Articles & Op-eds
KSFK: U.S. Coast Guard Commandant visits Petersburg
by Angela Denning
The head of the U.S. Coast Guard, Commandant Admiral Karl Schultz, paid a short visit to Petersburg Aug. 10. Also visiting was the 17th Coast Guard District Commander Rear Admiral Matthew Bell and U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mike Enzi of Wyoming. KFSK's Angela Denning reports: The visit was a short one with little fanfare. The leadership was on the ground for two and half hours, just long enough to tour the town's two coast guard ships and visit their crew. There were no public m… Continue Reading
08.13.18
KRBD: Tazlina christened at Ketchikan shipyard
by Leila Kheiry
The Alaska Marine Highway System's newest ferry Tazlina is the first state-owned ferry ever built in Alaska. During a ceremony Saturday on board the vessel, Ketchikan residents and state officials gathered for the ferry's christening ceremony. The ferry's car deck was packed with people eager to see the new vessel, built in Ketchikan's Vigor Alaska shipyard. Most of those attending were local residents, with visiting state officials sprinkled in the audience and up on stage. As appropriate fo… Continue Reading
08.09.18
Sitka Sentinel: Murkowski Tells Sitka Of Bipartisan Success
by Shannon Haugland
Securing the northern border of America with a "moving wall," fighting tariffs that could affect the seafood industry, and making a decision on the Supreme Court nominee - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski told a Sitka audience Wednesday that she's been busy. "I've got too many things to talk about," Murkowski said in her address to the Chamber of Commerce. Her talk drew a standing-room-only turnout of more than 100 members of the Chamber and the general public alike, with about half of the time … Continue Reading
08.09.18
KTUU: Census impacts on tribal communities concerns Murkowski
by Jack Carney
Lisa Murkowski and other U.S. senators are sounding off about their concerns over the possible unforeseen impacts of the 2020 Census on tribal communities. "With 92,000 Alaska Natives living in 'hard to count' communities, I urge my colleagues to consider the negative impacts that an undercount can have on rural Alaska and Indian Country as we are preparing for the 2020 Census," Murkowski said Wednesday in a written statement. Two other Senators joined in on Murkowski's call for recognition of… Continue Reading
08.08.18
Nevada Appeal: Fire risks dominate Lake Tahoe summit
by Justin Scacco
With smoke pooling in the Tahoe Basin, members of Congress from Nevada, California, and Alaska took the stage at Sand Harbor on Tuesday for the 22nd annual Lake Tahoe Summit. While the representatives touched on a number of issues regarding Tahoe and the importance of public-private sponsorships in the fight to preserve and restore the lake, there would be no ignoring the affects of the largest fire in California state history as the members of Congress stood in front of a lake clouded by haze.… Continue Reading
08.08.18
KCAW: Murkowski on SCOTUS nominee: “I will be guilty of taking my time”
by Robert Woolsey
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski is not showing any of her cards, as theSenate is poised to begin confirmation hearings on Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the US Supreme Court. In remarks to the Sitka Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday (8-8-18), Sen. Murkowski said "I will be guilty of taking my time." Alaska's senior senator is again in the political spotlight as attention turns to the confirmation hearings, which could take place as early as this fall. Ever since she defied Republican party p… Continue Reading
08.04.18
KTVA: 'Hidden Figures' nominated for Congressional Gold Medal
by Mary Simton
A group of U.S. senators are recognizing the African American women who contributed to the space race in the 1960s. Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, Chris Croons of Delaware, Kamala Harris of California and 44 of their colleagues introduced a bipartisan bill to award Congressional Gold medals to Katherine Johnson and Dr. Christine Darden and posthumously award Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson whose lives and careers were featured in the book and movie "Hidden Figures". The Congressiona… Continue Reading
08.03.18
KTVF: Senate Bill brings funds to interior
by Amanda Hanson
Senator Lisa Murkowski held a press conference for Alaska Media this morning to discuss the 'Interior appropriations funding bill' that passed the senate, yesterday. In the press event, Murkowski said yesterday's 92-6 vote was significant since appropriations bills in the past have struggled to get strong bipartisan support. It has also been almost a decade since an Interior bill was considered on the senate floor. Murkowski says the bill is for the land, water, and the people of Alaska... B… Continue Reading
08.03.18
KTVA: Murkowski reviews Senate-approved Alaska spending
by Chris Klint
Alaska's senior U.S. senator touted a wide-ranging series of items affecting the Last Frontier Thursday, after the Senate's passage of several spending bills containing funds for Alaska and the Arctic. Sen. Lisa Murkowski hailed the wide bipartisan margin by which the bill passed, 92 to 6, as a major achievement. Wednesday's measure includes funding for the departments of Interior, Agriculture, Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency … Continue Reading
08.01.18
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids: Durbin-Murkowski Bill Protects Kids from Flavored Tobacco
by Matthew L. Myers
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids applauds Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) for introducing the Stopping Appealing Flavors in E-Cigarettes for Kids Act (SAFE Kids Act), legislation that curbs the use of flavors in tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes and cigars. The bill (S.3319) was introduced in the Senate today. Sens. Durbin and Murkowski recognize that flavors play a key role in youth initiation and continued use of e-cigarettes and cigars. A government study… Continue Reading
07.31.18
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Murkowski speaks out against trade tariffs
by Erin Granger
Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski recently complained about the Trump administration's additional trade tariffs during a talk with U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Robert E. Lighthizer. "It has clearly rattled my state," Murkowski told Lighthizer. "Our seafood industry is the number one private industry in terms of the jobs and the economic opportunity it brings." China recently announced a 25 percent tariff on American seafood imports. "Last year with our salmon exports about 40 perc… Continue Reading
07.27.18
Politico: No aid planned for other sectors hurt by trade war
by Adam Behsudi and Megan Cassella
President Donald Trump's top trade official took heat from Republican and Democratic lawmakers after he said the administration is not currently considering providing federal aid to small businesses, manufacturers or any sector of the economy, aside from farmers, that might be hurt by the trade war. At a hearing on Thursday, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) asked whether U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer was currently considering providing other businesses assistance similar to the $12 bi… Continue Reading
07.27.18
Elle Magazine: Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Lisa Murkowski Introduce Bill to Combat Human Trafficking of Native Americans and Alaska Natives
by Madison Heller
Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), who has long worked on behalf of sex trafficking survivors, has just introduced a new bill with Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) that would establish an advisory committee to combat human trafficking of Native Americans and Alaskan Natives. The End Trafficking of Native Americans Act's proposed committee would include local law enforcement, tribal leaders, advocacy organizations, and at least one Native American survivor of human trafficking who could ma… Continue Reading
07.24.18
E&E News: Senate aims for first 'clean' Interior-EPA bill in decade
by George Cahlink
Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby wants to keep the annual funding bill for the Interior Department and EPA "clean" as it works its way across the Senate floor this week. "It's an open process, we want to keep it as clean as we can, we have been working toward that end. It's early on, but we hope to continue that," the Alabama Republican told reporters yesterday. There were some signals that the Senate might be on track to pass its version for the first time since fiscal 2009 as ea… Continue Reading
07.23.18
Daily Energy Insider: Energy and Natural Resources Committee considers modernizing DOE, DOI
by Chris Galford
Administration proposals to reorganize and modernize both the Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of the Interior (DOI) were heard by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources last week. Such proposals build on an executive order issued by President Donald Trump in March 2017, which directed them to find ways to reduce waste and inefficiencies in the departments. Those efforts have since become hotly debated, given the level of cuts and changes proposed. "It's our responsib… Continue Reading
07.21.18
Fox News: Rape kit access would expand under bipartisan bill, as victims seek 'care and justice'
by Kaitlyn Schallhorn
When Leah Griffin was raped in 2014, she immediately went to the closest hospital to undergo a rape kit exam - the first step, she thought, in prosecuting the man who assaulted her. But Seattle hospital staff told her their emergency department wasn't equipped to do the forensic test, and instead she would have to travel to another hospital about an hour away. Further travel at that moment was not an option for Griffin, who was 28 years old at the time, disoriented from the attack and … Continue Reading
07.20.18
Providence Journal: Alaska, Rhode Island share concern over oceans
by Alex Kuffner
The differences between Rhode Island and Alaska are many. There's size. There's location. But one thing that unites the two states is their connection to the ocean, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said to an audience of Rhode Island officials, environmental advocates and scientists on Friday. "I don't care how many miles of coastline you have, big or small, the fact is that our oceans are this common connector here," she said at an environmental conference hosted annually by Rhode Island Se… Continue Reading
07.20.18
KTVF: Murkowski with Bi-partisan group of senators write letter to President Trump
by Julie Swisher
Democrats, Republicans and one Independent Senator sent a letter to the President voicing concerns over the current immigration policy. Senator Lisa Murkowski, along with a bipartisan group of over two dozen senators, sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to keep families together. "This sad chapter in our nation's history must come to an end," Murkowski said. "While we represent constituents from all faiths and political backgrounds, we have all heard one consistent … Continue Reading
07.20.18
Cordova Times: Firefighter Cancer Registry Act becomes law
Legislation directing federal studies into the relationship between long term exposure to dangerous toxins and fumes and the frequency of cancer in firefighters has now become law. The Firefighter Cancer Registry Act, for which Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, was an original cosponsor, creates a national registry for firefighters diagnosed with cancer, and directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study the relationship between career-long exposure to these toxins and fumes a… Continue Reading
07.19.18
Daily Energy Insider: Department of Energy announces up to $2 billion in loan guarantees for energy projects in tribal communities
by Aaron Martin
The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) has announced up to $2 billion in loan guarantees to advance energy development projects and efforts that create new economic opportunities in Native American communities. The DoE Loan Programs Office (LPO) announced the first loan guarantee solicitation under the Tribal Energy Loan Guarantee Program (TELGP) on Tuesday. Established under the Energy Policy Act of 2015, the TELGP program will leverage partial loan guarantees to fuel private investments and … Continue Reading
