Articles & Op-eds
New York Times: Murkowski rules out switching parties to join Democrats, saying, ‘I can’t be somebody that I’m not.’
by Emily Cochrane
Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, said on Friday that she was committed to remaining a Republican, calling liberal aspirations that she might switch parties and hand Democrats an edge in the evenly divided Senate "a dream by some that will not materialize." Ms. Murkowski, a vocal critic of former President Donald J. Trump who has indicated she is open to convicting him at his impeachment trial for his role in egging on the violent mob that stormed the Capitol, had raised questions a… Continue Reading
01.24.21
Peninsula Clarion: Murkowski co-sponsors bipartisan bill to affirm ratification of Equal Rights Amendment
by Michael S. Lockett
Sen. Lisa Murkowski announced Friday she would co-sponsor a bipartisan bill with a Maryland senator to remove the ratification deadline for the long-floated Equal Rights Amendment. Murkowski, R-Alaska, along with Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., submitted the bipartisan bill as their first bipartisan legislation of the 117th Congress. "The required 38 states have ratified the ERA," Murkowski said in the news release. "Congress must not stand in the way of finally enshrining equality for women into our … Continue Reading
01.19.21
Must Read Alaska: Murkowski to chair ‘Fire Services Caucus’
by Suzanne Downing
She may no longer be chair of the powerful Energy and Natural Resources Committee as of Jan. 20, but Sen. Lisa Murkowski is landing on her feet. Alaska's senior senator has been named the chair of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus. The caucus works to support the nation's firefighters. It's likely the first of many such appointments that the Murkowski will announce in coming days as the new Senate and House organizations take shape. "I will continue to advocate for the health & safety… Continue Reading
01.15.21
Juneau Empire: Murkowski on impeachment: ‘I will listen carefully’ to both sides
by Peter Segall
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said in a news release Thursday that she had not decided how she would vote when President Trump's impeachment trial reaches the Senate. "When the Article of Impeachment comes to the Senate, I will follow the oath I made when sworn as a U.S. Senator. I will listen carefully and consider the arguments of both sides, and will then announce how I will vote," Murkowski said in the statement. Murkowski became the first Republican senator to call for Trump to r… Continue Reading
01.15.21
Delta Discovery: Senators Murkowski and Sullivan Advance Clean Energy Policies – More Work to Come In The New Congress
by Stephanie Haydn
This year, Republicans in Congress led the charge to pass pro-growth clean energy policies that support a more sustainable environment and competitive economy. As more leaders join in to collaborate on sensible climate solutions, policies out of Washington are becoming increasingly bipartisan. For example, the introduction of the Trillion Trees Act in the Senate was a notable effort by Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) and Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) to reduce carbon emissions and build an effective fore… Continue Reading
01.13.21
KTUU: Sen. Lisa Murkowski: Trump committed an impeachable offense; it would be ‘appropriate’ to bar him from holding office again
by Sean Maguire
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski believes that President Donald Trump has committed an impeachable offense by inciting an attack against the U.S. Capitol and said that it would be "appropriate" to bar him from holding office again. As Murkowski spoke from Washington D.C., the U.S. House of Representatives was debating and preparing to vote on an article of impeachment that charged the president with "inciting violence against the government" on Jan. 6. Comparing this impeachment process to Trump's fir… Continue Reading
01.13.21
KTUU: would be ‘appropriate’ to bar him from holding office again
by Sean Maguire
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski believes that President Donald Trump has committed an impeachable offense by inciting an attack against the U.S. Capitol and said that it would be "appropriate" to bar him from holding office again. As Murkowski spoke from Washington D.C., the U.S. House of Representatives was debating and preparing to vote on an article of impeachment that charged the president with "inciting violence against the government" on Jan. 6. Comparing this impeachment process to Trump's fir… Continue Reading
01.13.21
Alaska Journal of Commerce: Congress pays for another icebreaker, authorizes more
by Elwood Brehmer
Congress paid for a second new heavy icebreaker among its year-end spending flurry and also helped Nome move one step closer to having a place to moor it. Inside the federal budget portion omnibus spending package that also included the second round of COVID-19 aid money and Sen. Lisa Murkowski's energy reform bill is $555 million for the U.S. Coast Guard to spend on another icebreaker, or a polar security cutter in Coast Guard parlance. Sen. Dan Sullivan said in a press briefing following the… Continue Reading
01.06.21
Alaska Journal of Commerce: Murkowski energy bill crosses finish line
by Elwood Brehmer
Tucked amongst the 5,500-some pages of legislation with more than $2 trillion in spending and COVID-19 aid that President Donald Trump signed last month was one of Sen. Lisa Murkowski's biggest policy accomplishments, but according to Murkowski, that's sort of how she wanted it. The 532 pages of the year-end omnibus spending bill that comprise the Energy Act of 2020 culminate almost six years of work, procedural hang-ups and near-victories for Murkowski, who credited her staff for their continu… Continue Reading
01.06.21
Anchorage Daily News: Alaska congressional delegation safe, denounces riotous invasion of Capitol
by James Brooks
The three members of Alaska's congressional delegation were unharmed after Wednesday's invasion of the U.S. Capitol by violent supporters of President Donald Trump hoping to overturn his electoral defeat in the presidential election. As they returned to a joint session of the U.S. House and Senate on Wednesday evening, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said he was prepared to vote to accept the victory of Democratic President-elect Joe Biden. "I want to thank the courageous work of our law enf… Continue Reading
12.09.20
Utility Dive: Senate works to pass comprehensive energy bill in 2020 as renewables sector vies for more aid
by Catherine Morehouse
Dive Brief: The Senate is continuing to struggle through negotiations on the landmark American Energy Innovation Act first introduced by Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., early in the year, but still hopes to pass it this year, according to Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. If passed, the bill would likely be a slimmed down version of what Democrats and the clean energy industry want to see in a comprehensive energy bill, and Democrats are urging President-elect Joe Biden… Continue Reading
12.09.20
Alaska Public Media: Moderates unite in U.S. Senate, beating path to Murkowski’s door
by Liz Ruskin
Moderates in Congress, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski, may finally be having their day. Or so it would seem with a COVID-19 relief bill gaining momentum in the Capitol after months of partisan stalemate. "It came together when a group of eight people said, 'There's got to be a better way,'" Murkowski said. The bipartisan critical mass came together at her place in D.C., she said, after Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., suggested they meet away from the Capitol. "You can't go to a restaurant right now.… Continue Reading
12.09.20
Home News: Seawatch: Young fishermen’s act praised
by Christy Fry
The Alaska Marine Conservation Council is touting the passage of the Young Fishermen's Development Act passed by the U.S. Senate, a major milestone for policy that had a companion bill passed in the House of Representatives and which AMCC has spent years advocating for. News of promising COVID-19 vaccine trials even offers glimmers of hope for future in-person events. The bipartisan bill, championed by Alaska Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, both Republicans, and Democratic Senator Ed… Continue Reading
12.09.20
JD Supra: Marine Plastic Pollution
by Blank Rome
As the inveterate pundit Pogo once said, "We have met the enemy and he is us." This could very well be said for our disposable society, which uses and disposes tons of plastic in ways that are not wise and negatively impact the health of our oceans and sea life within. Although many reports focus on larger plastics, microplastics, which go largely unnoticed, are also wreaking havoc on our oceans. Microplastics are small pieces of plastic that come from a variety of sources, both from degradation… Continue Reading
12.07.20
Natural Gas Intelligence: Alaska Oil, Natural Gas Auction Set for Early January — Before Biden Takes Office
by Carolyn Davis
The Trump administration plans to hold an oil and gas auction for the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in early January, setting up a showdown with opponents less than three weeks before President-elect Biden takes over. Northern Alaska The Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) set the video livestream lease sale for Jan. 6. The information was published Thursday in a Notice of Sale for the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program, with the Federal Register n… Continue Reading
12.02.20
Seafood Source: Bipartisan COVID relief plan calls for more fishery support
by Steve Bittenbender
A bipartisan group of lawmakers from both the U.S. Senate and House proposed on Tuesday, 1 December, a USD 908 billion (EUR 750.8 billion) COVID-19 relief package that would include additional funding for fisheries affected by the pandemic. That package includes USD 26 billion (EUR 21.5 billion) for nutrition and agriculture programs, which U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) said in a release would include assistance for fisheries. The exact amount or nature of the assistance was not made clea… Continue Reading
12.02.20
E&E News: Trump does U-turn on DOE loans for clean energy
The Trump administration is opening over $42 billion in loans from the Department of Energy for projects that boost the nation's supply of key clean energy minerals, despite the president's repeated attempts to eliminate funding for the program. In new guidance published yesterday, the Energy Department's Loan Programs Office (LPO) encouraged companies to seek loans for the production, processing and recycling of "critical minerals" that are central to electric vehicles, renewable energy, advanc… Continue Reading
12.01.20
Alaska Public Media: As pandemic worsens, Alaskans’ patience wears thin for a new relief bill from Congress
by Nat Herz
A few months after the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, Kate Stavick was furloughed from her job as a college recruiter in the Mat-Su, which paid her $3,000 a month. When a federal boost to the unemployment insurance program expired, Stavick's benefits dropped to roughly $300 a week - far less than what she earned in her job. Since then, she and her husband have skipped fishing and hunting trips, to allow her husband to keep working. They canceled an anniversary trip. And they're spending more tim… Continue Reading
12.01.20
Washington Times: Lisa Murkowski calls on Trump to end court fights
by Victor Morton
Sen. Lisa Murkowski called on President Trump and his legal team to end their court fights on the 2020 election and begin the transition process. The Alaska Republican issued a statement Sunday evening on Twitter saying that Democrat Joseph R. Biden had apparently won the election fair and square and the Trump administration should start preparing to turn over power on Jan. 20. "Each state has worked to ensure a free and fair elections process. President Trump has had the opportunity to litiga… Continue Reading
11.30.20
New York Times: Alaska’s Controversial Pebble Mine Fails to Win Critical Permit, Likely Killing It
by Henry Fountain
The Army Corps of Engineers on Wednesday denied a permit for the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska, likely dealing a death blow to a long-disputed project that aimed to extract one of the world's largest deposits of copper and gold ore, but which threatened breeding grounds for salmon in the pristine Bristol Bay region. The fight over the mine's fate has raged for more than a decade. The plan was scuttled years ago under the Obama administration, only to find new life under President Trump. But op… Continue Reading
