02.03.22

Senator Murkowski Raises Middle Mile and Tribal Infrastructure in Alaska to Secretary of Commerce

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) recently took part in a U.S. Senate Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on expanding America's broadband access through programs contained within the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) which Senator Murkowski helped author and shepherd into law. During the hearing, Senator Murkowski questioned U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary, Gina Raimondo, on Alaska-specific priorities, including middle mile and Tribal broa… Continue Reading

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02.03.22

Vice Chair Murkowski Leads Discussion on Repatriation of Native American Remains and Sacred Objects During Committee Oversight Hearing

During an oversight hearing this week, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (SCIA), provided an opening statement on the important oversight role that Congress exercises regarding the implementation of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and its importance to Alaska Native, American Indian and Native Hawaiian efforts to repatriate sacred human remains and funerary objects back to their communities. Pictured: Sen… Continue Reading

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02.03.22

Vice Chair Murkowski Leads Discussion on Repatriation of Native American Remains and Sacred Objects During Committee Oversight Hearing

During an oversight hearing this week, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (SCIA), provided an opening statement on the important oversight role that Congress exercises regarding the implementation of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and its importance to Alaska Native, American Indian and Native Hawaiian efforts to repatriate sacred human remains and funerary objects back to their communities. Pictured: Sen… Continue Reading

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02.03.22

Murkowski Announces U.S. Military Service Academy Nominees

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) today announced the names of the 30 young Alaskans she is nominating to the U.S. Military Service Academies. "Every year, young Alaskans from across the state work to be the best they can, both physically and intellectually, in hopes of pursuing an education at a U.S. Military Service Academy. Each of these nominees are exemplary candidates who demonstrate incredible discipline and potential. As I reflect on the significance of the military in our state, it gi… Continue Reading

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02.02.22

Murkowski Leads HELP Hearing on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) helped lead a Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing focused on America's growing crisis of mental health and substance use disorders as well as the actions necessary to address them in a multi-faceted approach. The hearing featured mental health youth advocate, Claire Rhyneer of Eagle River, Alaska as a witness. Click here for video of Senator Murkowski. Click here for photos. Senator Murkowski opened her remarks by speakin… Continue Reading

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02.01.22

Alaska Delegation Welcomes $32 Million Available to Alaska for Legacy Well Cleanup

U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Congressman Don Young, all R-Alaska, released the following statements after the U.S. Department of the Interior announced $1.15 billion is available states to clean up orphaned oil and gas wells. The funding is available through the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which was signed into law on November 15, 2021, with $32.2 million available to Alaska: "The failure to address legacy wells has long been an issue in too many comm… Continue Reading

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01.31.22

Senators Introduce Resolution Designating January as ‘National Trafficking and Modern Slavery Prevention Month’

Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) introduced a resolution designating January as "National Trafficking and Modern Slavery Prevention Month." "It's unconscionable that in 2022 there are an estimated 40 million victims of human trafficking and slavery," said Senator Feinstein. "We owe it to each and every one of these victims to rid the world of these abhorrent crimes. I'm glad to join my colleagues to intr… Continue Reading

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01.31.22

Graham, Blumenthal Introduce EARN IT Act to Encourage Tech Industry to Take Online Child Sexual Exploitation Seriously

U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) today reintroduced bipartisan legislation to encourage the tech industry to take online child sexual exploitation seriously. The Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act (EARN IT Act) removes blanket immunity for violations of laws related to online child sexual abuse material (CSAM). "There are tens of millions of photos and videos circulating throughout the internet, showing … Continue Reading

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01.28.22

Murkowski Welcomes Additional H-2B Visas, Critical for Seasonal Jobs in Alaska

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) released the following statements after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) announced 20,000 additional H-2B nonagricultural worker visas for the first half of fiscal year 2022, which will be available to employers on Friday, January 28, 2022. This marks the first release of supplemental visas in the first half of a fiscal year. "The H-2B visa program has long played an important role for seasonal fishing and tourism bus… Continue Reading

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01.28.22

Murkowski Welcomes Steve Wackowski Back to Team as State Director

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) today announced Steve Wackowski will serve as her new State Director in Anchorage, Alaska. "I'm excited to welcome Steve back to my team. His work experience-not only in Alaska but also around Congress at large-expertise in the resource development industry, and his passion for our state make him a great fit for this position. Steve is a guy that just gets how Alaska works," said Senator Murkowski. "Throughout the many years I've known Steve, he has proven to … Continue Reading

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01.24.22

Delegation Reiterates Support for Tongass Roadless Exemption

U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Congressman Don Young, all R-Alaska, today released the following joint statement as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) closed the 60-day comment period for its proposal to reinstate the 2001 Roadless Rule on the Tongass National Forest. "Southeast Alaska deserves a sustainable economy, but the one-size-fits-all Roadless Rule works against that. It should never have been applied to Alaska, and it should not be re-applied this year or any … Continue Reading

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01.21.22

Grant Roundup: Senator Murkowski Announces Federal Grants to Alaska

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), the senior Senator for Alaska, announced the following grants to organizations, Tribal entities, and communities in Alaska: Anchorage: Up to $400,000 in Phase II funding for PKS Consulting, Inc. from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a mobile plastic ocean waste recycler that produces recycled plastic lumber products from locally collected plastic ocean waste. Anchorage: $20,000 for Alaska Design Forum from the National Endowment for the Arts (… Continue Reading

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01.21.22

Delegation Announces Disaster Declarations for Alaska Fisheries

U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Congressman Don Young, all R-Alaska, today welcomed determinations from the Department of Commerce that fishery disasters have occurred in numerous Alaska fisheries, allowing them to receive critical relief funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The funding can be distributed to fishermen and their crews, seafood processors, and research initiatives in the impacted regions. "Alaska's fisheries are economic and s… Continue Reading

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01.20.22

Sens. Coons, Murkowski, Reps. Peters, Salazar unveil landmark bipartisan climate resilience legislation

Today, U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and U.S. Representatives Scott Peters (D-Calif.) and María Salazar (R-Fla.) introduced the National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy Act (NCARS), a bipartisan bill to streamline the federal response to climate hazards that threaten human health and well-being, critical infrastructure, and natural systems. Cosponsors include Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) as w… Continue Reading

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01.20.22

Murkowski Urges Bipartisan Approach for Voting Rights, Election Reforms, Senate Rule Changes

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) released the following statement after voting against the motion to invoke cloture on H.R. 5746, a combination of voting rights bills passed by the House of Representatives last week, and a subsequent effort to weaken the Senate's legislative filibuster to facilitate its passage along party lines. The cloture motion failed 49-51, while the rule change failed 48-52. "I continue to believe that Congress should pass a reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act, whi… Continue Reading

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01.19.22

Murkowski Announces Significant Funding for Alaska from Bipartisan Infrastructure Act

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) today announced that as a result of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which she played a lead role in crafting and advancing into law last year, four more projects in Alaska have been selected to receive substantial federal funding. Today's announcement, which follows last week's announcement of $25 million for the Denali Park Road, includes $250 million for the Port of Nome; $185 million for the Lowell Creek flood diversion project in Sew… Continue Reading

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01.17.22

Murkowski Shares a Message of Reflection on MLK Day

In light of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) shared the following message: Click here for video. Click here for a high-res photo. "When we reflect on what matters to us as Americans-things like equality, freedom, justice-it's hard to forget the remarkable leaders who fought to secure these rights in the ongoing quest toward a more perfect union. "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s commitment to Civil Rights and leading with kindness changed the course of histor… Continue Reading

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01.16.22

Murkowski Welcomes USDA Announcement for New Mariculture Facility on Prince of Wales Island

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) today welcomed the announcement that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will award $500,000 to Southeast Conference to design a mariculture processing facility to be located on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska-home to one of the largest kelp farms in the United States. "Creating sustainable economies in rural and remote communities can be challenging, but this investment, in recognition of the promise that Alaska's unique and growing mariculture industry … Continue Reading

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01.14.22

Alaska Mental Health Trust Land Exchange Near Completion

U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Congressman Don Young all R-Alaska, welcomed the finalization of approximately 45 miles of permanent access easements, which mark the completion of a long-running land exchange between the Alaska Mental Health Trust (AMHT) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS). This final step follows more than twenty years of work, including significant leadership and support from the Alaska Congressional Delegation and the State of Alaska. "While my 2017 legislatio… Continue Reading

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01.14.22

Casey, Tillis, Smith, Murkowski Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Strengthen Community Health Workforce

As communities across the Nation tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Tina Smith (D-MN) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) are introducing bipartisan legislation to strengthen the workforce of community health workers and address health disparities among underserved communities. Studies have demonstrated that community health workers can identify and address the specific health needs of their communities, promote healthy behavior and reduce hospitalization. Th… Continue Reading