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 Celebrates Long-Overdue Passage of Social Security Fairness Act
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) announced that the Senate passed H.R. 82 The Social Security Fairness Act tonight in a bipartisan vote of 76-20. This legislation repeals the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), which have reduced the amount of Social Security benefits accessible to select federal, state, local employees, and to their spouses and survivors. Senator Murkowski has been a longstanding supporter of the Social Security Fairness … Continue Reading
12.21.24
Murkowski: “Never, Ever a Time When a Government Shutdown is a Good Thing for Americans or Alaskans”
Washington, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) supported a stopgap package that extends the federal government funding deadline to March 14, 2025, thus avoiding a costly and unnecessary government shutdown while also providing critical disaster recovery funds for communities across the country. This package garnered bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress and included $300 million to refill the U.S. Department of Commerce’s fishery disaster assistance accounts, which Senator Murkowsk… Continue Reading
12.20.24
Murkowski Praises Alaska Provisions in Water Resource Development Act
Washington, DC - This week, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) supported S.4367, the Thomas R. Carper Water Resource Development of 2024, which overwhelmingly passed the U.S. Senate in a bipartisan vote of 97-1. The legislation authorizes projects to construct and improve new ports, harbors, and waterways across the country, while also installing a series of policy changes at the Army Corps of Engineers aimed at accelerating the agency’s work and expanding tribal partnerships. The U.S. House o… Continue Reading
12.18.24
Murkowski Supports Alaska Guardsmen and Alaska Service Members in National Defense Authorization Act
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) voted in favor of S.4638 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (NDAA FY25), which passed the Senate by a bipartisan vote of 85-14. This year’s NDAA authorizes $923.3 billion for national defense, with $878.4 billion for the Department of Defense (DoD) and $33.4 billion for national security programs within the Department of Energy (DOE). Significantly, it provides a 14.5 percent pay raise for junior enlisted service memb… Continue Reading
12.12.24
Older Americans Act and Murkowski’s Native ELDER Act Pass Senate
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) applauded the Senate passage of the Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2024, which included provisions of her bill, the Enhancing Native Elders’ Longevity, Dignity, Empowerment, and Respect (Native ELDER) Act. Co-sponsored by Senator Tina Smith (D-Minnesota), the Native ELDER Act will improve federal programs and services for Alaska Native, American Indian, and Native Hawaiian Elders. The legislation now heads to the U.S. House of … Continue Reading
12.11.24
Senators Murkowski, Sullivan Celebrate Victory for Accessibility and Affordability of Groceries in Alaska
Washington, DC - Following the news that Albertsons has backed out of the $24.6 billion merger with Kroger after a federal judge in Oregon and state judge in Washington blocked the deal yesterday, Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (both R-Alaska) released the following statements: "I have been working with the delegation for over a year to amplify the justified concerns Alaskans have about this merger, and I’m pleased that the courts have now recognized what we knew, that it would have i… Continue Reading
12.11.24
Murkowski Applauds Senate Passage of Firefighter Cancer Registry Reauthorization Act of 2023
Washington, DC -U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) announced that the United States Senate passed the Firefighter Cancer Registry Reauthorization Act of 2023. This legislation, which Senator Murkowski has spearheaded since 2016, maintains a national cancer registry for firefighters diagnosed with cancer in order to bolster research and data collection efforts to better understand the relationship between exposure to toxins and fumes, and higher cancer rates among firefighters. “Firefighters pro… Continue Reading
12.10.24
Coastal Plain ROD is a Complete Failure
Washington, DC—U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) slammed the Department of the Interior (DOI) after it released an unlawful Record of Decision (ROD) for the federally-mandated oil and gas program on the Coastal Plain of the non-wilderness Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in northeast Alaska. Interior’s ROD dramatically restricts leasing and future development on the 1.57-million-acre Coastal Plain by deliberately departing from the clear and unambiguous language tha… Continue Reading
12.06.24
Senate Passes Murkowski, Padilla Bill to Reauthorize National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program
Washington, D.C. —U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) announced that the Senate last night passed their bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) through Fiscal Year 2028 (FY28). The legislation now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill would authorize a total of $175.4 million per year from FY24-FY28 across the four federal agencies responsible for long-term earthquake risk reduction under NEHR… Continue Reading
12.02.24
ICYMI: The King Cove Road is a Matter of Human Rights
Washington, DC - Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) wrote a longform essay on King Cove, Alaska, for the latest issue of the American Bar Association’s Human Rights magazine. The full piece - which is copied below and available online here - makes the case for a life-saving road to connect King Cove with the all-weather airport in nearby Cold Bay. This simple, one-lane, gravel, non-commercial use road is needed to ensure reliable transportation access to and from the predominantly Aleut community dur… Continue Reading
11.21.24
Murkowski, Padilla Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Establish the Atmospheric River Forecasting Program
Washington, DC -U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) introduced bipartisan legislation that will bolster emergency preparedness by improving atmospheric river forecasting to more precisely predict the timing and location of these storms. The Improving Atmospheric River Forecasts Act would require the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to establish a forecast improvement program within the National Weather Service (NWS). Atmospheric rivers, often de… Continue Reading
11.21.24
Murkowski, Bennet Introduce Bill to Support Wide Range of Carbon Dioxide Removal Approaches
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) introduced the Carbon Dioxide Removal Investment Act to establish a new production tax credit designed to jumpstart the United States’ carbon dioxide removal (CDR) industry. The tax credit would support innovative CDR approaches that are ready to be deployed today, while also creating pathways for those still in development. “Alaska possesses unique characteristics that make it a perfect candidate to be a nati… Continue Reading
11.20.24
Murkowski Secures Committee Wins for Alaska
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) a senior member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (ENR), today worked with her colleagues to ensure a number of Alaska-specific bills were favorably reported for consideration by the full chamber. ENR reported three bills that Murkowski is sponsoring and three that she is cosponsoring: S. 3617, the Cape Fox Land Entitlement Finalization Act (sponsor). S. 620, the Alaska Offshore Parity Act (sponsor). S. 4974, to re… Continue Reading
11.15.24
Senator Murkowski Supports Passage of the Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) today welcomed the passage of S. 2581, the Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act, which the Senate agreed to by unanimous consent late yesterday evening. This legislation, which Murkowski co-sponsored, reauthorizes the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act through Fiscal Year 2026, allowing the U.S. Forest Service to continue to provide critical funding for schools, roads and other municipal services to eligible rural com… Continue Reading
11.13.24
Murkowski: Interior Sides with King Cove
King Cove, AK—U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today praised the U.S. Department of the Interior (Interior) for releasing a draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) that recommends a land exchange for a life-saving road that will connect the predominantly Aleut community of King Cove to the all-weather airport in nearby Cold Bay. In its draft SEIS, Interior recommends a preferred action alternative that would facilitate a land exchange between the U.S. Fish and Wildlif… Continue Reading
11.08.24
Delegation Celebrates FCC’s “Alaska Plan 2.0” to Strengthen State Broadband Connectivity
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA—U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (both R-Alaska), and Representative Mary Sattler Peltola (D-Alaska), celebrated the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announcement of the Alaska Connect Fund (ACF), an extension of the successful Alaska Plan program aimed at expanding and improving broadband connectivity throughout Alaska. The Alaska Plan, which went into effect in 2016, reserved $1.5 billion in funding over ten years for maintenance, extensions, and upgrades … Continue Reading
11.07.24
Alaska Senators Slam Interior’s Unlawful Attempt to Throttle Responsible Development on Alaska’s Coastal Plain
Anchorage, AK—U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) today released the following statements after the Department of the Interior (DOI) announced a final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the congressionally-mandated oil and gas program on the Coastal Plain of the non-wilderness Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska. The final SEIS seeks to restrict leasing and development on the Coastal Plain by dramatically departing from the clear and unambig… Continue Reading
10.18.24
Alaska Congressional Delegation Welcomes Federal Disaster Declaration for Juneau Floods
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (both R-AK) and Representative Mary Sattler Peltola (D-AK) welcomed the federal disaster declaration following Juneau’s floods in early August. President Biden’s declaration comes after dogged advocacy from the Alaska delegation along with community leaders to ensure Juneau residents would have federal support to recover from the flooding of Suicide Basin. This declaration paves the way for both individual and public assistance to be… Continue Reading
10.07.24
Senator Murkowski Joins Senate Resolution Standing with Israel on One-Year Anniversary of Horrific Terrorist Attacks
Washington, D.C. — On the one-year anniversary of the brutal Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) joined forty-eight of her Senate colleagues condemning the attacks, while supporting a path towards the survival and security of Israel, as well as the safe release of United States hostages from the Gaza Strip. “Our prayers continue to be with the families and victims of the barbaric terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas one year ago,” said Senator Murkowski. “As on… Continue Reading
10.04.24
Murkowski & Colleagues Urge Biden Administration to Release LIHEAP Home Heating Aid
WASHINGTON, D.C. - With colder weather around the corner and Congress continuing its work on appropriations bills, U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Jack Reed (D-RI) and are leading a bipartisan call for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to release funds for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) as swiftly and at the highest level possible. “As Congress works to finalize the Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations bill for the Departmen… Continue Reading
