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.
Sen. Murkowski Applauds Kensington Mine Decision
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today welcomed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' decision to re-issue Coeur Alaska's tailings permit for the Kensington mine in Southeast Alaska. "This is a decision that's both good for the environment and Southeast's struggling economy," Murkowski said. "Kensington will provide hundreds of badly needed jobs and tax revenue while having a minimal affect on the environment." Development of the mine is expected to create more than 300 jo… Continue Reading
08.10.09
Murkowski Announces Alaska Travel Schedule for August
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today announced her plans to travel around Alaska during the August congressional recess. Highlighting her plans are four health care town hall meetings that Sen. Murkowski will hold across Alaska.Sen. Murkowski's health care town halls will take place in Fairbanks on Thursday, August 13, Anchorage on Thursday, August 20, Wasilla on Friday, August 28, and Soldotna on Saturday, August 29. "This August promises to be a busy one for me as I t… Continue Reading
08.06.09
Murkowski Announces Details for Town Hall in Fairbanks on Health Care
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today announced that her town hall meeting on health care will be held in Fairbanks on Thursday, August 13, 2009, from 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. at the Pioneer Park Theatre. "I have heard from thousands of Alaskans about the health care proposals currently being debated in Congress," said Murkowski. "As a member of the Senate Health Committee, I voted against the Democrat bill that passed the committee last month. There were many problems with… Continue Reading
08.05.09
Murkowski Addresses Senate on the Judge Sonia Sotomayor Supreme Court Nomination
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, tonight addressed the Senate on the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court. Following is a prepared text of Sen. Murkowski's floor speech: PREPARED REMARKS OF SENATOR LISA MURKOWSKI ON THE NOMINATION OF SONIA SOTOMAYOR AUGUST 5, 2009 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY The decision whether to confirm a President's nominee to the Supreme Court is one of the most significant decisions any of us will make dur… Continue Reading
08.05.09
Murkowski Calls on Forest Service to Release Plan on Firefighting Aircraft
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today expressed disappointment with the Forest Service's planning for maintaining sufficient firefighting aircraft resources after review of an audit of the plan conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of Inspector General. Two weeks ago at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on wildfire preparedness, Murkowski called on the Forest Service to provide Congress with a report on how it plans to com… Continue Reading
08.04.09
Murkowski Resolution Recognizes National Airborne Day
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The United States Senate has passed a resolution introduced by U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska and Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island designating Sunday, August 16, 2009 as National Airborne Day. The resolution, S. Res. 235, passed the Senate Monday evening and was cosponsored by 29 Senators, including U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska. National Airborne Day commemorates the successful first jump of the Army Parachute Test Platoon on August 16, 1940, which helped cont… Continue Reading
08.04.09
Senators Send Letters in Support of Kensington Mine
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Mark Begich, D-Alaska, on Monday sent two letters to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers urging the agency to quickly complete permitting of the Kensington gold mine in Southeast Alaska. The first letter detailed the senators' concerns with recent efforts by the Environmental Protection Agency to intercede in the permitting of the mine, despite a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the Corps was the proper permitting agency. … Continue Reading
08.03.09
Murkowski Saves Program to Help Alaska Communities Facing High Energy Costs
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, successfully turned back an effort by the White House and a leading senator to strike a $17.5 million high energy cost grant program important to Alaska rural communities that was included in a $124.5 billion Senate Agriculture Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2010 under debate in the Senate. U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, offered an amendment to strike the high energy cost provision sponsored by Murkowski, saying that the g… Continue Reading
08.03.09
Sen. Murkowski’s Statement on the Passing of Lu Young
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, released the following statement on the passing of Congressman Don Young's wife, Lu: "Verne and I were deeply saddened to learn of the sudden passing of Lu Young, a true Alaskan who loved her state and its people dearly. Anyone who visited Congressman Young's Washington, D.C., office was wrapped in the presence of Lu Young, and the office will not be the same without her. "Lu and Don were a true team, and her presence was fel… Continue Reading
07.31.09
Delegation Announces Grants and Contracts to Alaska Programs
Washington, D.C. - The Alaska Congressional Delegation is pleased to announce the following grants and contracts awarded to communities in the State of Alaska: U.S. Department of Agriculture: $154,875 to the City of Kasaan in order to complete a Preliminary Engineering Report and Environmental Report to design a new water treatment plant and water tank. $75,000 to the Kokhanok Village Council in order to complete a Preliminary Engineering Report and an Environmental Report for a p… Continue Reading
07.31.09
Town Halls to Take Place in Fairbanks, Anchorage, Wasilla and Soldotna
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, told several thousand Alaskans during a "Telephone Town Hall" meeting Thursday night that she will hold four Alaska-based town hall meetings focused on health care during the August congressional recess. The town hall meetings will occur on Thursday, August 13 in Fairbanks; Thursday, August 20 in Anchorage; Friday, August 28 in Wasilla and Saturday, August 29 in Soldotna. Murkowski announced the Alaska town hall meetings while on… Continue Reading
07.31.09
Murkowski Calls on Obama Administration to Use Unspent Stimulus Money to Continue 'Cash for Clunkers' Program
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today called on the Secretaries of the Treasury and Transportation to consider using economic stimulus package money to continue the Cash for Clunkers program, which has run out of money after only one week. In a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Murkowski noted that last week's rollout of the program was delayed in Alaska, thanks to a computer glitch on a federal website that te… Continue Reading
07.31.09
Murkowski, Begich Staffs to Visit Tanana Valley 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 on site at the Tanana Valley State Fair from August 7-15, 2009, to meet with constituents as part of their 2009 mobile office tour. Mobile office staff will be available at the fair from noon - 10:00 p.m. Congressional staff hold mobile office hours in Alaska in order to meet with constituents and community leaders. During their mobile office hour… Continue Reading
07.30.09
Murkowski Calls for Quick Resumption of Alaska Offshore Leasing
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today called on Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to complete as quickly as possible the environmental impact analysis required by the DC Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals to allow oil and gas leasing off the coast of Alaska to resume. "As I understand it, Interior started the environmental analysis almost immediately after the court's initial ruling this spring, which halted the leasing plan," Murkowski said. "Given that an analysis r… Continue Reading
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
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
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
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
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
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
