Articles & Op-eds
Anchorage Daily News: Alaska’s congressional delegation is looking into ‘troubling’ Pentagon decision to cancel missile project
by Alex DeMarban
Alaska's congressional delegation expressed concern Thursday about the Pentagon's decision to cancel a project designed to improve ground-based interceptor missiles, raising questions about additional missiles set to be housed at Fort Greely outside Fairbanks. The Pentagon canceled the Boeing contract for the project last week amid concerns about unstated design flaws associated with the missiles, which are designed to strike down incoming threats as North Korea, China and Russia take steps to … Continue Reading
08.21.19
Water Online: EPA Administrator Wraps Up Alaska Swing In Anchorage
Yesterday, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler wrapped up his visit to Alaska by meeting with Anchorage residents. He started off the day visiting EPA's Alaska Operations Office and meeting with EPA career employees in Alaska. He then delivered a keynote address at the Resource Development Council's luncheon with Senators Murkowski and Sullivan. He followed with a series of roundtable discussions with local tribal and conservation groups. "I thoroughly enjoye… Continue Reading
08.20.19
KTVF: EPA Administrator Wheeler listens to residents about air quality plan for Fairbanks
by Sara Tewksbury
The Fairbanks North Star Borough community has been working on air quality concerns for more than a decade. After years of non-attainment, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation has to provide a Serious State Implementation Plan or SIP, to the Environmental Protection Agency to show a path forward of how they are going to bring the borough into attainment with the Clean Air Act. Over the summer, ADEC collected public comment and formal testimony on their proposed draft of the Serious S… Continue Reading
08.20.19
KTVF: Vertical grow towers work to improve food security in Alaska; across the country
by Sara Tewksbury
At the Chena Hot Springs 'Renewable Energy Fair,' energy leaders gathered to talk about new ideas and inventions. One invention on display that is not new to Chena Hot Springs is the vertical grow tower. Bernie Karl, co-owner of Chena Hot Springs, created this 'do it yourself' version of a vertical grow tower to share with the community and he says it's designed so third and four graders can build it. "Because we want to spark young people's imagination. We want them to bug their parents, they … Continue Reading
08.19.19
E&E News: Murkowski draft bill supports fossil fuel financing
by Jeremy Dillon
The top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee this morning released a discussion draft of legislation that would require the Treasury Department to formally oppose efforts at multilateral development banks to move away from fossil fuel investments. The draft provision from Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is part of legislation meant to incorporate more energy considerations into the Export-Import Bank of the United States reauthorization debate ahead of a Sept. 30 deadl… Continue Reading
08.16.19
Peninsula Clarion: A conversation with the senator
by Victoria Petersen and Brian Mazurek
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski visited the Kenai Peninsula on Wednesday. In between visiting the Alaska Municipal League summer conference, hearing an update from fire crews on the Swan Lake Fire and attending the Jr. Classic at the Kenai River, Murkowski sat down with the Clarion to share her thoughts on issues facing the state and area. Permanent fund dividend While the Alaska Permanent Fund dividend is a state issue, Murkowski said she's been paying attention to ongoing conversations regarding th… Continue Reading
08.16.19
Oil & Gas Intelligence: Murkowski discussion draft addresses US overseas project financing
by Nick Snow
US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Lisa Murkowski (R-Alas.) issued a discussion draft of legislation that includes provisions that would direct the US to use its influence to discourage international finance organizations from discriminating against proposed oil and gas and other fossil fuel projects. "In this era of strategic energy competition, we must strengthen our tools of statecraft through a rational, long-term approach. What I have released today outlines the means t… Continue Reading
08.16.19
KTVA: Inside the Gates: Getting military kids fishing on the Kenai
by Scott Gross
Fishing on the Kenai River is one of the most treasured experiences Alaska has to offer. Many military youth in Anchorage never get the chance to get out of the city and into a boat on the river, but the Kenai River Jr. Classic casts a wide net trying to bring as many kids as possible down to the peninsula. "This is an opportunity to introduce kids to not only fishing, but to the beauty, the majesty of the Kenai River," Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the honorary host, said. "What we've been doing over… Continue Reading
08.16.19
KTOO: Murkowski supports a ‘complete exemption’ for Tongass from Roadless Rule
by Jacob Resneck
A decision by President Donald Trump's administration over exempting the Tongass National Forest from the Roadless Rule is expected soon. That's according to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who said Tuesday that rolling back restrictions to roadbuilding is crucial for Southeast Alaska's economy. "I, very early on, went to the Trump administration and said as we look to the state of Alaska and the application of the Roadless Rule, we have to be able to have a plan that is specific to us," s… Continue Reading
08.15.19
Morning Consult: Murkowski to Release ‘Strategic Energy for America Act’ for Global Project Financing
by Jacqueline Toth
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is taking the next step in her Strategic Energy Initiative, floating legislation aimed at pushing federal financial institutions to facilitate American energy leadership on the world stage. An official legislative discussion draft of the Strategic Energy for America Act will be released today, according to a committee spokesperson, which would leverage the U.S. Export-Import Bank and the U.S. International Development Financ… Continue Reading
08.15.19
KRBD: Murkowski talks healthcare, energy and natural resources at chamber lunch
by Maria Dudzak
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski was in Ketchikan earlier this month. She spoke at a special Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce luncheon last Friday, discussing issues such as healthcare, energy, and natural resource development. Murkowski was born in Ketchikan and was in the First City attending a family funeral. She said the morning of the chamber lunch, she informally asked people what issues were being talked about locally. She says most concerns were about the state budget, a topic she said she was… Continue Reading
08.15.19
Juneau Empire: Murkowski has health care on her mind
by Peter Segall
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, sat down with the Empire Tuesday to discuss her recent work in Washington and the groups she's meeting with in Alaska as she crisscrosses the state during the five-week recess from the Senate. "We've done a back-of-the-envelope mapping of the trip … it's 15,000 miles in state, so I'm making tracks," she said. Murkowski said that one of the most pressing concerns she hears about is health care and its costs. The senator was meeting with representatives… Continue Reading
08.13.19
Health Care Blog: Health Data Outside HIPAA: The Wild West of Unprotected Personal Data
by Vince Kuraitis and Deven McGraw
The McKinsey "2,750 times" statistic is a pretty good proxy for the amount of your personal health data that is NOT protected by HIPAA and currently is broadly unprotected from sharing and use by third parties. However, there is bipartisan legislation in front of Congress that offers expanded privacy protection for your personal health data. Senators Klobuchar & Murkowski have introduced the "Protecting Personal Health Data Act" (S.1842). The Act would extend protection to much personal hea… Continue Reading
08.12.19
Military: Lawmakers Urge DoD to Expand F-35 Foreign Military Sales
by Orinana Pawlyk
Several Republican senators are making the case that the U.S.-led F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program should be expanded with additional foreign sales to create a stronger coalition of allies. In a letter sent to Defense Secretary Mark Esper this week, Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania said the U.S. would benefit by having more F-35s on flight lines around the world. "The National Defense Strategy makes clear that the United States must strengthen its allianc… Continue Reading
08.12.19
Alaska Journal of Commerce: Court fight over King Cove road enters third round
by Elwood Brehmer
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, holds up a copy of a news paper with a note from President Donald Trump during an event in her office in Washington on Jan. 22, 2018. Murkowski was joined by other Alaskan officials regarding the Interior Department's decision to the construction of a road through a national wildlife refuge in Alaska.The road would connect the communities of King Cove and Cold Bay, which has an all-weather airport needed for emergency medical flights. A lawsuit subsequently led to … Continue Reading
08.07.19
Bloomberg: Power and Tech Giants Fight Over Airwaves Space in the U.S.
by Millicent Dent and Stephen Cunningham
As tropical storm Barry roared ashore in Louisiana last month, Entergy Corp. monitored the electric grid using airwaves that have long been reserved for utilities and first responders. Those secure, wireless signals helped the company manage outages, even while winds of up to 65 miles (105 kilometers) per hour lashed the region. But as the world becomes increasingly wireless, U.S. regulators plan to open more of those airwaves to tech companies. The move pits two of the most powerful U.S. indu… Continue Reading
08.07.19
Kodiak Daily Mirror: Sen. Murkowski introduces bill to improve access to loan guarantee program to finance local energy infrastructure
by Kevin Randolph
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced Monday legislation to improve access to the Department of Energy's (DOE) Section 1703 loan guarantee program to help states secure financing for projects that will reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. The bill would make certain state financing entities fully eligible for Section 1703 program. Murkowski included the text of the legislation in energy bills in the 114th and 115th Congresses. "Right now, the Department's loan guarantee program i… Continue Reading
08.06.19
Utlity Dive: Bipartisan Senate support for nuclear grows with $7.5B bill to extend life of current fleet
by Catherine Morehouse
Dive Brief: A bipartisan group of senators on Thursday introduced a bill that aims to extend the life of the United States' current nuclear fleet. Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Martha McSally, R-Ariz., introduced the Nuclear Energy Renewal Act, which would authorize $755 million per year from 2019 to 2029 to "enhance the economic viability of the current U.S. nuclear fleet." Three other nuclear bills have advanced in the past three legislative sessions. Two passed the Senate and one more, … Continue Reading
08.06.19
Daily Energy Insider: Sens. Cassidy, Murkowski lead senators in introducing bill to strengthen offshore energy revenue sharing
by Kevin Randolph
Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) recently led a group of senators in introducing legislation that would strengthen offshore energy revenue sharing. The bill, the Conservation of America's Shoreline Terrain and Aquatic Life (COASTAL) Act, would strengthen the offshore energy revenue sharing program under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA) and create a new revenue sharing program for future offshore energy production in Alaska. Sens. John Kennedy (R-LA), Dan Sulliv… Continue Reading
08.06.19
KTVF: Murkowski talks Alaskan current events while visiting Fairbanks
by Sara Tewksbury
While in Fairbanks, Senator Lisa Murkowski visited the Tanana Valley State Fair and gave an update on her current travels and work in Washington D.C. She says September will be a busy month as they work to advance all of their appropriations bills. "As the chairman of the Interior Appropriations subcommittee, we'll be working on those accounts that relate to the Department of Interior, the EPA, the IHS, the BIA, so we've got a lot of work to do in front of us," said Murkowski. Before she goes … Continue Reading
