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: Committee Vote is “Exhibit A” of Public Anger at Congress
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski today expressed disappointment at Democrats in the United States Senate Appropriations Committee for approving an increase in the Legislative Branch budget amid nationwide budget cuts and passing the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education budget that includes funding for the now-postponed employer mandate. "Today Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee chose to allocate billions of dollars to the Affordable Care Act - a law leaders of the… Continue Reading
07.10.13
Murkowski Votes Against Tax Hike, Student Loan “Band Aid Bill”
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski today maintained her support for a permanent, comprehensive solution to the student loan rate issue she has co-sponsored with Republicans, Democrats and Independents in the Senate: the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act. In doing so, she again rejected the Senate Majority's one-year, partial solution that only addresses subsidized undergraduate Stafford loans and would be paid for by raising taxes on pension and retirement account benefits. "America's… Continue Reading
07.10.13
Murkowski Calls for Permanent Delay of “Unworkable” Health Care Law
WASHINGTON, DC - With the Obama Administration postponing its health care employer mandate for a year - a decision leading Senate architects of the bill to say "This was the law. How can they change the law?" - Senator Lisa Murkowski and dozens of her Senate colleagues are urging the entire health care reform law be permanently postponed in the face of public backlash and projected cost spikes. Last Tuesday, the White House's Senior Policy Director Valerie Jarrett discussed the one year repriev… Continue Reading
07.10.13
Murkowski Votes to Curb Discrimination in the Workplace
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski today voted in favor of the bipartisan Employment Non-Discrimination Act this morning, which passed out of the Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee (HELP) on a 15-7 vote. "I was pleased to be able to support the Employee Non-Discrimination Act passing out of committee today. I am a strong believer that individuals should be judged on whether they can do the job, not their sexual orientation - and I appreciate the hundreds of Alaskans who shared … Continue Reading
07.09.13
Murkowski’s Second Group of Interns Get to Work in Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -Senator Lisa Murkowski today met with her second group of summer interns upon their arrival to Washington, D.C.-as they prepare to observe and participate in the daily operations of the United States Senate and witness the legislative process. Senator Murkowski's D.C. office is the only U.S. Senate office on Capitol Hill to bring on newly-graduated high school students for full-time help. The 10 Alaskan students from across the state will spend the next 4 weeks assisting in th… Continue Reading
07.09.13
Sen. Murkowski Visits with Wounded Veterans at Lake Clark National Park
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, met July 2 with wounded veterans and their spouses during a visit to Alaska's Lake Clark National Park and Preserve as part of the National Park Service partnership with Operation Heal Our Patriots. Sen. Murkowski and several Operation Heal Our Patriots wounded veterans and their spouses at Lake Clark National Park and Preserve in Alaska on Tuesday, July 2. (Photo: NPS) "I'm thankful that I was able to spend some time with a few of Ameri… Continue Reading
07.09.13
Murkowski Co-Sponsors Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski today co-sponsored S.1241 the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act to keep loan rates low for new college students - representing a permanent fix to "lock and lower" interest rates for 100 percent of newly-issued student loans. Though rates on new loans officially doubled on July 1st, if this bill is enacted, the U.S. Department of Education would originate all new loans for the coming school year at the new, lower rates. This bipartisan measure uses a … Continue Reading
07.03.13
Murkowski Urges NOAA to Extend Catch Share Plan Comment Period Beyond “Prime Fishing Season in Alaska”
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski reached out to the Acting Administrator of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), advocating for a common-sense extension of the 45 day comment period on the Proposed Rule unveiled Friday for the Catch Share Plan (CSP) for Guided Sport and Commercial Fisheries in Alaska - a comment period that takes place entirely within one of the busiest times for Alaska's halibut fisherman. When NOAA released a proposed rule last Friday, it d… Continue Reading
07.03.13
Senator Murkowski Celebrates Alaskan Patriotism on 4th of July
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today offered the following words in celebration of Independence Day. (Click image to watch video message) "This 4th of July, we celebrate the 237th anniversary of our nation's independence and honor the brave collection of thoughtful men who put their lives on the line to support a visionary idea, what many called 'The American Experiment.' Though we know the words by heart now, it was truly revolutionary to believe in the 18th Century that 'all me… Continue Reading
07.03.13
Murkowski Unites POW's Family With Alaskan Who Honored Him For Decades Wearing Bracelet
ANCHORAGE, AK -This Independence Day 2013, a small narrow metal band has connected the Lower 48 family of a United States Air Force Missing in Action-Prisoner of War (MIA/POW) from the Vietnam War with an Alaskan woman who - despite never having met this pilot or spoken with - started wearing his commemorative bracelet during the war and thought of him and prayed for him for decades. Through the efforts of Senator Lisa Murkowski's staff, Virginia Spreen of Wasilla was able to track down the pil… Continue Reading
07.03.13
Murkowski: Health Care Reform “‘Train Wreck’ is Going Off the Rails”
WASHINGTON, DC - As support for the Obama administration's health care reform bill continues to fall and just days after the one year anniversary of the Supreme Court decision dubbing the legislation a new tax on Americans, Senator Lisa Murkowski had the following response to the decision to postpone the 'employer mandate' a full year: "The announcement that the White House is pushing the 'pause button' for a year on its signature achievement comes as no surprise to me, given the looming expens… Continue Reading
07.01.13
Murkowski Visits Kuskokwim River Fish Camps, Talks to Residents About Subsistence Fishing
WASHINGTON, DC - Fresh from her weekend trip to fish camps up and down the Kuskokwim River, Senator Lisa Murkowski committed to the Alaskans she spent time with that she would share the information she gathered with her colleagues in the United States Senate. While boating along the Kuskokwim, residents talked with her about salmon shortages, subsistence fishing regulations and enforcement, as well as the impacts of high gas prices on their food gathering. Sen. Murkowski traveled by riverboa… Continue Reading
06.28.13
Murkowski Challenges Director of National Intelligence on Surveillance
WASHINGTON, DC - With law-abiding Alaskans and Americans facing the prospect of secret federal government surveillance programs collecting their phone logs and Internet records in 'bulk collections,' Senator Lisa Murkowski today peppered the Director of National Intelligence with questions in a letter she co-signed with 25 other Senators. Recent disclosures of the FBI/NSA programs have led Murkowski to reassert - as she has for a decade - her grave concern over the government's secret interpret… Continue Reading
06.28.13
“You Think I Am Going to Die That Easy?”
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski is releasing her 13th Veteran Spotlight installment today, featuring Wasilla resident Tyler Hall, a U.S. Army veteran who served as a combat engineer in Iraq, and in 2003 was the first Alaskan to be injured during Operation Iraqi Freedom. During his Veteran Spotlight interview, Hall recalls that generations of his family serving in the Army and the opportunity to travel around the world helped him decide to join on the delayed entry program right after he… Continue Reading
06.27.13
Murkowski Efforts for Healthier School Foods to be Implemented Nationwide
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski today applauded the United States Department of Agriculture for issuing the final rules of implementing her legislation providing healthier food and beverages inside schools nationwide, as it announced the "Smart Snacks in Schools" program that will take effect in the 2014-2015 school year. USDA's action was required by legislation Senator Murkowski sponsored and which was enacted as part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. "America's obesity problem ha… Continue Reading
06.27.13
Murkowski Votes for Immigration Reform
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski today joined 67 other Senators to cast her vote for S.744 the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill and shared the following statement afterwards: "I have always believed that immigration reform legislation should have teeth, heart and 21st century enhancements - and all three priorities have been reached through this bill. It's important for all of us to acknowledge that we have a broken immigration system that has resulted in 11 million undocumented ind… Continue Reading
06.27.13
Murkowski Addresses Alaska Infrastructure Needs, Saves Money
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski made sure that Alaska's road, port and energy priorities were reflected in the FY2014 Energy and Water Appropriations bill - while working with her E&W Appropriations Subcommittee colleagues to make sure the measure is $1.96 billion below last year's total - before it passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee today. Additionally, in an effort to find an 'offset' for the expenses these projects represent, Murkowski found $20 million within the … Continue Reading
06.26.13
Murkowski Responds to Supreme Court Ruling
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski today shared her thoughts about the Supreme Court deciding the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional: "I welcome today's Supreme Court decision to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act because the federal government should empower households, respect the decisions of states and otherwise get out of the way. This ruling represents victories for states' rights and equal treatment under the law." ###… Continue Reading
06.25.13
Alaska Delegation Welcomes Disaster Declaration for Interior
WASHINGTON, D.C.- Today the Alaska Congressional Delegation commended the Administration's response in issuing a major disaster declaration for the State of Alaska in areas of the Interior where Alaskans are still recovering from devastating damages caused by heavy spring floodwaters. The declaration comes only weeks after Senators Lisa Murkowski, Mark Begich and Congressman Don Young wrote in a letter to President Obama and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate t… Continue Reading
06.25.13
Murkowski: U.S. Army Cuts Send “Mixed Signals” to Last Frontier
Washington, dc - Senator Lisa Murkowski today shared the following response to the United States Army decision to cut Fort Richardson manpower while adding troops to Fort Wainwright - resulting in 342 fewer U.S. Army soldiers in Alaska: "Alaska supports our men and women in uniform, as well as our veterans who have served valiantly in defense of our nation. Our connection to the military community is why our entire state stands ready to step up now that the Pentagon has declared the Asia-Pacif… Continue Reading
