Articles & Op-eds
KTUU: After proposed cuts to Special Olympics, Alaska's Congressional delegation voices support
by Grant Robinson
After the White House proposed a budget that would eliminate federal funding for Special Olympics programs in schools, members of Alaska's congressional delegation say they will continue to support the organization's mission. Unified Champion Schools is one of several program Special Olympics participants. More than 50 schools in Alaska participate in the program. "We have many different programs that serve seniors, that serve adults - this is the the one that serves our youth," Special Olympi… Continue Reading
03.27.19
Op-Ed: Sens. Murkowski And Cantwell: The Significance Of The Public Lands Package
by Senator Lisa Murkowski and Senator Maria Cantwell
This Op-Ed represents the opinions of Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), former ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Americans have a lot to celebrate in the sweeping public lands package the president signed into law this month. This landmark package includes more than 120 bills that will protect treasured landscapes, spur economic development, address a wide rang… Continue Reading
03.26.19
Must Read Alaska:No deal: Murkowski, Sullivan vote against ‘Green New Deal’
by Suzanne Downing
Murkowski, who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and serves on the Appropriations Committee, spoke on the Senate floor in advance of the vote, turning her remarks toward the more practical, pragmatic steps Congress can take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Murkowski emphasized areas where Congress has made progress in supporting policies to reduce emissions: increased funding for the research and development of clean technologies, expanding the tax credit for carbon ca… Continue Reading
03.26.19
Anchorage Daily News: Supreme Court backs Alaska moose hunter over park service but steers clear of Katie John
by Zaz Hollander
An Alaska moose hunter whose case against the federal government made a rare second trip to the U.S. Supreme Court prevailed on Tuesday. The ruling marks a win for Alaskans unhappy with federal "overreach" on some public lands but doesn't topple rural subsistence rights as some feared it might. John Sturgeon sued the National Park Service after rangers on the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve in 2007 ordered him off the hovercraft he used for moose-hunting trips through the shallows of th… Continue Reading
03.19.19
Alaska Public Media: Green New Deal? Murkowski says no, opts for middle way on climate
by Liz Ruskin
Sen. Lisa Murkowski is talking about global warming more than ever these days. While the Green New Deal is a lightning rod in Congress, Murkowski says she's reaching for what's politically possible. Among the big goals included in the Green New Deal is to transition to energy sources with zero emissions, within a decade. Murkowski takes a more measured and less specific approach. "We propose that we focus on these technologies that will allow us to get us to a lower carbon economy reduce our e… Continue Reading
03.19.19
Ketchikan Daily News: Op-Ed: The Tongass and the Roadless Rule
by Chairman Lisa Murkowski
A few weeks ago, I spoke before the State Legislature and highlighted the congressional delegation's efforts to restore reasonable access to federal areas across Alaska. This is a longstanding fight, but increasingly critical for responsible resource development and the long-term prosperity of our state. Fortunately, after years of frustration, we are making real progress with the Trump administration. New development is taking place in our National Petroleum Reserve, the leasing program for … Continue Reading
03.18.19
NBC News Montana: Daines, Murkowski talk public lands in Bozeman
by McKayla Haack
Many outdoorsmen are still celebrating after President Donald Trump signed the Public Lands Package into law. The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee Chairman, Lisa Murkowski and Senator Steve Daines discussed the recent legislation at the Wild Sheep Foundation in Bozeman Sunday. The president signed the bipartisan John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management and Recreation Act last week. It was previously called Senate Bill 47 or the Public Lands Package and had been in the work… Continue Reading
03.18.19
KPAX: Work still to be done despite Land and Water Conservation Fund reauthorization
by Medeiros Babb
Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) has advocated very strongly for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), and with President Trump's signature, it has been reauthorized. Sen. Daines and US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) discussed the victory over the weekend, but the fight for funding isn't over just yet. "As I said when I passed it through the Senate, it did take public lands to bring a divided government together," Sen. Daines said of the measur… Continue Reading
03.16.19
E&E News: 'Frankenfish' is coming, but opponents vow to fight on
by Rob Hotakainen
If all goes as planned, a Massachusetts biotechnology company will soon begin importing salmon eggs from a Canadian hatchery to its plant in Indiana, where they'll grow into the first genetically modified salmon ever produced in the United States. AquaBounty Technologies Inc. won approval for its long-delayed plan last week, when federal regulators lifted an importation ban that had prohibited the eggs from entering the country. But opponents, who deride the new salmon as "Frankenfish," say th… Continue Reading
03.16.19
Daily Energy Insider: API supports government action regarding liquefied natural gas
by Douglas Clark
The American Petroleum Institute (API) is supporting a pair of recent actions boosting liquefied natural gas (LNG) initiatives. API officials are espousing the benefits of the Department of Energy's (DOE) non-Free Trade Agreement export authorization for Venture Global's Calcasieu Pass LNG export facility and the introduction of legislation designed to expedite Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) reviews of LNG terminals and other energy infrastructure. "This year is shaping up to be… Continue Reading
03.14.19
Indian Country Today: Yup’ik musher wins Iditarod! Pete Kaiser is first Yup’ik, fifth Alaska Native to win 998-mile race
by Richard Walker
Pete Kaiser became the first Yup'ik musher March 13 to win the Iditarod, North America's premier long-distance sled dog race. Kaiser and his dog team crossed the finish line in Nome, Alaska at 3:39:06 a.m. local time, completing the race in 9 days, 12 hours, 39 minutes, 6 seconds. His good friend, 2018 Iditarod champion Joar Leifseth Ulsom, finished 12 minutes 16 seconds later. Kaiser's win is the pinnacle of a remarkable 10-year mushing career that includes six top-10 Iditarod finishes, four … Continue Reading
03.14.19
Must Read Alaska: March 14th Alaska Native Vietnam vets will finally get their land allotments
by Suzanne Downing
TRUMP SPECIFICALLY CALLS OUT THIS ITEM IN MAJOR LANDS BILL SIGNING Legislation signed Tuesday by President Donald Trump will give 2,800 Alaska Native veterans - or their heirs, if the veterans are deceased - an opportunity to get the land allotments they were promised before serving in the Vietnam War. Watch Sen. Dan Sullivan talk about the Alaska Native veterans' land promise, how Sen. Ted Stevens and Congressman Don Young had fought hard for it, and why it's so important to him personally: … Continue Reading
03.14.19
SitNews: Senators Introduce Bill to Create New Twelfth Circuit Court
by Mary Kauffman
A bill that would split the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the largest of the regional courts, has been introduced by U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Steve Daines (R-MT), Martha McSally (R-AZ), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). The the Judicial Efficiency Improvement Act of 2019, would codify the Judicial Conference's most recent recommendations as well as other important measures to enhance the effectiveness of the federal judiciary. The legislation would authorize 56 permanent district cour… Continue Reading
03.14.19
Alaska Journal of Commerce: Genetically-engineered salmon cleared for US sales by FDA
by Annie Zak
The Food and Drug Administration last week cleared the way for genetically engineered salmon to be sold in the U.S. The agency on March 8 deactivated a 2016 import alert on such salmon, FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a statement. That ban restricted the sale of genetically engineered salmon in the U.S. until the agency issued labeling guidelines. The change has alarmed some in Alaska about what genetically engineered salmon on the market might mean for Alaska's salmon industry, which … Continue Reading
03.13.19
KTUU: 'It's called compromise. It's called building a package that has some balance,' Sen. Murkowski on lands package
by Derek Minemyer
Sen. Lisa Murkowski is calling it a bi-partisan collaboration - members on both sides of the aisle joined the president as he signed the Natural Resources Management Act into law Tuesday. As chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Murkowski helped secure the legislation that she says will have big impacts on Alaska. This means Alaska's public federal lands are open for use, and that includes opening a right of way for a natural gas pipeline through Denali National Pa… Continue Reading
03.13.19
Anchorage Daily News: FDA decision on labeling allows genetically engineered salmon to be sold in US
by Annie Zak
The Food and Drug Administration last week cleared the way for genetically engineered salmon to be sold in the U.S. The agency on Friday deactivated a 2016 import alert on such salmon, FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a statement. That ban restricted the sale of genetically engineered salmon in the U.S. until the agency issued labeling guidelines. The change has alarmed some in Alaska about what genetically engineered salmon on the market might mean for Alaska's salmon industry, which h… Continue Reading
03.12.19
CNBC: Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal is not going over well at one of the year’s biggest energy gatherings
by Tom DiChristopher
Energy thought leaders are largely dismissing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal as unrealistic and politically divisive at the CERAWeek by IHS Markit conference. Climate talks at CERAWeek have largely focused on the kind of bottom-up, market-oriented solutions that Ocasio-Cortez dismisses as too conservative. The industry is highlighting its progress reducing its carbon footprint, but the International Energy Agency says companies need to do far more. One of the threads running t… Continue Reading
03.12.19
American Institute of Physics: Lawmakers Consider Ways to Supercharge Energy R&D
by Will Thomas
As congressional Republicans increasingly agree with their Democratic colleagues that action is needed to mitigate climate change, energy R&D policy has emerged as a focal point for bipartisan collaboration. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Ranking Member Joe Manchin (D-WV) have become particularly vocal about pursuing legislation to support energy innovation. In an article they published in the Washington Post on March 8, they cast innovation as … Continue Reading
03.12.19
Anchorage Daily News: Huge public lands bill signed into law will allow Alaska Native veterans to claim long-promised land, among other provisions
by Michelle Theriault Boots
A major bipartisan public lands bill signed into law by President Donald Trump on Tuesday includes several Alaska-specific provisions that will impact everything from the routing of a potential gas line to the way Alaska pays for the operation and maintenance of state parks. But among the most significant, Alaska's senators agree, is a provision that would pave the way for 2,800 Alaska Native veterans to claim promised land allotments they missed out on while serving in the Vietnam War, ending … Continue Reading
03.12.19
S&P Global: CERAWeek: Murkowski pushes for more oil, gas options offshore Alaska
by Brian Scheid
US Senator Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, said it is unclear if there is commercial interest in drilling in US Arctic waters, but said regulators should keep the option open for producers. "You don't know until you have the opportunity to put the lease sales out there," Murkowski told reporters at CERAWeek by IHS Markit in Houston Monday. "We need to set the table for participation." Analysts and lobbyists claim there is limited interest in US offshore oil and gas production, outside th… Continue Reading
