05.06.13

Murkowski Votes Against Federal Tax Mandate for Alaska Businesses

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today cast her vote against the Marketplace Fairness Act that would force Alaska's businesses to begin taxing out-of-state online customers. She explained her vote afterwards: "In Alaska, we don't have a state sales tax. But the Marketplace Fairness Act is trying to have our law of the land take a back seat to other states that see things differently, and I don't believe that is good policy or fair to Alaska businesses - particularly small businesses.… Continue Reading

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05.06.13

Murkowski to Question Interior Secretary in Senate Hearing

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Newly-confirmed Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell will testify before the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee for the first time tomorrow morning, and Senator Lisa Murkowski will be looking to get answers on Alaska's unique concerns. Senator Murkowski has called the Interior Secretary "Alaska's Landlord" since 60 percent of Alaska's lands are managed by the federal government. Since the Interior Department also has jurisdiction over the Bureau of Indian Affairs, … Continue Reading

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05.02.13

Murkowski Webcasting Today’s Subsistence Public Meeting in Glennallen

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today announced she plans to livestream today's subsistence public meetings in Glennallen to everyone interested in watching the event. The subsistence listening session will provide a forum for Alaskans to be heard on this important cultural and food security issue, and to have their testimony taken back to Congress. For every Alaskan interested in watching the listening session, all that needs to be done is to visit Senator Murkowski's website at http… Continue Reading

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04.30.13

Murkowski Works to Give Veterans Twin-Tracks for Duty, Employment

WASHINGTON, D.C. - With the jobless rate for America's veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan nearly two percentage points higher than the national average, Senator Lisa Murkowski is joining forces with a bipartisan group of her Senate colleagues in co-sponsoring S. 700, the Troop Talent Act of 2013 to empower the nation's men and women in uniform as they return stateside and begin looking for work. "Alaska has more veterans per capita than any other state in the nation - many of whom … Continue Reading

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04.29.13

Murkowski Demands Fix for Veteran Backlogs from President

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski joined a bipartisan group of 66 Senators today in urging President Obama to address the massive backlog in Veterans' Administration (VA) disabilities claims. In Alaska, veterans wait an average of 467 days to see the benefits they have earned; nationwide, the average is 300 days for the approximately 600,000 total veterans stuck in the backlog. The bi-partisan letter (attached) calls for a renewed commitment on the part of President Obama and his "admi… Continue Reading

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04.29.13

Murkowski Honors U.S. Army Vietnam Veteran, Alaskan Homesteader

WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski is releasing her 11th Veteran Spotlight installment today, featuring Jim VanOss, a U.S. Army Veteran drafted during the Vietnam War who served as a military police officer and an embassy guard in Saigon during the Tet Offensive. During his Veteran Spotlight interview, VanOss recalls being 20-years-old when he was drafted into the Army after failing a college class at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. When he arrived in Vietnam, last minute order cha… Continue Reading

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04.26.13

Murkowski Building Coalition to Support Fishery Disaster Relief

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today continued her campaign on Capitol Hill to secure federal disaster relief funds for Alaskan communities damaged by last summer's low salmon runs, building on the momentum she gained in forming a large and influential bipartisan Senate coalition of sixteen co-sponsors of an amendment that was adopted to the Senate FY2014 budget resolution. Senators from Alaska to New England to the Gulf of Mexico joined Murkowski on a letter to the Chairwoman and V… Continue Reading

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04.26.13

Senator Murkowski Announces Media Schedule for Upcoming State Work Period

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today announced she will be visiting Ketchikan, Anchorage, Fort Greely, Glennallen and Fairbanks over the upcoming state work period and will be available for media opportunities at several events. Following are details of media availabilities: KETCHIKAN WHAT: Senator Murkowski Media Availability WHEN: Monday, April 29, 2013; 1:00 - 1:45 p.m. WHERE: Ketchikan Daily News Office 501 Dock St., Ketchikan, AK WASILLA WHAT: Speech - … Continue Reading

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04.25.13

Murkowski Cosponsors Fix for FAA Control Tower Furloughs

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today continued to work towards common-sense solutions to needless - and possibly politically motivated -- flight delays being imposed upon Alaskans and Americans because of the Federal Aviation Administration's nationwide furloughs due to sequestration cuts, by cosponsoring the Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013 to allow the FAA to reallocate existing funds to avoid further furloughs of air traffic controllers. The bill passed the Senate this evening b… Continue Reading

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04.25.13

Murkowski: Marketplace Fairness Act is not Fair

WASHINGTON, D.C. - With the United States Senate currently considering S. 743, The Marketplace Fairness Act, Senator Lisa Murkowski took to the floor of the Senate to criticize the bill for unfairly infringing upon states' sovereign rights and exposing remote online sellers to other states' sales tax requirements. For states like Alaska who have chosen not to have a statewide sales tax, this bill creates an unlevel playing field among other states with sales taxes. (Senator Murkowski Speaks… Continue Reading

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04.25.13

Alaska Senators Rally Over Thirty Members of Congress to Oppose Frankenfish

WASHINGTON, DC - With the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considering proceeding toward approval of Genetically Engineered (GE) salmon, or "Frankenfish," for human consumption, U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich voiced serious objections to the review process and expressed alarm at a long list of hazards potentially associated with bringing these fake fish to market. The Alaska Senators organized a group of 12 Senators and 20 House members in a letter sent Thursday to FDA Comm… Continue Reading

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04.25.13

Senate Subcommittee Advances Sealaska Lands Bill to Fulfill ANCSA Promises

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today testified before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Public Lands Subcommittee in support of legislation to complete the aboriginal land claims promised to shareholders of the Sealaska Native Regional Corp. more than 40 years ago under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). (Click to play video) "The primary purpose of the Sealaska legislation is simple: it settles the outstanding aboriginal land claims under the ANC… Continue Reading

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04.25.13

Murkowski: Administration Avoiding Justice for Indian Tribes

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski took the opportunity during a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing to express her deep disappointment with the Obama Administration's decision to alter the operation of Indian Self-Determination Act contracts - which she called the "core of the Nation's federal trust relationship" - through the budget and congressional appropriations process. "Must I remind the Obama Administration that self-determination contracts are the core of our nation's fed… Continue Reading

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04.25.13

Murkowski to Hold Second Subsistence Public Meeting in Glennallen

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today announced the second of her subsistence public meetings will be held in Glennallen on May 2nd. The subsistence listening session will provide a forum for Alaskans to be heard on this important cultural and food security issue, and to have their testimony taken back to Congress. The Glennallen event comes one month after a Bethel subsistence listening session on April 2nd. Senator Murkowski made a commitment last fall at the Alaska Federation of… Continue Reading

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04.24.13

Sen. Murkowski Raises Concerns Over Impact of EPA Rulemakings

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today raised concerns with a number of rulemakings the Environmental Protection Administration is working on and the potential impact on the national economy, as well as Alaska. "The sheer number of rulemakings the agency is currently proposing, the cost of compliance with the vast array of regulations already on the books, and what, at times, are the unreasonable consequences of their enforcement is incredibly frustrating to the public," Murkowski told… Continue Reading

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04.24.13

Murkowski: Knives on Planes Add to Delays, Make Skies Less Safe

WASHINGTON, D.C - On the heels of Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano telling Senator Lisa Murkowski that she believes the Transportation Security Administration's decision to permit small knives on planes is inevitable despite its present delay, Murkowski joined her colleague Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) to urge the DHS Inspector General to scrutinize and investigate the policy change, considering their numerous concerns. Chief among the Senators concerns are new security risks … Continue Reading

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04.23.13

Senators Murkowski and Wyden Unveil “Follow the Money” Reform Bill

WASHINGTON - Senator Lisa Murkowski today joined her colleague Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) to introduce the first attempt at bipartisan campaign finance reform legislation in a decade: The Follow the Money Act of 2013. In order to address the influx of anonymous federal election spending and bring transparency and consistency to campaign finance law, the bill creates a simple and universal system of disclosure for independent spending in federal campaigns. The legislation would require the source … Continue Reading

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04.20.13

Murkowski Statement on Boston Terror Arrest

WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski shared the following thoughts upon the arrest of the second suspect in Monday's Boston Marathon bomb attack: "Alaskans and Americans salute the well-coordinated effort of the brave and vigilant law-enforcement teams that cooperated today in Boston to apprehend the suspect and put an end to one of the most difficult weeks in our nation's recent history. The men who perpetrated Monday's attack tried to sow chaos and fear, but instead they created a unity o… Continue Reading

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04.19.13

Murkowski Receives Congressional Justice Award

WASHINGTON, D.C - Senator Lisa Murkowski was honored this week by the American Bar Association (ABA), receiving the Congressional Justice Award for her leadership and advocacy in the realm of civil liberties and law reform. The ABA specifically recognized Murkowski for her legislation, the Fairness in Disclosure of Evidence Act, which requires that prosecutors disclose exculpatory evidence to criminal defendants. The ABA group included Attorney Lynn Allingham of the Alaska Bar Association, who s… Continue Reading

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04.18.13

Senator Murkowski Statement on Gun Legislation Proposals

WASHINGTON, D.C. - As the United States Senate concluded a series of votes on proposed gun legislation, Senator Lisa Murkowski offered the following statement: "I'd like to thank you for sharing a few moments with me on a very important issues that's been facing the U. S. Senate this week, and that is our 2nd amendment rights and gun violence. "Alaskans have been watching the Senate debate gun legislation very, very, closely, because they want to keep Americans safe as much as anyone. We just… Continue Reading