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 comment on conclusion of Copenhagen conference
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today released the following statement regarding the nonbinding climate deal agreed to by President Obama in Copenhagen. "Much has been made of the Senate majority's failure to prioritize a climate bill ahead of the negotiations in Copenhagen, but the past two weeks have made clear that domestic legislation will not resolve the full range of fundamental, international disagreements," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. "Emissions cuts and re… Continue Reading
12.19.09
Murkowski: Senate Passes Defense Appropriations Bill That Includes $27.94 Million for Alaska Projects
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Senate today passed a $636 billion defense appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2010 that includes $27.9 million for key Alaska projects, according to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Included in the bill is $19.58 million for enhancements to the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex in Interior Alaska. The bill, which passed the Senate by a vote of 88 - 10, now goes to President Obama who is expected to sign the measure. "… Continue Reading
12.16.09
Sen. Murkowski Applauds Committee Approval of Three Alaska Bills
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today announced that several Alaska lands bills cleared the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, of which she is the ranking Republican. The Salmon Lake Land Selection Resolution Act ratifies a settlement between the state of Alaska, the Bureau of Land Management and the Bering Straits Native Corp., completing land conveyances promised in the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. "Alaska Natives have spent decades fighting fo… Continue Reading
12.15.09
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 Health and Human Services: $385,170 to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services for the Alaska Tuberculosis elimination and laboratory project. U.S. Department of Transportation: The U.S. Department of Transportation has selected the following projects to share in $32 million of funding for publ… Continue Reading
12.14.09
Murkowski Seeks to Halt EPA Endangerment of U.S. Economy
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today announced her intention to file a disapproval resolution to stop the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. Murkowski's resolution comes in the wake of the agency's recent endangerment finding, which will result in damaging new regulations that endanger America's economy. "I remain committed to reducing emissions through a policy that will protect our environment and str… Continue Reading
12.12.09
Murkowski Says Democrats' Health Care Bill Doesn't Solve Medicare Access Problem in Alaska
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said today that she was contacted by an Anchorage family practice doctor earlier this week who is opting out of treating Medicare patients, citing the Democrats' health care bill under consideration in the Senate. Murkowski, vice chair of the Senate Republican Conference Committee, appeared at a news conference with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and several other senators to talk about the Democrats' $2.5 trillion hea… Continue Reading
12.11.09
Sen. Murkowski Welcomes Cantwell-Collins Bill to Climate Debate
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today released the following statement regarding Sens. Maria Cantwell and Susan Collins' Carbon Limits and Energy for America's Renewal (CLEAR) Act: "I am encouraged by Sen. Cantwell's bipartisan effort to advance a more sensible approach to greenhouse gas emission reductions. A great deal of work remains to find consensus on legislation, and ensure that both the economy and the environment are protected, but this bill is intellectually ho… Continue Reading
12.09.09
Murkowski Says that ATG Members Should See Restoration of Full Retirement Benefits by End of the Month
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Department of Defense today told U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, that the 23 surviving members of the Alaska Territorial Guard (ATG) whose military pensions were reduced by a Pentagon policy change last January should see their full pension payments resumed by the end of December. The announcement came after Sen. Murkowski prodded the Pentagon to expeditiously implement language in the National Defense Authorization Act which directs the military to count service in t… Continue Reading
12.09.09
Funding for Alaska Projects Included in Omnibus Appropriations Package
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A joint Senate and House Appropriations Conference Committee has approved a $446.8 billion catch-all funding bill that contains money for a number of important Alaska projects, including Pacific salmon recovery, Denali Commission health facilities and a number of military construction projects, according to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, a committee member. The committee's action late Tuesday sends the bill back to both chambers for a vote on final passage. In recent yea… Continue Reading
12.09.09
Longtime Alaskan Named Federal Coordinator for Gas Pipeline Projects
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today released the following statement in response to Larry Persily's nomination to be Federal Coordinator of the Office of the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects: "I'm pleased that President Obama has moved quickly to fill this important position," Murkowski said. "I've known Larry for years. He has solid knowledge of oil and gas industry finance and the state's regulatory process. More importantly, from his decades in Alaska he k… Continue Reading
12.08.09
Murkowski Introduces Bill to Study Feasibility of an Arctic Deep Water Port
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today introduced legislation authorizing a study to determine the feasibility of building a deep water port in the Arctic. The Arctic Deep Water Sea Port Act would direct the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, to conduct the study in an effort to protect U.S. strategic interests in the region. The two-year study would seek to determine what strategic capabilities a deep water port could provide a… Continue Reading
12.07.09
Murkowski: MMS Approval of Shell’s Chukchi Exploration Plan a Positive Sign
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today welcomed the Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service's conditional approval of Shell Oil's plan to drill up to three exploratory wells off the northwest coast of Alaska in the Chukchi Sea. "This is progress," Murkowski said. "Today's announcement from the MMS is an encouraging sign that Alaska's oil and natural gas resources can continue to play a major role in America's energy security." "While this represents a step fo… Continue Reading
12.05.09
Citing ISER Study, Murkowski Says Democrats’ Health Care Bill Would Be Poor Fit for Alaska
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Citing a University of Alaska at Anchorage analysis of the Democrats' health care bill in the Senate, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska said today that nearly 28,000 Alaskans would see their health care premiums rise under the Democrats' health care proposal now under debate on the Senate floor. Murkowski asked UAA's Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) to review a recent non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of the Democrats' bill that said p… Continue Reading
12.04.09
Delegation Announces Grants and Contracts 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: National Park Service: • $75,000 to Kolmakovsky Redoubt Collection, Fairbanks to preserve the original blockhouse and stabilize the archaeological collections of the first Russian fort in the interior of Alaska. As part of the Save America's Treasures grants. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: • $748,487 to the Bristol Bay Are… Continue Reading
12.04.09
United States Should Support Climate Adaptation at Home First
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today made the following statement in response to President Obama's call for $10 billion a year to support climate change adaptation and mitigation in developing countries, a "fair share" of which will be paid for by the United States: "I'm surprised the president would commit our nation to billions in new and long-term spending, particularly in a year that has seen our government rack up a record deficit, and before our economy is back on… Continue Reading
12.03.09
Indian Affairs Committee Approves Indian Health Care Improvement Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, a senior member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, today announced that the committee approved the Indian Health Care Improvement Reauthorization and Extension Act of 2009, a bill that would permanently reauthorize Indian health programs delivered by Alaska's Native regional health care providers. "It has been nearly 20 years since Congress last reauthorized the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. Our first Americans suffer the highest… Continue Reading
12.02.09
Murkowski Offers Amendment to Keep Government Out of Health Care Coverage Decisions
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today introduced an amendment to the Senate health care bill that would ensure patients receive doctor recommendations for what preventive health services their health insurance plan should cover without interference from government appointed advisers. "Since the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations against getting mammograms before age 50 came out last month, millions of Americans have become anxious and confused … Continue Reading
12.02.09
Sen. Murkowski: All Options on Table for Reducing Emissions
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today questioned whether the climate bills currently pending in the Senate represent the best approach for lowering greenhouse gas emissions, saying that all options, including a net zero carbon tax, deserve thorough consideration. "The main argument for cap and trade is that it would create a new market in which economically efficient and environmentally compliant decisions could be made. Despite this, the House and Senate bills display a… Continue Reading
12.01.09
Murkowski Comments on President Obama’s Afghanistan Decision
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, made the following statement regarding President Obama's speech on his plan for Afghanistan: "I am pleased that the President, after months of deliberation, is willing to provide General McChrystal with a substantial number of additional troops to carry out his mission in Afghanistan. But the key question is whether the President is fully committed to a strategy that provides a peaceful future for the people of Afghanistan and ceases the e… Continue Reading
12.01.09
Murkowski Statement on NOAA Beluga Whale Proposal
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, issued the following statement in response to a proposal by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to designate at least one-third of Cook Inlet as critical habitat for beluga whales: "I appreciate that the National Marine Fisheries Service has tried to identify the most important areas for the beluga whale in Cook Inlet, using the limited but available science. I have not had an opportunity to read the economic analysis… Continue Reading
