06.24.21

Murkowski Joins Bipartisan Group of Senators to Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Expand Access to Telehealth Services

U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), and Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK), led a bipartisan group of Senators - including Senators Jon Tester (D-MT), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) - in announcing the introduction of their Rural and Frontier Telehealth Expansion Act. This bipartisan legislation would increase Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) funding for telehealth se… Continue Reading

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06.23.21

Murkowski Outlines Concerns on Election Overhaul Bill

Prior to a failed procedural vote on the For the People Act, the election overhaul bill before the Senate, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) spoke on the Senate floor to express her concerns with the legislation. She noted some aspects of the bill she does support, such as allowing for early voting, easier voting registration, and no-excuse absentee voting, but that the bill overall contains provisions that go too far, are bad policy, or are simply beyond the power of Congress to regulate. Murk… Continue Reading

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06.21.21

Murkowski Honored for Efforts to Support Tourism Industry

The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) presented U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) with the 2021 Global Travel Advocate Award for her efforts to support the travel and tourism industry-critical to Alaska's economy-as well as her efforts to keep travel agencies and businesses open through a number of provisions in multiple COVID-19 relief packages. On May 24, 2021, the President signed into law the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act, led by Senator Murkowski and the rest of the Alaska Congre… Continue Reading

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06.18.21

Murkowski, Smith Introduce Bill to Protect Children from Human Trafficking

U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Tina Smith reintroduced legislation to help students, parents, teachers, and school personnel to understand, recognize, prevent, and respond to signs of human trafficking-the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Prevention Training Act of 2021. The legislation would provide grants to non-profit organizations and schools to develop and implement age-appropriate, culturally competent, and gender-responsive curriculum, all while prioritizing geographic areas with the … Continue Reading

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06.17.21

Murkowski Urges Senate to Pass VOCA Fix Act

Today, U.S. Senator Murkowski (R-AK) spoke on the U.S. Senate floor, urging her colleagues to take up and pass the VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act (VOCA Fix Act). In March 2021, Senator Lisa Murkowski joined her colleagues, U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), in introducing critical legislation to strengthen the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) by re-… Continue Reading

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06.16.21

Murkowski Presses Interior Secretary on Resource Development in Alaska

U.S. Senator Murkowski, Ranking member on the Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, today raised Alaska specific priorities with Interior Secretary Deb Haaland during a hearing on the Interior Department's budget for Fiscal Year 2022. Building on a number of previous conversations with the Secretary, Senator Murkowski made very clear that Alaska has proven itself capable of safe, responsible resource development and pressed the Secretary on her commitment to following the law regardi… Continue Reading

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06.16.21

Murkowski Raises Domestic Critical Mineral Supply Chain to Secretary of Energy

Today, during a U.S. Senate Energy Committee hearing on the Department of Energy's (DOE) budget, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) joined a number of her colleagues on both sides of the aisle in emphasizing to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm the importance of capitalizing on America's domestic energy and critical mineral supply chain. Senator Murkowski called on the Biden administration to pursue opportunities for domestic mining and production of critical minerals. Click here for video of… Continue Reading

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06.15.21

Manchin, Murkowski Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Help Improve Efficiency, Reduce Carbon Footprint of Buildings

U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced the Investing in New Strategies for Upgrading Lower Attaining Efficiency (INSULATE) Buildings Act, bipartisan legislation that would provide grants to states and territories, through the State Energy Program, to establish revolving loan funds for energy audits and efficiency upgrades, giving businesses and homeowners the resources they need to improve the energy efficiency of their homes and facilities. The bill would also pri… Continue Reading

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06.15.21

Duckworth, Murkowski, Re-Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Expand Coverage for Breast Cancer Patients and Survivors

U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) today re-introduced legislation to ensure breast cancer patients and survivors who have experienced a mastectomy are able to access custom breast prosthetics under Medicare. The Breast Cancer Patient Equity Act of 2021 would provide coverage for custom fabricated breast prostheses-which, unlike other prosthetic devices, are not currently covered by Medicare-to the more than 100,000 women who undergo mastectomies annually. Senators Du… Continue Reading

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06.12.21

HELP Committee Advances Legislation to Curb Child Abuse and Neglect

During a Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Executive Session, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voted in favor of S. 1927, Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) Reauthorization Act of 2021. The committee reported the bill favorably out of committee to the full Senate. This legislation provides key funding to States in support of prevention, assessment, prosecution, and treatment activities and also provides grants to public agencies and nonprofit organizations. … Continue Reading

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06.11.21

Murkowski Announces Alaskan to Lead Indian Affairs Committee

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) announced that Kristi Nuna'q Williams is joining her team as Staff Director and General Counsel of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, of which Murkowski is Vice Chairman. Kristi Williams will be the first Alaskan to hold this position. Kristi previously served as Senator Murkowski's lead staff member on the Senator's work on the Committee, before working at the Department of the Interior, a national law firm specializing in tribal rights advocacy, and mos… Continue Reading

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06.11.21

Alaska Delegation Responds to Biden Administration Actions to Suppress SE Alaska’s Economy

U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski, Dan Sullivan, and Congressman Don Young, all R-Alaska, today issued the following statements after the Biden administration published its Agenda of Regulatory Actions calling for repeal of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) final rule published in October 2020, "Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation; National Forest System Lands in Alaska;" to exempt the Tongass National Forest from the 2001 Roadless Rule. "In Southeast Alaska, where the Tongass makes u… Continue Reading

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06.10.21

Bill to Boost Tech Competitiveness with China Passes Senate

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voted in favor of the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, previously known as the Endless Frontier Act, which passed the Senate in a 68-32 vote. The bipartisan legislation counters China by confronting the nation's economic and geopolitical power and invests in science, technology, and U.S. manufacturing, including reliable supply chains for critical minerals. The bill contains Arctic priorities championed by Senator Murkowski. To ensure that the United State… Continue Reading

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06.10.21

Murkowski Cites Serious Flaws in Paycheck Fairness Act

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voted against proceeding to the Paycheck Fairness Act, a partisan bill with serious flaws. Murkowski's vote is consistent with her votes on this measure in previous Congresses. "I've always been committed to fair pay and equal treatment under the law for all women, but this bill is not the solution. A good bill name doesn't make it a good bill," said Senator Murkowski. "This legislation allows unlimited compensatory and punitive awards, even if there is no pro… Continue Reading

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06.10.21

Senators’ Statement on Infrastructure

U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.) issued the following statement: "Our group - comprised of 10 Senators, 5 from each party - has worked in good faith and reached a bipartisan agreement on a realistic, compromise framework to modernize our nation's infrastructure and energy technol… Continue Reading

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06.09.21

DoD Announces the Establishment of Arctic Regional Center

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) today welcomed the Department of Defense's (DoD) announcement that it is establishing the Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies, an effort that she pushed legislatively and worked to fund. Named in honor of the late U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, this is the sixth DoD Regional Center and the only one focused on the Arctic. Senators Murkowski and Sullivan sponsored this initiative in the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. Through her role … Continue Reading

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06.08.21

Murkowski, Sullivan Introduce Bill to Support Alaska Native Vietnam Veterans

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, with U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan as a cosponsor, introduced legislation to amend the Alaska Native Vietnam-era Veterans Land Allotment program, to make an additional 3.7 million acres of federal land in the National Wildlife Refuge System available for selection. The legislation was developed based on a recommendation from then-Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt and will help to further rectify a longstanding injustice that has impacted Alaska Native veterans th… Continue Reading

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06.08.21

ICYMI: Vice Chairman Murkowski Secures Senate Passage of Four Bills to Improve Alaska Native Communities

The Senate recently approved eight bills that were passed by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, sending them to the House of Representatives. Four of the eight bills are led by Vice Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), including one bill that extends the reporting deadline for the Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children, as well as three bills that will improve delivery of healthcare services in Alaska Native communities through federal land transfers. The Senate pa… Continue Reading

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06.07.21

Murkowski Welcomes Fish & Wildlife Service Polar Bear Proposed ITRs

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently published proposed marine mammal Incidental Take Regulations (ITR), commonly known as the Polar Bear ITRs, in the Federal Register for public comment. These proposed regulations come after Senator Murkowski repeatedly pressed Department of the Interior officials and nominees on the urgency and importance of these regulations being updated and issued as the last ITRs expire in August of this year. On May 18 during a nomination hearing in the Senate Ene… Continue Reading

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06.04.21

Murkowski and Colleagues Stand Up for Wild-Caught Salmon

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) reintroduced the Genetically Engineered Salmon Labeling Act, which will allow consumers to make informed decisions when purchasing salmon. The bill works to ensure that any genetically engineered (GE) salmon products sold in the U.S. are clearly labeled "genetically engineered" in the market name. This requirement would apply to the entire lineage of salmon modified via recombinant DNA technology. The bill is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-AK), M… Continue Reading