Articles & Op-eds
Alaska Public Media: Murkowski questions military officials over how sexual assaults involving minors are resolved
by Dan Bross
Alaska U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski raised the issue of sexual assaults involving minors on military bases during a Senate Defense Appropriations hearing last week. "Investigators released a total of eight cases at Alaska installations, five of them reportedly at Fort Wainwright," Murkowski said. "So, of course this certainly gets your attention." Senator Murkowski asked U.S. Army Secretary Mark Esper about how youth on youth assaults are handled. Esper responded that the Army conducts … Continue Reading
05.09.18
Gray TV: Alaska Native Tara Sweeney inching closer to history at Department of the Interior
by Peter Zampa
A long wait could be over soon for an Alaska Native to take the nation's top job in Indian Affairs. Before Tara Sweeney leads the Bureau of Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior, she has to pass through the U.S. Senate. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) says Tara Sweeney's knowledge of Alaska Natives will carry over for all native peoples. The Senate Indian Affairs Committee held a hearing Wednesday Sweeney's nomination to become the assistant secretary. The Inupiat Native from Bar… Continue Reading
05.08.18
Business Wire: Laos, Hmong Veterans Laud Passage, Enactment, by U.S. Congress, President Trump of Burial Honors Bill
Lao and Hmong-American U.S. Secret Army veterans of the Vietnam War in Laos, and their refugee families across the United States, are lauding the passage, and seeking timely and appropriate implementation, of the "Hmong Veterans' Service Recognition Act" by President Donald Trump and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), according to the Center for Public Policy Analysis. Laos,Hmong U.S. Secret Army veterans of the Vietnam War are lauding the passage and implementation, of the Lao Hmong … Continue Reading
04.30.18
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Sen. Murkowski tells AASG attendees their voices matter and are heard
by Kris Capps
Sen. Lisa Murkowski assured 350 student leaders over the weekend that she and other national leaders are hearing what young people have to say. She made the comments while Skyping with teen delegates from more than 40 Alaska communities, all gathered in Healy for the 2018 Alaska Association Student Government spring conference. There was even time for some questions and answers. The statewide student organization meets twice every year around the state. "You are the ones who make things happen… Continue Reading
04.28.18
Cordova Times: Senate committee advances opioid bill
Legislation aimed at halting the nation's opioid crisis has been approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, of which Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is a member. The bipartisan Opioid Response Act of 2018 "takes a multi-faceted approach, from prevention and enforcement, down to care and treatment," Murkowski said. "We recognize this problem isn't going to be solved overnight, but fully addressing this epidemic through an all-hands-on-deck approach must be a priority.… Continue Reading
04.10.18
Saipan Tribune: We should all be proud
by Bill and Brenda Satterberg
This letter is to express my personal gratitude to the residents of Saipan and Tinian for the gracious hospitality and reception extended to Senator Murkowski and the other members of the congressional delegation, which visited the CNMI on March 27, 2018. As a person who resides primarily in Alaska, but who spends approximately a quarter of each year on island on various matters, I was honored to be able to assist Senator Murkowski in her visit to Tinian and Saipan. As indicated, my wife, Brend… Continue Reading
03.29.18
Marianas Variety: Tinian mayor: Thank you Sen. Murkowski
by Cherrie Anne E. Villahermosa
TINIAN Mayor Joey Patrick San Nicolas is grateful to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski for visiting the island and discussing with leaders some of the issues they are facing. In an interview on Wednesday, the mayor said he has "nothing but praise for the senator who really took time and made an effort to see the situation on Tinian for herself." Murkowski arrived on Tinian Tuesday morning with her husband Verne Martell, American Samoa Delegate Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen and Rear Adm. Shoshana Chatfi… Continue Reading
03.28.18
Alaska Public Media: Newtok to Congress: thank you for saving our village
by Rachel Waldholz
On the day President Trump signed a massive spending bill in Washington, D.C., Paul Charles and George Carl of Newtok sat down in a hotel conference room in midtown Anchorage to take stock of an event they still couldn't quite believe was real. The budget bill included $1.3 trillion in spending and was more than 2,200 pages long. But for Newtok, there's just one page that matters. That's page 458. It doubles funding for the federal Denali Commission, giving the agency an extra $15 million. The… Continue Reading
03.28.18
Juneau Empire: The internet must remain free and open
by Senator Lisa Murkowski
by Senator Lisa Murkowski Alaskans are fond of reminding outsiders that "Alaska is different." Our vast geography, strategic location, diverse communities, abundant natural resources and relative youth compared to other states combine to create an exceptionalism that makes Alaska truly unique. Our challenge as a delegation has always been to remind others of our state's unique challenges and to adapt national policies to meet Alaska's particular needs. When our colleagues are arguing about rep… Continue Reading
03.14.18
Peninsula Clarion: Opportunity zones for Alaska– time is short to act
by Curtis Thayer
As the President and CEO of the Alaska Chamber of Commerce, I was pleased with the recent passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Its enactment is having a positive effect on our economy. Already, because of the tax bill, we are seeing new business investments, workers are seeing bigger pay checks because of less withholding, and in some cases getting bonuses. And, let's not forget that opening the 1002 area of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) was included in the bill as well. T… Continue Reading
02.26.18
KRBD-Ketchikan: Forest Service Chief, Murkowski Hear From Tongass Stakeholders
by Leila Kheiry
If one had to choose a theme for Sen. Lisa Murkowski's roundtable discussions on the Tongass National Forest, it would be "Access." Over and over, the senator and U.S. Forest Service Chief Tony Tooke heard panelists say they need more access to the forest. Through roads, through less-cumbersome permitting, through whatever means. They want access. It was a nearly three-hour discussion Friday at the Ketchikan public library. Below is a summary. "The communities on the island have said this ove… Continue Reading
02.23.18
Sen. Murkowski offers optimism for state mired in recession and deficit
by James Brooks
This is Lisa Murkowski, victorious. On Thursday morning, Murkowski addressed to a joint session of the Alaska Legislature and delivered a 30-minute ray of optimism. To a body concerned with a $2.5 billion annual deficit, high unemployment and an economy in recession, Murkowski was Santa Claus bringing gifts. "It was a good year for us. We had a good year as a state because we opened up ANWR," she said to a round of applause from lawmakers and a crowded gallery of guests. Murko… Continue Reading
02.22.18
Congress appropriates $200M for fisheries disasters
by Elizabeth Earl
Commercial fishermen across the Gulf of Alaska might finally receive some checks from the federal government after the pink salmon disaster in 2016. The most recent federal budget continuing resolution - which funds the government up through March 23, 2018 - includes $200 million for fisheries disasters declared by the Secretary of Commerce in 2017. Gov. Bill Walker requested the declaration in October 2016 and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker declared the disaster in January 2017. The $20… Continue Reading
02.12.18
AP: Murkowski: Bill would create new Native corporations
A proposed bill would give 100,000 acres of federal land in total to Native groups in five Southeast Alaska towns, according to Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Murkowski discussed the proposed legislation Wednesday during a hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests and Mining, saying a major component of the legislation involves the formation of Native corporations in Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Tenakee and Haines. The proposed legislation - also called the "Alask… Continue Reading
02.05.18
Peninsula Clarion: Murkowski sees reason for optimism, though work remains to be done
by Elizabeth Earl
The economy still isn't great in Alaska, but there are reasons to be positive, according to Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). The pendulum of oil and gas activity is swinging back toward the high end, with ConocoPhillips tripling its income in Alaska in 2017, Hilcorp announcing its intentions to spend $285 million in Alaska in 2018 and the price of oil climbing to about $70 per barrel, among other exploration and development activities. The end of 2017 brought the granting of a multi-decade wish … Continue Reading
01.26.18
Cordova Times: Feds okay King Cove road through wildlife refuge
by Margaret Bauman
After over three decades of lobbying for a land based medical evacuation route between King Cove and the all weather airport at Cold Bay, residents of this Aleutians fishing community have a signed deal. Civic and tribal leaders from King Cove were in Washington D.C. on Jan. 22 as Della Trumble, spokeswoman for the King Cove Native Corp., and a member of the local Agdaagux tribe, signed the document with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. "Today's agreement goes a long way toward restoring… Continue Reading
01.23.18
The Hill: Zinke advances road through Alaska wildlife refuge
by Timothy Cama
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke approved a land-transfer deal Monday to allow Alaska to build a road through a federal wildlife refuge in the southwestern part of the state. The action closes a major chapter on a fight that has stretched more than three decades and became a top priority for Alaska, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R), who is chairwoman of the committees overseeing both Interior Department policies and its budget. The gravel, one-lane road would cut through the Izembek Nati… Continue Reading
01.23.18
APRN: Zinke signs land trade to allow road for King Cove
by Liz Ruskin
Alaska's congressional delegation ticked another item off its decades-old to-do list Monday: Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke signed a land swap agreement to allow a road in the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge for King Cove. It's a major turning point in the dispute over a roughly 12-mile road that would be mostly, or entirely, built on what's now a federally protected wilderness. King Cove Corporation's Della Trumble has been fighting for the road for more than 35 years. Now, she's clutching a bl… Continue Reading
01.18.18
Gray TV: Senator Murkowski, worried for coastal communities, is trying to assess ocean acidification
by Peter Zampa
Our coastlines could be in harm's way. Not because of a storm or a tidal wave, but because of ocean acidification. Carbon dioxide emissions are changing the chemistry of our oceans which could have a negative impact on coastlines and economies. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) is looking for answers to this growing problem. She says we need to find out how vulnerable our communities are. "What is happening with ocean acidification is important to me as an Alaskan. Really it should be importa… Continue Reading
01.12.18
KTUU: Net Neutrality fight continues on Capitol Hill
by Peter Zampa
The fight over net neutrality is not going away in Washington. Following the Federal Communication Commission's vote to repeal certain internet regulations, a bipartisan group of senators is punching back. Mostly Democrats are signed onto an effort that would reverse the FCC's decision. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) joined the crusade and says this is about keeping the internet free and open. Sen. Cortez Masto (D-NV) says small businesses could fall by the wayside without net neutrality… Continue Reading
