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.
Senators Markey and Murkowski Introduce Legislation to Support Access to Opioid Use Disorder Treatment in Correctional Facilities
Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) recently introduced the Community Re-Entry through Addiction Treatment to Enhance (CREATE) Opportunities Act, legislation to help expand access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) like Suboxone for justice-involved individuals. This legislation would create a new grant program within the Department of Justice for state and local governments to provide MAT in their correctional facilities. The program would require grantees to p… Continue Reading
06.28.19
Murkowski Backs Bill to Bolster National Security
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) today voted in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), legislation that authorizes the appropriation of $750 billion in national defense funding for FY2020. The bill includes two amendments from Senator Murkowski to address suicide prevention in the military and to evaluate Russian and Chinese activity in the Arctic. In addition to the priorities supported by Senator Murkowski, the bill also provides a pay raise for troops, invests in modernizin… Continue Reading
06.27.19
Border Emergency Supplemental Package Passes Senate
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) recently voted in favor of The Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Humanitarian Assistance and Security at the Southern Border Act of 2019. The bipartisan package provides a total of $4.59 billion to address the humanitarian crisis at the United States' Southern Border, including funding for Health and Human Services, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Justice Department, and the U.S. Military. The legislation passed the Senate by a strong bipartisa… Continue Reading
06.27.19
Murkowski: It’s Time to End the Nuclear Waste Stalemate
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today chaired a hearing of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee to examine options for the interim and long-term storage of nuclear waste. The committee also received testimony on S. 1234, the Nuclear Waste Administration Act (NWAA), which was introduced in late April by Murkowski, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. Murkowski opened the hearing by speaking to the importance of nuclear energy in our country's electric gene… Continue Reading
06.26.19
Murkowski Reacts to EPA Announcements on Pebble Mine
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) today released the following statement after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it would resume the process of withdrawing the proposed determination it issued in 2014 for the Pebble mine project in southwest Alaska. The agency also announced that it would initiate a process under Section 404(q) of the Clean Water Act to elevate its environmental concerns on the project, which is under review by the Army Corps of Engineers. "I have never s… Continue Reading
06.26.19
Delegation, Governor Welcome Lifting of PLOs to Restore Balanced Land Use in Alaska
U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, Dan Sullivan, Rep. Don Young, and Gov. Michael J. Dunleavy, all R-Alaska, today released the following statement after the Department of the Interior issued new Public Land Orders (PLO) partially revoking a number of PLOs put in place in eastern interior Alaska in 1972. The Department also announced today it would partially revoke PLOs in place in the Bering Glacier area. Joe Balash, the Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management at the Department of the Int… Continue Reading
06.26.19
Whitehouse, Sullivan, Menendez Launch New Bipartisan Effort to Combat Marine Debris
U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) today led colleagues from both sides of the aisle in launching a new effort to combat marine debris. At a news conference this morning in the Senate Radio-Television Gallery, the Senators unveiled the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act to address the plastic debris crisis that threatens coastal economies and harms marine life. The Save Our Seas 2.0 Act seeks to help reduce the creation of plastic waste, find uses for the … Continue Reading
06.25.19
Murkowski: LWCF Can Do More for Conservation and Outdoor Recreation
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today chaired a hearing of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee to review the implementation of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) program. In her opening remarks, Murkowski noted that her 2019 lands package - the John D. Dingell Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act - contained a provision to permanently authorize LWCF's collection and deposit functions and ensure that at least 40 percent of appropriated funding goes to the state-side p… Continue Reading
06.21.19
Murkowski Joins Legislation to Improve Access to Lifesaving Breast Cancer Screenings
Today, Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced S. 1936, the Protecting Access to Lifesaving Screenings (PALS) Act of 2019, to postpone recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) that would limit access to breast cancer screening for women in their 40s. It would continue the moratorium on the USPSTF recommendations, which Congress has extended several times. The PALS Act is cosponsored by Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Shelle… Continue Reading
06.21.19
Gillibrand, Murkowski Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Give More Kids Access to Healthy Meals
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) today announced a bill to expand access to healthy meals for kids when school is out for the summer. During the summer months, children who rely on school meals to eat face the risk of going hungry. Gillibrand and Murkowski's legislation, the Summer Meals Act of 2019, would improve the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Summer Food Service Program, which provides low-income children who would normally receive free… Continue Reading
06.21.19
Rosen, Murkowski Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Provide Palliative Care Training to Medical
Today, U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced bipartisan legislation entitled the Provider Training in Palliative Care Act (S.1921). This legislation would update the National Health Service Corps program to include palliative care medicine as an eligible primary care service. "Countless patients facing serious illness or injury can benefit from the practice of palliative care," said Senator Rosen. "Palliative care is an option that does not get the attention it d… Continue Reading
06.20.19
Murkowski Welcomes Alaska PILT Payments
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) announced today that the Department of the Interior is distributing more than $30 million to eligible local governments across Alaska through the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program. The PILT program provides monetary compensation to local governments throughout Alaska that contain federal lands that are not subject to state or local taxation. This revenue helps local governments provide essential services, such as construction of public schools and roads, fi… Continue Reading
06.20.19
Murkowski Comments on New GAO Report on LWCF
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today issued the following statement after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a new report on the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). "This report provides good information about how federal land management agencies have implemented a variety of programs supported by LWCF appropriations," Murkowski said. "Now that Congress has permanently authorized the deposit provisions of the LWCF, it is time to examine the program and the role it … Continue Reading
06.20.19
Murkowski: Geothermal Brings the Heat for America’s Energy Future
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today chaired a hearing of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee to examine opportunities and challenges for advanced geothermal energy development in the United States. Murkowski opened by highlighting the capabilities of geothermal energy. "Whether it is used for heating our homes or keeping the lights on, geothermal provides clean and always-on energy that requires no external backup," Murkowski said. "We often hear about concerns with wind when it s… Continue Reading
06.20.19
Murkowski Supports Southern Border Emergency Supplemental Package
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) today voted for a funding measure to address the immediate humanitarian and security crisis at the U.S. southern border. Since May, 2019, the average daily number of unaccompanied children in U.S. Customs and border Security has grown from 870 to more than 2,300. The emergency supplemental bill, which provides a total of $4.59 billion to address the border crisis, advanced out of the Senate Appropriations Committee on a vote of 30-1, sending it to the full Sena… Continue Reading
06.20.19
Indian Affairs Committee Considers Law Enforcement & Public Safety Bills
Today the Senate Indian Affairs Committee held a legislative hearing on bills, led by U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and colleagues on the Committee, to address the epidemic of missing, murdered, and trafficked Indigenous women and focus on improving public safety and justice systems. Specifically, the Committee considered the following bills: S.227, Savanna's Act; S.982, the Not Invisible Act; S. 288, the Justice for Native Survivors of Sexual Violence Act; S.290, the Native Youth and Triba… Continue Reading
06.18.19
Delegation Urges Administration’s Support for Seafood Industry Embroiled in China Trade Dispute
U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski, Dan Sullivan, and Congressman Don Young (all R-AK) sent a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue urging the Trump administration to provide relief for Alaskan fishermen and seafood processers, as it has for the domestic agriculture industry, from the devastating impacts of retaliatory tariffs inflicted on American products by China. In May, President Trump announced roughly $15 billion in aid, directed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, for domestic far… Continue Reading
06.18.19
Murkowski, Manchin Issue Statement on PROMESA Nominees
U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, today released the following statement after President Trump formally nominated seven individuals to serve on the Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) for Puerto Rico. All seven currently serve on the Board, but are subject to Senate confirmation in the wake of a recent court decision. "We appreciate the President's decision to nominate … Continue Reading
06.18.19
Murkowski Comments on Middle East Troop Deployment
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) issued the following statement after the administration announced its deploying 1,000 more U.S. troops to the Middle East for defense purposes, in order to address threats in the region. "The administration has taken quick action in responding to the commander in the region's request for additional support," said Senator Murkowski. "We must maintain freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, but we also need to proceed carefully because a stable, peaceful … Continue Reading
06.18.19
Murkowski: Maintenance Backlog Requires Comprehensive Fix
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today chaired a hearing of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee to examine deferred maintenance needs and potential solutions on federal lands administered by the three major land management agencies within the Department of the Interior-the National Park Service (NPS), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the U.S. Fish and Wildfire Service (FWS)-as well as the USDA Forest Service (FS). Murkowski opened by acknowledging the magnitude of deferred mai… Continue Reading
