Press Releases
Media Requests: Members of the media can contact the press office by emailing Joseph_Plesha@murkowski.senate.gov or by calling 206-302-8317 and asking for the press office.
Murkowski Announces First $7.5M for Fishery Failure Relief
ANCHORAGE, AK - After a lengthy effort of advocacy and creating a bipartisan "Coastal Coalition" of lawmakers from states seeking relief for federally-recognized fishery disasters, Senator Lisa Murkowski today announced the first round of payments are being sent out to Alaskans beginning today totaling $7.5 million. The Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, working closely with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, developed a "… Continue Reading
10.14.14
Murkowski Inspects Icebreaker for First-Hand Answers on Arctic Availability
As the other Arctic nations - and many outside of the region - surge their investment and focus in the area, Senator Lisa Murkowski paid a visit to the United States Coast Guard Cutter POLAR SEA in Seattle to get an update on its status. With the POLAR SEA having been commissioned in 1977 and one of only two heavy-duty icebreakers in America's fleet, Murkowski sought answers on just how much more of a contribution the USCG expects the ship to be able to make. "In a matter of months, the United… Continue Reading
10.02.14
Murkowski Congratulates “Best of the Best” Alaskan Blue Ribbon Schools
- Senator Lisa Murkowski today offered her congratulations to three Alaska elementary schools for being named National Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education: Haines Elementary School, Crawford Elementary on Eielson Air Force Base, and Peterson Elementary in Kodiak. These schools were recognized as "Exemplary High Performing Schools" based on their overall academic excellence. "I'd like to offer an Alaska-sized congratulations to each of these schools for their outstanding acco… Continue Reading
09.30.14
Senator Murkowski Working to Create “National Lao-Hmong Recognition Day”
Senator Lisa Murkowski recently co-sponsored the bipartisan National Lao-Hmong Recognition Day Resolution with Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), as part of her ongoing effort to call attention to and honor the Hmong Veterans who supported the U.S. cause during the Vietnam War - as well as the contributions they and their families provide to our communities today. "The Hmong Veterans selflessly risked their lives in service to America during the Vietnam War and deserve this honor and recognition," s… Continue Reading
09.26.14
Murkowski on Forest Service’s Proposed Regulation Requiring Permits for Photography and Filming
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today issued the following statement on the Forest Service's proposed rule, expected to be finalized in November, which would require photographers to buy special permits - at a cost of up to $1,500 - to shoot photos or video in wilderness areas: "This proposed regulation is just one example of the kind of federal overreach that comes when we lock up our public lands in wilderness designations," Murkowski said. "Although The Wilderness Act does restrict comm… Continue Reading
09.25.14
Murkowski “Deeply Concerned” About President’s Ocean Waters Block
In an action called a "unilateral move" to cordon off more than 300,000 square miles in the Pacific Ocean from commercial activity, President Obama today designated a large portion of the area off limits through executive action. Senator Lisa Murkowski shared her response: "I am deeply concerned that this Administration has proceeded with the use of the Antiquities Act to block off an additional 350,000 square miles in the Pacific Ocean. Having heard from commercial fishermen and territorial… Continue Reading
09.24.14
Alaska Delegation Pushes FDA to Support U.S. Pollock Fisheries
Alaska's Congressional Delegation and their colleagues from Washington State are pushing the Food and Drug Administration to change the market name for pollock and clearly differentiate it from inferior fish harvested in Russia. Supporting a request by the Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP), the bipartisan group of lawmakers wrote a letter (attached) to the Food and Drug Administration Commissioner seeking to change the legal market name from "Alaska pollock" to "pollock" to differentiate A… Continue Reading
09.23.14
Sen. Murkowski Presents New Indicators to Measure Energy Insecurity for Alaskans
U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Tim Scott, R-S.C., on Friday offered a new set of economic indicators to measure the impact of rising energy costs on American families. Murkowski and Scott described the tools in a new report entitled, Plenty at Stake: Indicators of American Energy Insecurity. The report is available on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee website. (Click for video of Sens. Murkowski and Scott discussing their energy insecurity report.) "The cons… Continue Reading
09.22.14
Murkowski Efforts Brush Back New Brewer Regulations
Senator Lisa Murkowski welcomed news from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that it is reconsidering an expensive proposed regulation that would have compelled Alaska's small brewers to take on unnecessary expense when transferring or donating so-called spent grains to farms for animal feed. (Spent grains are the by-product of the brewing process.) Co-chairs of the United States Senate Brewers Caucus, Murkowski and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) urged the FDA Commissioner in a letter (attached) … Continue Reading
09.18.14
Murkowski Supports Federal Government Funding Bill, Initial Response to ISIS
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today voted for H.J. 124, the Continuing Resolution bill that passed the House of Representatives yesterday and will fund government operations through December 11th. The bill also includes a provision to begin supporting the moderate Syrian rebel forces as a counter to the ISIS threat. Murkowski shared her reasoning with Alaskans: "As I said last year when I worked with my Senate colleagues to re-open the federal government, a government shutdown bene… Continue Reading
09.18.14
Murkowski Honored for Fight Against Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
Senator Lisa Murkowski today was honored by the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS) for her leadership on the issue at the Smart Moms, Healthy Babies International Commemoration event - hosted by NOFAS to raise national and international awareness about recommendations and resources for a healthy pregnancy. "I am incredibly honored and humbled to be recognized as a champion for the awareness and prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders - which breaks my heart by bein… Continue Reading
09.18.14
Sens. Murkowski, Scott Present New Indicators to Measure U.S. Energy Insecurity
U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Tim Scott, R-S.C., today offered a new set of economic indicators to measure the impact of rising energy costs on American families. Murkowski and Scott described the tools in a new report entitled, Plenty at Stake: Indicators of American Energy Insecurity. The report is available on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee website. "As we seek to understand the consequences higher energy costs have on our constituents, this tool will enable us… Continue Reading
09.16.14
Murkowski’s Work Leads to Alaskanized Food Assistance Policies
Senator Lisa Murkowski's outreach to the Secretary of Agriculture has yielded an agreement from the USDA that they won't use Lower 48 perishable food availability standards to judge how Alaska's rural residents and retailers participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). With the logistical and economic challenges of getting affordable perishable food out to Alaska villages, as well as the lack of broadband connectivity, Murkowski reminded USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack that s… Continue Reading
09.15.14
Sen. Murkowski Criticizes Forest Service for $2 Million Expenditure to Study Tongass Transition
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today questioned the U.S. Forest Service's decision to award a $2.1 million contract to a private firm to develop a report on the effects of the agency's proposed transition to young-growth timber management in the Tongass National Forest. Murkowski said the money would have been better spent assisting Southeast Alaska's struggling timber mills retrofit their existing equipment to handle young-growth. To date, the Forest Service has yet to provide any money -… Continue Reading
09.15.14
Murkowski: GAO Findings Reinforce Reliability Concerns
At the request of U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) today released a report documenting federal agencies' inadequate response to concerns about the potential electric reliability impacts of multiple federal regulations proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The report is an update to GAO's previous work in 2012 on electric reliability. The nonpartisan GAO found that federal agencies have in the last two years taken only "initial step… Continue Reading
09.11.14
Murkowski Statement on 13th Remembrance of 9/11 Attacks
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today Senator Lisa Murkowski shared her thoughts on the 13th anniversary of 9/11: Thirteen years after the tragedies of 9/11, thousands of Alaskans still remember waking up to the national nightmare playing out on every single television; many of us were awakened by friends and relatives in the Lower 48 calling us about the horrible news: that 3,000 people were killed for simply living, working, and being in America. When I reflect back on September 11, 2001, I remember the … Continue Reading
09.10.14
Murkowski: Action Without a Plan Is Not Effective Foreign Policy
Senator Lisa Murkowski tonight responded to President Barack Obama's national remarks explaining his thoughts on dealing with the Islamic State: "Like all Americans, I am extremely concerned with the rapid growth of ISIS and the threat this barbaric group poses to Americans abroad, at home, and our allies around the world. "President Obama recently inadvertently admitted what many Alaskans already knew: that he did not have a strategy to protect Americans against the spread of violent Islamic … Continue Reading
09.10.14
Sen. Murkowski Welcomes DOE Action on LNG Export Licenses
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today applauded the Department of Energy (DOE) for granting final approval to two liquefied natural gas export projects - Cameron LNG in Louisiana and Carib Energy in Florida. The approvals come after repeated calls from Murkowski for DOE to streamline its export review policies to ensure that American natural gas maintains its competitive edge in the world marketplace. "I have long advocated for expediting federal approval of increased natural gas exports. … Continue Reading
09.03.14
Murkowski Helps Convince Administration to Buy Millions in Alaska Pink Salmon for Americans in Need
Just more than a month after Senator Lisa Murkowski urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture to consider Governor Sean Parnell's proposal to use existing federal funds to buy extra Alaska canned pink salmon for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack has agreed to purchase up to $13 million worth. This news is welcomed by Alaska's seafood industry, which has been burdened by a glut of pink salmon from last year's record harvest, and boosts the nutrition options… Continue Reading
09.02.14
Murkowski’s Behind-the-Scenes Effort Makes UAF Drone Research Flight a Reality
This past weekend, a small, unmanned aerial system (UAS) conducted flights over Alaska's skies and waters, collecting vital data and information on whales and marine wildlife to inform the resource development work being considered for oil leases in the Chukchi Sea - but the flight would not have been possible without Senator Lisa Murkowski's involvement. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) originally declined to authorize continuing University of Alaska-Fairbanks' research flights - the … Continue Reading
