Articles & Op-eds
Alaska Public Radio Network: Obama’s Missile Decision Draws Alaska Reaction
Alaska's US Senators are reacting to President Obama's announcement on Thursday that he's scrapping the Bush-era missile defense system in Europe in favor of a more mobile, cheaper system. You can listen to the audio here.… Continue Reading
09.15.09
Kodiak Daily Mirror: Murkowski speaks to Kodiak
The crowd numbered 100, and it had more questions about health care than Sen. Lisa Murkowski had time to answer at Monday's virtual town-hall meeting at the Gerald C. Wilson Auditorium. But in about an hour the senator took questions about a wide number of issues: from perspectives on both sides of the public (health insurance) option, to worries about expanded federal spending, to concerns about the influence of the pharmaceutical and health insurance lobbies. Local interest One major the… Continue Reading
09.15.09
Kodiak Daily Mirror: Video conference a success
by By Sam Friedman. Originally published by the Kodiak Daily Mirror on September 15, 2009
"You're talking in a tin can" were the first words Sen. Lisa Murkowski had for Kodiakans at Monday's town-hall on health care in the Gerald C. Wilson Auditorium. But for most of the rest of the hour her words came through clearly, making the experiment with virtual town-hall meetings a success. "It went well. Technically, very well," said Kodiak Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Debora King. "Especially seeing as it was the fist time we've done this. We were happy with the crowd, and the … Continue Reading
09.15.09
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Fairbanks contractors say they're getting frozen out of Fort Wainwright housing deals
by By Jeff Richardson. Originaly published in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner on September 15, 2009
FAIRBANKS -- Local contractors and union leaders blasted Actus Lend Lease during a legislative hearing on Monday, saying the company is making it difficult for local businesses to compete for housing construction contracts at Fort Wainwright. The Tennessee-based company is starting a half-century contract with the Army to oversee construction of privatized post housing. More than a dozen members of the building industry filled the Fairbanks Legislative Information Office on Monday, complaining … Continue Reading
09.15.09
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Sen. Lisa Murkowski warns of climate bill’s cost
by Originally published in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner on September 15, 2009
FAIRBANKS - Any legislation designed to stop global warming by reducing fossil fuel emissions must avoid causing drastic increases in the cost of energy, Sen. Lisa Murkowski told a committee Tuesday. Murkowski spoke at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on economic costs of climate change legislation. Murkowski is the top-ranked Republican member of the committee. The committee's Democratic leadership has scheduled several hearings in coming weeks on the effects of placing … Continue Reading
09.15.09
Alaska Public Radio Network: Library of Congress Houses Treasures of Alaska
by By LIbby Casey. Originally broadcast by the Alaska Public Radio Network on September 14, 2009
Among the millions of maps, photographs, documents and recordings at the Library of Congress are thousands of items related to Alaska's history. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) toured some of the collection's highlights Friday in honor of the state's 50th anniversary. You can listen to the audio here.… Continue Reading
09.14.09
Op-Ed: North Slope seas contain oil and gas vital to US
Alaska's offshore oil and natural gas resources are vital to the nation's strategic economic and energy security. That's why I strongly support responsible exploration and production in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas. Our North Slope contributes 13 percent of America's total oil production, but that figure could be far higher. The most recent estimate put Alaska's offshore resources at 27 billion barrels of oil and 130 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. That's energy we can and should contrib… Continue Reading
09.14.09
Anchorage Daily News: Senator scans Alaska history at library
by By Erika Bolstad. Originally published by the Anchorage Daily News on September 14, 2009
WASHINGTON -- Peering intently at a richly detailed 1914 fire insurance map of her hometown, Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Friday delighted in the precision, pointing out Ketchikan landmarks familiar to her childhood. "That's the public school where my grandmother taught!" Murkowski said, from an ornate walnut-paneled room in the Library of Congress. "This is fascinating!" Murkowski, who sits on a Senate committee that oversees the Library of Congress, browsed through a collection of maps, oral histo… Continue Reading
09.11.09
The Associated Press: Library of Congress shows off Alaska history
by By Matthew Daly. Originally published by the Associated Press on September 11, 2009
From an 1802 Alaska map made by the Russian Navy to a full-color poster for an 1897 Broadway show on the Klondike Gold Rush, Alaska's history comes alive at the Library of Congress. The library showed off some of its extensive Alaska collection Friday in honor of the state's 50th anniversary. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Librarian of Congress James Billington marveled at the collection, which contains items dating back more than two centuries, when Alaska was still part of Russia. The exhibit featu… Continue Reading
09.10.09
Alaska Public Radio Network: Alaska’s Senators React to Obama’s Speech
by By Libby Casey. Originally aired by the Alaska Public Radio Network on September 10, 2009
Alaska's Senators say President Obama gave a forceful speech on health care to Congress last night, although neither is sold on the legislation. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski has come out against health care bills Democrats have pushed, and Democratic Senator Mark Begich says he's waiting to see how legislation develops. You can listen to the audio here.… Continue Reading
09.10.09
Anchorage Daily News: Underwater mapping might boost Arctic claims
by By Elizabeth Bluemink. Originally published by the Anchorage Daily News on September 10, 2009
A joint U.S.-Canada exploration of the Arctic is uncovering evidence that could boost the two countries' claims to lucrative oil and gas resources under the sea floor. Since early August, icebreakers from the two countries have criss-crossed icy areas of the Beaufort Sea, measuring how far the continental shelf extends into the Arctic. Nations routinely claim special rights within 200 nautical miles of their coasts, but their reach can go beyond that if they can prove to the United Nations … Continue Reading
09.09.09
Peninsula Clarion: Murkowski: Congress not ready on climate change
by By Tim Bradner. Originally published in the Peninsula Clarion on September 09, 2009
Congress is returning to work after its August recess with two blockbuster issues on its plate, health care reform and climate change, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, told the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce last week. One of these, the climate change "cap and trade" bill passed by the House of Representatives and now in the Senate, would impose big costs on Alaska, she said. Climate change may get bogged down, however. Health care reform will be taken up first, and if Congress gets into exte… Continue Reading
09.03.09
Addressing Alaskans: Senator Lisa Murkowski
by Originally broadcast by KSKM Radio on September 03, 2009
Addressing Alaskans is a new program on KSKA, featuring local talks and conversations recorded in Southcentral Alaska. This week, hear U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski addressing the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce on Monday, August 31st. Natural resource development, the state's economy, health care reform and global climate change are just some of the issues facing Alaskans in 2009. But how are these being handled by lawmakers in Washington? Senator Murkowski discusses "The Impact of Congressional Ac… Continue Reading
08.25.09
Murkowski Hosts Energy Hearings
by By Dan Bross. Originally aired on the Alaska Public Radio Network on August 25, 2009
Alaska alternative energy efforts got some national attention over the weekend. Public and private sector energy leaders testified at a U.S. Energy and Natural Resources Committee field hearing. Senator Lisa Murkowski, the committee's ranking Republican, hosted the hearing Saturday at Chena Hot Springs. You can listen to the audio here.… Continue Reading
08.21.09
Op-Ed: Renewable energy opportunities abound in Alaska
by Originally published in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner on August 21, 2009
On Saturday, the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, of which I'm the ranking member, will host a field hearing at Chena Hot Springs to discuss renewable energy sources, strategies to help rural communities harness their potential and what this type of development means for our state. The hearing will help me hear from Alaskans about what Congress can do - from both a policy and financial aid standpoint - to move renewable energy into widespread commercial deployment. This is… Continue Reading
08.21.09
Audio: Sen. Murkowski visits with the Anchorage Daily News Editorial Board
Sen. Lisa Murkowski spent more than an hour talking with the Daily News editorial board Thursday about health care reform. She says constituents seem to be anxious not just about what Congress is doing with health care, but also about piled-on government spending aimed at getting us out of recession, from TARP to the clunkers program. In the end, she says, even though she has serious disagreements with some of the proposed health care legislation, we can't just put it aside for another new pr… Continue Reading
08.20.09
Murkowski blasts health care plan at town hall
by By Sean Cockerham. Originally published in the Anchorage Daily News on August 20, 2009
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski criticized Democratic plans to change health care before a crowd of hundreds Thursday night at a town hall meeting in Anchorage, while President Obama scrambled more than 3,000 miles away in Washington, D.C., to regain momentum for the effort. "We can go ahead and promise you a card and say you're now covered. But if we can't give you the care that you need, if you can't get into see a doctor, we can't help you," Murkowski told a crowd gathered at the Dimond High Schoo… Continue Reading
08.18.09
Murkowski, Begich weigh in on health care
by By Tim Bradner. Originally published in the Peninsula Clarion on August 18, 2009
Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich are home from Congress for the August recess, and both are meeting with business and community groups, attempting to explain what's in various health care bills now before Congress. They're also responding to rising public concerns for the urgent need for some kind of health care reform, how a reform package might work and how it will be paid for. Murkowski was blunt in her criticism of groups that stir up fear. "Health care is very personal an… Continue Reading
08.15.09
Alaska's senators offer their views on health care reform
by By Tim Bradner. Originally published by the Alaska Journal of Commerce on August 15, 2009
Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich are home from Congress for the August recess, and both are meeting with business and community groups, attempting to explain what's in various health care bills now before Congress. They're also responding to rising public concerns for the urgent need for some kind of health care reform, how a reform package might work and how it will be paid for. Murkowski was blunt in her criticism of groups that stir up fear. "Health care is very personal an… Continue Reading
08.14.09
Alaska Sen. Murkowski brings health care town hall to Fairbanks
by By Rena Delbridge. Originally published by the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner on August 14, 2009
FAIRBANKS - A town hall meeting about the national health care plan proposals proved more like a rally for less government, greater personal responsibility and the need for real system changes, than the confrontational, sometimes hostile forums taking place in many cities around the nation. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski found a receptive audience to her position - the health care system is a mess and must be fixed, but the proposals now on the table will saddle Americans with tremendous debt for ge… Continue Reading
