Articles & Op-eds
KTUU: Lawmakers re-introducing legislation that calls for DOJ review of Indian Country probes
Federal lawmakers are re-introducing legislation that calls for the Justice Department to review how law enforcement agencies respond to cases of missing and murdered Native Americans. The legislation is named Savanna's Act for 22-year-old Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, whose body was found in a North Dakota river in 2017. U.S. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, introduced the legislation in the Senate earlier this year. It was re-introduced Tuesday in the U.S. House. It also seeks to expand tribes' acce… Continue Reading
05.14.19
Reuters: U.S. faces hurdles in push to build electric vehicle supply chain
by Ernest Scheyder
The United States faces stiff challenges as it moves to create its own electric vehicle supply chain, industry analysts say, with the extent of the country's metal reserves largely unknown and only a few facilities to process minerals and produce batteries. Legislation making its way through the U.S. Congress aims to help offset those gaps, but China remains the global EV sector leader, a dominance seen by some as difficult to supplant. "China has a huge head start," said Gavin Montgomery, a b… Continue Reading
05.14.19
Engine: Looking Back on National Small Business Week 2019
by Edward Graham
Last week, communities all across the country celebrated the 56th annual National Small Business Week (NSBW). With 30.2 million startups and small businesses across the United States employing 47.5 percent of the country's private workforce, entrepreneurial endeavors represent the economic backbone of our country. That's why policymakers from across the aisle strongly support small business innovation and growth across their districts and states. House and Senate lawmakers shared a total of 887… Continue Reading
05.13.19
Freight Waves: Alaska LNG exports proposed to fund Arctic icebreakers and ports
by John Gallagher
Revenues generated from Alaskan energy exports could be the key to closing a wide infrastructure gap that some assert has left the U.S. a decade behind its competition. Testifying on Capitol Hill on May 8, Mead Treadwell, an Arctic policy expert from the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., predicted liquefied natural gas (LNG) the "next big wave" of economic activity in the region that could help fund ice-breaking ships and deep-water ports. "[The Russians] are bringing 16.5 million ton… Continue Reading
05.12.19
Op-Ed: A new era in nuclear energy
by Senator Mike Crapo
A new chapter in U.S. nuclear energy started with the enactment of two pieces of legislation that further nuclear innovation-S. 97, the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act (NEICA) and S. 512, the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA). These laws help ensure the research conducted at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) continues to contribute to our diverse domestic energy resources and keeps our nation at the forefront of nuclear innovation. Empowering the long-term developm… Continue Reading
05.11.19
Alaska Public Media: As the ice goes, Arctic nations find their bonds are tested
by Liz Ruskin
In the end, the eight nations of the Arctic Council signed a short statement, affirming their commitment to peace and cooperation. But two major issues loomed over the Arctic Council meeting in Finland this week, and they pull at the seams of Arctic unity. Arctic Council meetings have always ended with a long declaration. The one signed in Fairbanks in 2017 had 46 points, acknowledging shared values, goals and concerns. But this year the countries couldn't reach a unanimous agreement on a d… Continue Reading
05.10.19
E&E News: EV 'arms race' revs up Murkowski's old minerals bill
An old proposal to jump-start American mining has been recharged by a newfound focus on electric vehicles and the elements needed to power them. Congress has bandied about ideas for mining more "critical minerals" for as long as the United States has been losing ground to other nations, namely China, in supplying elements used in military, energy and emerging technologies. But a different narrative took center stage when Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) introduced her latest critical minerals bi… Continue Reading
05.10.19
E&E News: Murkowski pressed Pompeo on climate language
by Kellie Lunney
The Arctic presents opportunities for greater resource extraction and trade, but leaders must also account for the impacts of climate change and food insecurity on the region's residents, Alaska's senior senator said yesterday. "We cannot forget that there are people who live and work and raise their families in the Arctic," Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska told reporters on Capitol Hill during a briefing on her recent trip to Rovaniemi, Finland, for the 11th Arctic Council Ministerial … Continue Reading
05.10.19
KTVA: Murkowski co-sponsors bill to clarify prescription drug price increases
Sen. Lisa Murkowski and three of her colleagues have introduced a bill which would require prescription-drug makers to be more transparent when increasing the prices of their products. Murkowski said in a statement that Sens. Mike Braun, R-Indiana, Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin and Tina Smith, D-Minnesota, have joined her in co-sponsoring the Fair Accountability and Innovative Research Drug Pricing Act. The senators' measure would require drugmakers to notify the U.S. Department of Health and Hum… Continue Reading
05.08.19
KTVA: Murkowski pushes feds for study on missing, murdered indigenous women
by Chris Klint
More than a dozen federal lawmakers, among them Alaska's senior U.S. senator, are seeking federal help in examining the nation's wave of kidnapped and murdered Alaska Native and Native American women. Sen. Lisa Murkowski's office said in a Tuesday statement that she was one of 11 senators and six representatives in a bipartisan group asking the Government Accountability Office, the government's top watchdog group, to conduct a study on "the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) crisis." … Continue Reading
05.07.19
Mining.com: US senate introduces new bill to boost domestic battery minerals supply
Republican senators led by Lisa Murkowski has introduced bipartisan legislation to secure mineral resources and supply chains, reducing reliance on foreign sources. The new legislation - the American Minerals Security Act - listed lithium, graphite, cobalt and nickel as "critical minerals" to the auto and energy industries. "Our nation's mineral security is a significant, urgent, and often ignored challenge. Our reliance on China and other nations for critical minerals costs us jobs, weakens ou… Continue Reading
05.01.19
Wall Street Journal: U.S. Navy Plans to Extend Its Reach in the Arctic
by Ben Kesling
The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps are deepening their commitments to Arctic security and to operations in Alaska, top Pentagon officials told Congress on Wednesday. Navy Secretary Richard Spencer said the service would undertake extensive Arctic operations this summer and fall, while the Marine Corps commandant said that Marines are committed to training in Alaska to an extent not seen in decades. The actions are part of a broader U.S. commitment to step up its presence in a region taking on expa… Continue Reading
05.01.19
RTO Insider: Senate Nuke Development Bill May Hinge on Waste Issue
by Michael Brooks
A bipartisan U.S. Senate bill intended to speed development of the next generation of nuclear reactors appears to have broad support, but passage may hinge on the fate of several other bills in the chamber that would address the long lingering issue of building a permanent repository for spent nuclear fuel. The Nuclear Energy Leadership Act (NELA) (S.903), reintroduced by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) on March 27, is co-sponsored by 17 senators - nine Republican, eight Democratic - including p… Continue Reading
05.01.19
The Guardian: A Native American woman's brutal murder could lead to a life-saving law
by Jenni Monet
There was heartbreak across Indian Country in August 2017 when the body of 22-year-old Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind was found duct-taped in plastic in the Red River. The ribbon of water demarcates North Dakota from Minnesota, a tributary flowing northward across the Canadian border. It's where, a few years earlier, an Indigenous girl, 15-year-old Tina Fontaine, was discovered wrapped in a duvet cover and weighted down by rocks. The tales of these two tragedies and the river itself are emblemati… Continue Reading
05.01.19
CQ: Murkowski Wants Plan to Deal With Tribal Health Facility Costs
by Kellie Mejdrich
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, her chamber's top appropriator for Native American programs, raised alarm Wednesday that federal officials haven't planned for ballooning court-mandated costs for certain tribal health clinics, including those in her home state of Alaska. The shortfall stems from a 2016 court decision that cracked open more funding for tribally-owned buildings administering Indian Health Service programs. Under a 1975 law, tribes can run federal Indian Health Service programs through locall… Continue Reading
04.30.19
Maryland Matters: Cardin, Colleagues and Stars to Urge Passage of Equal Rights Amendment
by Danielle E. Gaines
Supporters of the amendment will gather on Capitol Hill for the first hearing on the measure in 36 years, lawmakers said. Cardin, along with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), introduced Senate Resolution 6, which would remove a ratification deadline and revive consideration of the ERA, which is just one state short of meeting the three-fourths threshold for ratification. The lawmakers say a lapsed deadline imposed by Congress was "arbitrary" and that Article V of the Constitution contains no tim… Continue Reading
04.27.19
Patch: Digital Coastal Mapping Seen As Way To Prepare For Floods, Storms
by Deb Belt
Maryland Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Cockeysville, has introduced a bipartisan bill that would pay for a project to produce a digital map of all 95,000 miles of the U.S. coastline. Coastal communities like Baltimore and Ocean City would benefit from the collection of geographic data about the nation's coasts that would help prepare people against floods and storms, sponsors of the legislation said. The project also would help researchers better understand storm surges, water level trends, and … Continue Reading
04.27.19
Gray TV: Vaping crackdown: Senator Murkowski continues push to ban flavored e-cigs
by Peter Zampa
The vaping craze continues to take the U.S. by storm. While some believe vapes help cigarette smokers quit their habits, others say flavored e-cigarettes are attracting kids who would not otherwise smoke. "I definitely tried it for the first time because I thought I was going to be cool by smoking it," said Brendan Gillan, a 22-year old e-cigarette user. Gillan started smoking electronic cigarettes at the age of 16. He says part of the reason he began vaping as a minor was due to the variety o… Continue Reading
04.27.19
Must Read Alaska: Icebreaker contract awarded; to be delivered in 2024
by Suzanne Downing
The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard have announced that Halter Marine of Pascagoula, Miss., was awarded the contract to build the nation's first new heavy Polar Security Cutter in more than 40 years. The icebreaker is to be delivered by 2024. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Karl Schultz called the Alaska delegation to share the news and thank them for their efforts in support of the progress to update the icebreaker fleet. The initial fixed price contract is $746 million for non-recurring engine… Continue Reading
04.26.19
KDLG: Murkowski asks for longer Pebble comment period
by Dave Goldman
On Friday, it came full circle. Nelson Angapak, a U.S. veteran who served during the Vietnam War era, finally received recognition he sought for his service decades ago. The Alaska Native Veterans Land Allotment Equity Act will enable some veterans who served from 1964-1971 to apply for land parcels of 160 acres. Many service members were not able to apply after serving and subsequently missed out. "One the primary reasons some of us kept at it was that we made a vow to Sen. [Ted] Stevens that… Continue Reading
