included a bipartisan amendment offered by Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) to help troops transitioning to civilian life and to ensure forces here at home are better prepared to respond to emergencies. The amendment, based on their bipartisan Wounded Warrior Transition Assistance Act, will help ensure wounded service members of the Guard and Reserves are not discharged before their i… Continue Reading

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07.27.09

Murkowski and Landrieu Introduce OCS Revenue Sharing Legislation

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Mary Landrieu, D-Louisiana, have introduced legislation that would guarantee a fair share of offshore oil and natural gas revenue to coastal states. The Domestic Energy Security Act of 2009 provides coastal states, including Alaska, a 37.5-percent stake in energy development off their shores. "This bipartisan bill will serve as the foundation for Alaska and other states to balance local economic and environmental concerns wit… Continue Reading

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07.26.09

Murkowski Comments on Inauguration of Sean Parnell as Governor of Alaska

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today congratulated Sean Parnell on being inaugurated Governor of Alaska: "I congratulate Governor Parnell on his inauguration as Alaska's new governor. Our state faces many opportunities and challenges, and I'm confident that Governor Parnell will hit the ground running. I look forward to working with Governor Parnell as we move the state forward." # # #… Continue Reading

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07.24.09

Murkowski Clarifies Confusion over Alaska's Eligibility in 'Cash for Clunkers' Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said today that Alaskans can participate in the Cash for Clunkers program, despite a glitch on a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) website that generated confusion over whether Alaska was eligible. Murkowski received numerous phone calls today from Alaska auto dealers concerned that Alaska was being left out of the program. In order to participate, dealers have to ensure that a trade-in car is transferred to a disposal facility on… Continue Reading

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07.24.09

Sen. Murkowski Introduces OCS Revenue Sharing Legislation

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today introduced legislation to guarantee a fair share of offshore oil and natural gas revenue to Alaska and other coastal states. The Domestic Energy Security Act of 2009 benefits Alaska and other coastal states by providing them a 37.5-percent stake in energy development off their shores. "This bipartisan bill will serve as the foundation for Alaska and other states to balance local economic and environmental concerns with natio… Continue Reading

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07.24.09

Alaska Delegation Announces Grants to Alaska Programs

Washington, D.C. - The Alaska Congressional Delegation is pleased to announce the following grants awarded to communities in the State of Alaska: U.S. Department of Agriculture: $57,610 to the University of Alaska Fairbanks $150,000 to Tanana Chiefs Conference to provide six classroom trainings to utility operators, utility managers, and/or council members in low-income rural interior native villages. The program will help improve local operation, maintenance and management capa… Continue Reading

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07.24.09

Murkowski Introduces Bills to Build Two New Polar Icebreakers and Improve Arctic Navigation and Shipping Infrastructure

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today introduced a pair of bills designed to fund construction of two new Polar class icebreakers and improve mapping, navigation and maritime infrastructure in the Arctic. One of the bills - to amend the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act - would authorize money to get data and services to the Arctic for safe navigation, delineate the U.S. extended continental shelf and monitor coastal changes. The bill would authorize $10 millio… Continue Reading

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07.24.09

Sen. Murkowski Urges Obama Administration to Streamline Village Safe Water Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is urging the Obama Administration to streamline the Village Safe Water Program's grant-making process. Murkowski met Thursday with Dallas Tonsager, U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary of Rural Development, on the issue and followed up today with a letter to Tonsager. "The current process is clearly not working, as evidenced by the large unobligated balances in the rural water funds," Murkowski wrote. "I am committed to s… Continue Reading

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07.23.09

Sens. Murkowski and Begich Gain Victory for Alaska Territorial Guard

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The United States Senate voted tonight to restore military retirement benefits to approximately 26 Alaska Territorial Guard (ATG) members whose service in the ATG was considered active duty service until the Defense Department reversed its position on the issue earlier this year, announced U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. The Senate agreed by unanimous consent to adopt the ATG amendment as part of a $679.8 billion defense authorization bill for Fiscal Year 2010, which b… Continue Reading

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07.23.09

Sens. Murkowski and Begich Press EPA to Allow Kensington Mine to Go Forward

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Mark Begich, D-Alaska, today met with Lisa Jackson, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), regarding the agency's objections to Coeur Alaska's plans to dispose of tailings from the Kensington mine in Lower Slate Lake in the Tongass National Forest. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that Coeur Alaska had a valid tailings permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Despite the high court's ruling, the EPA is… Continue Reading

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07.23.09

Murkowski, Begich Staffs to Visit Haines for Southeast Alaska State Fair

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R- Alaska, and Mark Begich, D-Alaska, today announced that members of their staffs will be in Haines for the Southeast Alaska State Fair from July 30 - August 2 to meet with constituents as part of their 2009 mobile office tour. Mobile office staff will be available at the fair on Thursday and Friday, July 30 and 31, from noon - 8:00 p.m., Saturday, August 1, from 11:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, August 2, from noon - 4:00 p.m. Congression… Continue Reading

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07.21.09

Murkowski Raises Concerns with Fire Suppression Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today encouraged the Obama administration and congressional appropriators to change the way they fund the U.S. Forest Service's fire suppression activities. At a hearing Tuesday of the full Senate energy panel to consider the Federal Land Assistance, Management and Enhancement (FLAME) Act, Murkowski said the bill would not act as designed unless the administration and Senate Appropriations Committee harmonize their fire budget requests w… Continue Reading

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07.19.09

Murkowski Comments on the Capture of a Fort Richardson-based Soldier

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today issued the following statement regarding the capture of a Fort Richardson-based soldier in Afghanistan, Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl of Ketchum, Idaho: "Our nation deeply appreciates Pfc. Bergdahl's sacrifice protecting the world from terrorists and preserving the fragile democracy of the Afghan people. Alaska and the Nation pray for his safety and freedom." # # #… Continue Reading