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.
Indian Affairs Committee Approves Indian Health Care Improvement Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, a senior member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, today announced that the committee approved the Indian Health Care Improvement Reauthorization and Extension Act of 2009, a bill that would permanently reauthorize Indian health programs delivered by Alaska's Native regional health care providers. "It has been nearly 20 years since Congress last reauthorized the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. Our first Americans suffer the highest… Continue Reading
12.02.09
Murkowski Offers Amendment to Keep Government Out of Health Care Coverage Decisions
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today introduced an amendment to the Senate health care bill that would ensure patients receive doctor recommendations for what preventive health services their health insurance plan should cover without interference from government appointed advisers. "Since the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations against getting mammograms before age 50 came out last month, millions of Americans have become anxious and confused … Continue Reading
12.02.09
Sen. Murkowski: All Options on Table for Reducing Emissions
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today questioned whether the climate bills currently pending in the Senate represent the best approach for lowering greenhouse gas emissions, saying that all options, including a net zero carbon tax, deserve thorough consideration. "The main argument for cap and trade is that it would create a new market in which economically efficient and environmentally compliant decisions could be made. Despite this, the House and Senate bills display a… Continue Reading
12.01.09
Murkowski Comments on President Obama’s Afghanistan Decision
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, made the following statement regarding President Obama's speech on his plan for Afghanistan: "I am pleased that the President, after months of deliberation, is willing to provide General McChrystal with a substantial number of additional troops to carry out his mission in Afghanistan. But the key question is whether the President is fully committed to a strategy that provides a peaceful future for the people of Afghanistan and ceases the e… Continue Reading
12.01.09
Murkowski Statement on NOAA Beluga Whale Proposal
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, issued the following statement in response to a proposal by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to designate at least one-third of Cook Inlet as critical habitat for beluga whales: "I appreciate that the National Marine Fisheries Service has tried to identify the most important areas for the beluga whale in Cook Inlet, using the limited but available science. I have not had an opportunity to read the economic analysis… Continue Reading
12.01.09
Murkowski Champions Flexible Spending Accounts for Military Families
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today urged President Obama to promptly extend flexible spending accounts for military families so they can help pay out-of-pocket child care and health care expenses. A provision included in the recently enacted Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Authorization bill calls on the Department of Defense to make such accounts available to military members. Murkowski signed on to a bipartisan Senate letter to Obama urging him to work with Secretary of Def… Continue Reading
11.24.09
Murkowski Expresses Support for Biomass Energy Development at Coast Guard Facilities in Southeast Alaska
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today announced that she has sent letters to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Chief of the U.S. Forest Service Tom Tidwell urging that they continue their efforts to bring biomass wood energy usage to Coast Guard facilities in Southeast Alaska. The Coast Guard is actively working to identify renewable energy opportunities in the wake of last year's high oil prices. In their search, the Coast Guard has identified biomass as a fuel s… Continue Reading
11.24.09
Murkowski Leads Bipartisan Effort Calling for Senate Hearing on Breast Cancer Screening Recommendations
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, joined by a bipartisan group of fellow senators, today called on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) to hold a hearing on controversial new breast screening recommendations made by a federal task force. Murkowski authored a letter (attached) , co-signed by 21 of her colleagues, to the chairman and ranking Republican member of the HELP committee asking for a hearing. A HELP committee member, Murkowski said the r… Continue Reading
11.21.09
Murkowski Opposes $2.5 Trillion Democrat Health Care Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, issued the following statement regarding her vote against beginning debate on the Democrat health care bill: "This 2,074-page, $2.5 trillion Democrat health care bill drafted without public input in the privacy of Majority Leader Harry Reid's office is not reform. Simply put, it's government-run health care that will raise taxes on individuals, families and small businesses, increase health insurance premiums and cut Medicare by a half tril… Continue Reading
11.20.09
Murkowski Speaks Against Democrats’ Health Care Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said today that the controversial new guidelines for breast cancer - which say that women in their 40s shouldn't undergo routine mammograms - could become a first step toward rationing under a government run health care system. "These guidelines could be a kind of peak under the curtain of what we can anticipate with a government run program," Murkowski said at a Senate Republican leadership news conference to discuss the Senate Democrats' … Continue Reading
11.20.09
Murkowski Gets Commitment from Postal Service to Resume 'Dear Santa' Letter Responses
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, announced today that the United States Postal Service (USPS) has agreed to resume a program in Alaska that would allow volunteers to respond to Dear Santa letters from children across the country. In a phone call today, Deputy Postmaster General Pat Donahoe told Murkowski that the USPS had reconsidered its position not to allow Alaskan volunteers to answer letters addressed "Dear Santa, North Pole." Donahoe told Murkowski, "We're all set a… Continue Reading
11.19.09
Murkowski Lauds Passage of Omnibus Veterans Health Care Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today announced that the Senate has approved legislation that would provide monthly stipends to family members who care for seriously injured veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflict in their home. The Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2009 includes provisions from three bills cosponsored by Murkowski: the Caregiver and Veterans Health Services Act of 2009; the Women's Health Care Improvement Act of 2009, intended … Continue Reading
11.19.09
Murkowski Comments on Democrats’ Senate Health Care Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today made the following comments regarding the health care bill unveiled this week by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: "The health care bill unveiled this week by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is deeply disappointing and in many ways is even worse than the Senate Finance Committee-passed proposal. Not only would the new bill, like the Finance measure, raise taxes, cut Medicare and boost health insurance premiums, but it would also cr… Continue Reading
11.19.09
Murkowski Works for Fair Treatment Regarding 8(a) Contracting Preferences
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today took action on several fronts to ensure that Alaska Native Corporations continue to be treated fairly under the Native American 8(a) program. Alaska's senior senator called on the Obama Administration to hold a public hearing in Alaska on the proposed new regulations for the Native American 8(a) program. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will be holding several hearings around the country on the proposed regulations, but ha… Continue Reading
11.18.09
Senate Health Panel Approves Food Safety Bill That Includes Murkowski Initiatives Involving Seafood Safety and Bush Food Shipments
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee today approved comprehensive food safety legislation that includes provisions by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, pertaining to seafood safety and food shipments to rural and frontier areas, including the Alaskan Bush. The bill, approved unanimously by the HELP Committee, would address recent events concerning unsafe and tainted foods, including contaminated spinach with E. Coli and peanut butter laced with Salmone… Continue Reading
11.18.09
Alaska Delegation press Interior Secretary Salazar on OCS development
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich, and Rep. Don Young today delivered a letter to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar urging him to finalize any necessary revisions to the current five-year plan for offshore oil and natural gas leasing in Alaska. Shell Oil, which early last year spent $2.1 billion for exploration rights in the Chukchi, has been unable to proceed with plans to drill up to two exploratory wells on its leases in 2010 because Interior officials have failed t… Continue Reading
11.17.09
Murkowski Announces Senate Approval of Funding for Alaska Projects in the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Defense Department would spend nearly $336 million in military construction on Alaska's Army and Air Force installations in Fiscal Year 2010 under a $133.9 billion Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill approved today by the Senate, according to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The legislation now goes to a joint House-Senate conference committee to reconcile differences in each chamber's version … Continue Reading
11.17.09
Murkowski Says Action On Climate Change Must be Global
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today stressed that action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions must be international in scope to truly address climate change. "Climate change mitigation must be a global effort to be effective, but progress on the international front has been slow and difficult," Murkowski said at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on the international aspects of climate change. "Those who assume that others will follow if America acts … Continue Reading
11.16.09
Murkowski on Resignation of Federal Coordinator for Alaska Gasline
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today thanked Drue Pearce for her service to Alaska and the nation in working to make a North Slope natural gas pipeline project a reality. The Obama administration on Monday announced it was replacing Pearce as Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects. Pearce was appointed to the position by President Bush and confirmed by the Senate in 2006. "Drue has long been a strong advocate for the gas pipeline and her co… Continue Reading
11.12.09
Murkowski Welcomes President Obama to Alaska
WASHINGTON, D.C. - On his first visit to Alaska, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, sends her warm welcome to President Barack Obama: "I am pleased to see that our Commander in Chief, President Obama, is visiting Alaska today and spending time with the brave men and women of Alaska's military. I send my warm welcome to him as he visits our state for the first time and experiences Alaska's beauty and people. Due to a previous commitment, I will be unable to welcome the President in person, but … Continue Reading
