02.08.13

Murkowski Urges Secretary of State Kerry to Maintain American Leadership, Momentum in Arctic

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today reached out to new Secretary of State John Kerry, asking him to prioritize America's Arctic engagement as his predecessor did, with Murkowski becoming the first U.S. Senator to participate in the Arctic Parliamentarians' conference in 2011 with former Secretary of State Clinton - making a high-profile national commitment to Arctic issues. In a letter to the Department of State (attached), Senator Murkowski calls upon expanded U.S. leadership in a … Continue Reading

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02.07.13

Murkowski Co-Sponsors Frankenfish, Pirate Fishing Fights

WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski today joined two Senate colleagues in introducing a number of bills that would protect Alaska's fishing industry from foreign and domestic threats in the form of illegal fishing and Genetically Engineered Fish, including GE salmon known as "Frankenfish." "We have scientists splicing fish DNA with an antifreeze-like chemical compound and considering feeding that to Americans," said Murkowski. "That kind of idea didn't work out so well in 'Jurassic Park' … Continue Reading

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02.07.13

Murkowski to Interior: Respect the Lives of Alaskans First

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today delivered a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate demanding that the Secretary of the Interior put the health and safety of Alaskans above the inconvenience of migrating birds when deciding whether a land exchange, involving the Izembek National Refuge, that would grant the residents of King Cove limited road access to emergency medical care was in the public interest. Click to watch video clip of Sen. Murkowski's floor speech on t… Continue Reading

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02.06.13

Murkowski on USPS Saturday Service Cancellation

WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski today responded to the United States Postal Service's decision to stop delivering to street addresses all mail but packages on Saturdays as the financially-challenged service tries to cut costs: "Last year the United States Postal Service lost 16 billion dollars, with more and more Americans relying on e-mail, texting and online billpay - so the time has come to reevaluate how they do things. Even the Social Security Administration, which began phasing … Continue Reading

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02.06.13

Murkowski Introducing “Alaska Wellness Package”

WASHINGTON, D.C. - On the same day she spoke to the National Rural Health Association Conference, Senator Lisa Murkowski announced she will introduce four separate pieces of health care legislation tomorrow designed to improve Alaskans' and Americans' quality of life. Two of the bills would address national issues with an acutely Alaska component: improved access to quality care for Medicare recipients and better diagnosis and care for those with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. The second pa… Continue Reading

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02.06.13

Sen. Murkowski Comments on Interior Secretary Nomination

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today commented on the nomination of Sally Jewell to be Secretary of the Interior. Jewel is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI). "So many of the decisions made by the Interior Secretary have a profound impact on Alaska, and other Western states," Murkowski said. "The livelihoods of Americans living and working in the West rely on maintaining a real balance between conservation and economic opportunity… Continue Reading

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02.01.13

Murkowski Celebrates Ten Years of Going Red in the Fight Against Cardiovascular Disease

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today offered the following statement in celebration of the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women Day. (Click HERE to watch video message) "Hi this is Lisa Murkowski. I am proudly wearing red today to celebrate the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women Day. Today marks ten passionate years of "Going Red", and I'm honored to participate in this continued fight against cardiovascular disease." "Heart disease, stroke, and other cardio… Continue Reading

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02.01.13

With Sequestration Looming in a Month, Murkowski Demanding Clarity From Administration

WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski today urged the heads of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee to hold a hearing as soon as possible to get hard, precise numbers from the Administration about the $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts to many federal agencies set to begin on March 1st. With the federal government accounting for one-third of Alaska's economy, these cuts have significant meaning for every region and every industry in the state - and no specifics have been announ… Continue Reading

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02.01.13

Murkowski Co-Sponsors Bill to Fight Violence Against Women

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski has joined a bipartisan team of Senators in introducing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) reauthorization bill to continue to support efforts and programs nationwide to combat and police domestic violence, as well as providing services and care for victims. A similar version of the bill - which originally became law over twenty years ago - passed the Senate last year, but stalled in the House of Representatives despite Murkowski urging the other cha… Continue Reading

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01.31.13

Murkowski: “Not All American War Heroes Were Americans”

WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski today introduced a bill to bring Hmong volunteers who made major contributions to the American cause in the Vietnam War out of the shadows of covert warfare, and into our national cemeteries as a permanent, lasting honor. During the Vietnam War, the CIA conducted covert operations in Laos utilizing thousands of Hmong volunteers - a minority group persecuted by communists - to perform stealth operations in the "secret war" on the Ho Chi Minh trail and cros… Continue Reading

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01.31.13

Murkowski: Vote Will “Curb Our Appetite for Spending”

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today voted to allow the United States to pay our debts while requiring the U.S. Senate pass a budget for the first time in nearly four years, offering the following statement afterwards: "I have been telling Alaskans and Americans for years that we are on a reckless path, borrowing money from other countries and future generations to stay afloat today. It is clear we absolutely must rein in our finances, using a comprehensive approach of targeted spen… Continue Reading

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01.30.13

Murkowski, Udall Again Lead Bipartisan Seating Push

WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski was joined by Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) today to renew their push for members of Congress to set aside partisanship for an evening and sit together during the president's State of the Union address. The two wrote a letter (attached) directly to U.S. Senate and House of Representative leaders, encouraging support for this small but meaningful gesture. Last year, the two Senators were able to build enough momentum that over 200 lawmakers sat side-by-side… Continue Reading

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01.30.13

Murkowski Introduces Anchorage Land Transfer Bill to Boost Economic Development

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today introduced legislation to transfer permanent title of three parcels of federal land located in downtown Anchorage to the Municipality. The 2.7 acres in downtown Anchorage had been given to the city - which has always been surrounded by federal lands - by the federal government between 1922 and 1982. The parcels were initially transferred to Anchorage to ensure that the local government had sufficient land resources to provide services for the grow… Continue Reading

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01.29.13

Murkowski Receives U.S. Navy’s Highest Civilian Award

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today received the United States Navy's Distinguished Public Service Award from U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus for her "selfless service to the Nation's Sailors and Marines [that] ensured they were provided the resources necessary to support and defend the Nation's interests around the globe," according to the certificate. The Navy also recognized her Arctic leadership that guarantees "our combat forces are prepared to meet the challenges of a dynamic op… Continue Reading

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01.29.13

Murkowski Introduces Bill To Rename Mt. McKinley Denali

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski today announced she has filed S.155 to officially restore the traditional name of the nation's highest peak, Mount McKinley, to its traditional Interior Alaska Athabascan Name: Denali. "I have nothing against President McKinley, whatsoever, but I would rather have this peak be called by the name it has gone by for centuries by Alaskans than a man who never set foot in our state," said Murkowski. "This is the tallest mountain in North America and we des… Continue Reading

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01.28.13

Murkowski on Fishery Disaster Funding: “I Intend to Push Until the Relief is Provided”

WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski today cast her vote to deliver $50.5 billion in federal funds to hurricane-struck Atlantic coast communities buffeted by Hurricane Sandy last year, which passed 62-36. After the vote concluded, Senator Murkowski was joined by a number of her Senate colleagues on the Senate floor expressing frustration that fishery disasters in Alaska and other states were not included in the disaster relief bill. In Senator Murkowski's first set of remarks (clip one), sh… Continue Reading

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01.28.13

Senator Murkowski Welcomes Fairbanks Student as Senate Page

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Murkowski today welcomed Kathryn R. Robinson of Fairbanks to Washington, D.C. as her selection for United States Senate Page Program - her first nomination since earning the seniority to sponsor a Senate page. "Serving as a Senate Page is a great experience, and for me to be able to select an Alaskan high school junior every semester and summer is an investment in our next generation," said Senator Murkowski. "It is students like Kathryn, taking part in the opportunit… Continue Reading

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01.28.13

Sen. Murkowski Introduces Bill to Restore Subsistence Harvest of Gull Eggs in Southeast Alaska

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today reintroduced legislation restoring the traditional rights of the Huna Tlingit to gather glaucous-winged gull eggs in Glacier Bay National Park as part of their subsistence hunting activities. "The Huna Tlingit have gathered gull eggs as part of their traditional subsistence activities for centuries - certainly long before Glacier Bay was made into a national park," Murkowski said. "Gull eggs are part of their traditional diet and cult… Continue Reading

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01.25.13

Murkowski Fights Red Tape for Veterans’ Jobs

WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski today reached out to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to advocate that it make common-sense changes to its policies in an effort to improve access to commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) for America's veterans who are already fully trained to operate large commercial-size vehicles. Senator Murkowski was the lead Republican co-sponsor of the Veteran Employment Assistance Act of 2010, attempting to craft into law such a provision for o… Continue Reading

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01.25.13

“I Hope Alaskans Remember What We Did”

WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski today is releasing her 8th Veteran Spotlight installment featuring Father Norman Elliott, a U.S. Army veteran of World War II. Now nearly 94-years-old, Elliott recalls living in Michigan at age 22 when the war broke out and the calling he felt to defend his country - putting seminary school on hold to join the National Guard and then the U.S. Army in 1941. Nine months later, the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor led the United States to join the Allies in … Continue Reading