Articles & Op-eds
Fairbanks Daily News - Miner: Murkowski lauds U.S. focus on the Arctic
JUNEAU - Alaska's senior U.S. senator said Friday that national leaders heard first-hand this week of the need for greater investment in and attention to the Arctic. Sen. Lisa Murkowski joined two White House Cabinet members at a multilateral Arctic Council meeting Thursday, where officials from eight nations signed a binding search-and-rescue agreement for the region. The council also approved a project aimed at taking candid stock of capital infrastructure - and shortfalls therein - n… Continue Reading
05.01.11
Fairbanks Daily News - Miner: Alaska congressional delegation applauds military role in bin Laden's death
FAIRBANKS - Alaska's congressional delegation late Sunday applauded the killing of Osama bin Laden by the U.S. military. "This has been a long time coming," said Republican U.S. Rep. Don Young. "Terror mastermind bin Laden and his followers have been terrorizing nations for years and hiding like the cowards they are. Too many lives have been sacrificed in this search." The news comes amid the deployment of thousands of soldiers from Fort Wainwright to Afghanistan, attacked by the United… Continue Reading
05.01.11
Mat - Su Valley Frontiersman: Murkowski talks energy during visit
WASILLA - As the ranking Republican member of the nation's Energy and Natural Resources Committee, it's no wonder U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski's day in the Valley Friday centered on just that. It began with conversations about energy with teenagers at Palmer High School and a tour of Valley Community for Recycling Solutions, and ended with another group of teens from Teeland Middle School who won a national competition for designing an energy efficient, sustainable school of the future. In… Continue Reading
04.22.11
Washington Post: Setting the record straight on America’s oil
With gasoline prices in many areas above $4 a gallon, energy concerns are once again making headlines. Prices have more than doubled since the start of 2009 and are projected to remain at excruciating levels for the foreseeable future. We know from experience that high energy prices harm American families and businesses. Aside from pain at the pump, it's harder to balance budgets or even buy groceries when transportation costs soar. Many experts have concluded that if prices remain high,… Continue Reading
04.20.11
Politico: Time to pass new drilling regs
It's now one year since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven lives were lost in that tragic disaster, and oil gushed uncontrollably for the next 87 days. These terrible events transfixed our nation - highlighting failures within industry and government. Even before the well was capped, the need for a substantive legislative response was obvious. Instead, many reactions were just that - reactionary. Finger-pointing, counterproductive ideas and harsh rhetoric… Continue Reading
04.20.11
Associated Press: Murkowski defends Native contracts worth billions
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Tuesday she does not believe there is enough support in Congress to pass legislation that seeks to strip Alaska Native corporations of the advantage they enjoy in obtaining federal contracts worth billions of dollars. The Alaska Republican told The Associated Press that new, tighter oversight rules governing a Small Business Administration program should be allowed to work, rather than target the corporations, as the bill sponsored by Sen. Claire McCaskill, … Continue Reading
04.16.11
Juneau Empire: Murkowski questions cuts to NOAA
Sen. Lisa Murkowski questioned cuts considered for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at a Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee hearing of the Appropriations Committee. In a release, Murkowski states that the considered cuts to NOAA's budget may affect state fisher stock assessments and diminish the data used to set catch limits. She says that less accurate numbers could result in more conservative quotas that could lose revenues for the state and fishing industry. … Continue Reading
04.13.11
The Arctic Sounder: Murkowski rails against EPA sluggishness in offshore permitting
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today stressed the importance of the timely review of permits by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in testimony before the Energy and Power Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, a Murkowski press release said. Murkowski, ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, explained that exploration and development in Alaska's Outer Continental Shelf has been held up for years because of the EPA's inability to… Continue Reading
04.12.11
Politico: Murkowski: Smaller steps on energy
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski thinks Congress will have more success taking a "graduated" approach to energy legislation while keeping up the pressure to respond to last year's Gulf of Mexico spill. While the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, in which Murkowski is the top Republican, approved separate strategies last Congress addressing the historic oil spill and broader energy problems, the full Senate and Congress more generally did not follow suit. "So more of a graduated a… Continue Reading
04.08.11
Politico: OPINION: Unlock ANWR now
The time to develop our domestic oil reserves in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is now. For far too long, we've kept under lock and key the resources that could improve our energy security, create badly needed jobs and provide a stream of revenue to pay down the national debt. Rising gasoline prices, President Barack Obama's de facto moratorium on offshore drilling, record unemployment and a ballooning $14 trillion national debt are just some of the economic re… Continue Reading
04.07.11
The Arctic Sounder: Murkowski co-sponsors bill to increase resources for suicides
Sen. Lisa Murkowski today joined efforts to extend needed funds, service and resources to Alaska's at-risk youth communities as a co-sponsor of the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act Reauthorization of 2011. The bipartisan bill, co-sponsored by Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Tom Udall (D-NM), would strengthen suicide prevention efforts for the state, tribal organizations, and college campuses, a press release from Murkowski's office said. "Alaska's children are our most valu… Continue Reading
03.31.11
Anchorage Daily News Editorial: Energy policy
In recent days President Obama has gotten Alaskans' attention with his encouragement of oil production in Brazil and his call for a 33 percent cut in U.S. oil imports in a decade. Brazil? Well, OK, but if the goal is to increase U.S. domestic production, the president should first look west and north from D.C. to Alaska prospects. Right off the top we can think of two prospects that could stand federal encouragement. The first is to grant a permit for Conoco Phillips to build a bridg… Continue Reading
03.29.11
Alaska Public Radio Network: Delegation Reacts to US Mission in Libya
Alaska's Congressional delegation has concerns over the U.S. mission in Libya - and questions about the end-goal. Last night President Obama addressed the nation about his decision 10 days ago to take military action in the North African country. The U.S. and NATO are enforcing a no-fly zone over Libyan skies. While the President said NATO is expected to take over more of the operation this week, the U.S. is expending its planes, missiles, and hundreds of millions of dollars. It's a … Continue Reading
02.15.11
Alaska Dispatch: Alaska Sens. Begich and Murkowski address Essential Air Service repeal
by By: Ben Anderson. Originally published February 14, 2011
As the Senate debate continues over the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, the question of Essential Air Service remains up in the air. The service, which provides government subsidies for air carriers providing regular air service to rural American communities, is the target of an amendment proposed by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) that would cut the $212 million program from the FAA's budget. Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich both addressed the proposed amendment on… Continue Reading
02.11.11
Politico: Energy watchers eye Murkowski
by By: Darren Goode. Originally published on February 11, 2011
Losing her primary, alienating party leaders and giving up a prominent post in the GOP caucus have worked out well for Lisa Murkowski. Now the plums keep piling up for the Alaska senator: Last week she became the top Republican on the appropriations subcommittee overseeing Interior and EPA, in addition to the lead GOP spot she already holds on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. That means she'll be a crucial player in decisions on climate rules, offshore oil and gas drilling,… Continue Reading
02.07.11
Congressional Quarterly: Murkowski Named Top Republican on Interior-Environment Panel
by By Geof Koss. Originally Published on February 4, 2011
Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski will serve as the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Interior-Environment Subcommittee, a promotion that will extend her influence over environmental and energy policy. The slot will give Murkowski major sway in writing the budgets for EPA and the Interior Department - two agencies she has harshly criticized as the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. In the last Congress, Murkowski led an unsuccessful effort to overtu… Continue Reading
02.02.11
Anchorage Daily News: Both Begich and Murkowski decry earmark ban
by By Erika Bolstad. Originally published on February 1, 2011
Both of Alaska's senators said Tuesday they were disappointed the top Senate appropriator was calling for a moratorium on earmarking, the practice that has directed billions of dollars in federal spending to Alaska. Democratic Sen. Mark Begich and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski both said they agree there's a need to cut federal spending, but neither thinks an end to earmarks is the way to do it. "I have said many times before, Alaska is a young state with many needs, and we deserve our fair … Continue Reading
01.26.11
Anchorage Daily News: Murkowski: "Why not start with a symbolic gesture?"
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who was among the first senators to call for bipartisan seating at tonight's State of the Union address, acknowledged that the move might be little more than a nod to civility at a time of rancorous political discourse. But even if it's mere symbolism, she said, "why not start with a symbolic gesture?" "Maybe we do need to get out of our conventional skins every now and again, and come out and do something that indicates to the rest of the country that we're no… Continue Reading
01.17.11
Anchorage Daily News: Murkowski and Begich urge lawmakers to mix during address
by Originally published on January 15, 2011
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Alaska's two U.S. senators have joined the call for members of both houses of Congress to mingle during the president's Jan. 25 State of the Union speech. The Hill reports that the idea came from Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., who proposed that the House Speaker as well as the majority and minority leaders of both the House and Senate sit together during the speech. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, joined Udall's appeal, as did Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska. "Congressional reacti… Continue Reading
01.06.11
Anchorage Daily News: Murkowski welcomed back to US Senate
WASHINGTON -- After losing her Republican primary, winning an unprecedented write-in campaign and then surviving weeks of legal challenges, Sen. Lisa Murkowski was sworn in Wednesday to her second full term in the U.S. Senate. Murkowski, who was certified by the state of Alaska only last week when opponent Joe Miller's drawn-out legal challenges lost steam, was escorted Wednesday to her swearing-in ceremony by her father, Frank Murkowski. The elder Murkowski, a former U.S. senator from Alas… Continue Reading
