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 Commends DOE’s Commitment to Advancing Nuclear Energy in the United States
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released its report outlining a number of activities to renew our nation's nuclear energy capabilities. "I welcome this report, which outlines key steps to move forward on nuclear energy. In order for the United States to have a viable nuclear energy industry and actually compete with countries like China and Russia, who are charging ahead, we need to step up. Expanding the globa… Continue Reading
04.24.20
ICYMI: Alaska Delegation Speaks to Coronavirus Relief Eligibility of Alaska Native Corporations
U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, and Congressman Don Young (all R-Alaska) this week penned an opinion editorial (Op-Ed) in the Anchorage Daily News to speak to the recent mischaracterizations of Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) and explain why ANCs are eligible for funding made available to tribes within the CARES Act. Read the Alaska Delegation's OpEd Below: During the last global pandemic, the 1918 Spanish flu, more people died per capita in Alaska than almost anywhere else in… Continue Reading
04.22.20
Murkowski Joins Colleagues in Urging Loans to Protect American Energy Jobs
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, joined several of her Senate colleagues on a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell urging swift action to make loans accessible to domestic energy producers. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D. led the effort. Below are excerpts from the letter: "We face a real and present danger of seeing hundreds, if not thousands of oil producers shuttering, an event that will profoundly and negatively impact the industry, its financ… Continue Reading
04.21.20
Senate Passes Additional Coronavirus Relief Legislation
U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, (both R-AK), today applauded unanimous Senate passage of a coronavirus relief package totaling $484 billion, which provides additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), COVID-19 testing, and added support for hospitals. The purpose of the majority of this funding is to provide a boost to programs that were previously authorized and funded from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act which was signed into law i… Continue Reading
04.21.20
Alaska Delegation Celebrates Arrival of F-35s at Eielson AFB
U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, and Congressman Don Young (all R-Alaska) today welcomed the arrival of the first two F-35A Joint Strike Fighter aircraft to Eielson Air Force Base in Interior, Alaska. Fifty-four F-35As and roughly 1,300 personnel will be based at Eielson by the end of 2021. "The arrival of the first F-35s is truly an exciting day for our military, Interior Alaska, and for our state as a whole. This has been a long time effort by the Alaska Congressional Delegation… Continue Reading
04.20.20
Alaska Delegation Urges Fast-Tracked Approval for Virtual SRS RAC Meetings
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, Senator Dan Sullivan, and Congressman Young, all R-Alaska, today sent a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue requesting that he allow Resource Advisory Committees (RACs) to meet virtually on an expedited timeline during the COVID-19 pandemic. Below is an excerpt from their letter: "Most RAC funding is used to improve natural resource and recreation infrastructure, which will be extremely important as Alaskans rally to salvage and restore our summer touri… Continue Reading
04.17.20
Murkowski Joins Bipartisan Letter to HHS Secretary to Advocate for Relief for Senior Adult Communities and Health Care Workers
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) joined U.S. Senator James Lankford (R-OK) in a bipartisan letter, supported by 25 other Senators, to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar to ensure that as HHS sets guidelines for the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund (PHSSEF), they not overlook certain health care providers. Specifically, their letter calls for HHS to not overlook the providers within nursing homes, skilled nursing centers, senior living communities, independent l… Continue Reading
04.16.20
Murkowski Questions FCC Proposal to Open 6 GHz Spectrum
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to allow emergency responders and utilities to continue to have priority usage of the 6 Gigahertz (GHz) spectrum band. Murkowski's comments came in a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. On April 1, the FCC published a draft rule to allow unlicensed devices to utilize the 6 GHz band, which is currently occupied by electric and natural gas utilities, along with other licensed users. "Allowing unlicensed devi… Continue Reading
04.16.20
Alaska Delegation Responds to Slanderous Attacks on Assistant Secretary, Alaska Native Corporations
U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Congressman Don Young (all R-Alaska) today responded to misguided efforts seeking to prevent Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) from being eligible for tribal assistance appropriated through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The delegation also defended Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs, Tara Sweeney, from baseless personal attacks over her status as an Alaska Native shareholder, which is part of… Continue Reading
04.15.20
Alaska Delegation Welcomes $124 Million in CARES Act Grants for Alaska’s Airports
Today, the Alaska Congressional Delegation welcomed over $124 million appropriated by the CARES Act and awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to provide immediate relief to 257 of Alaska's airports amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The funding will support continuing operations and replace the vital revenue lost from the sharp decline in airport traffic caused by COVID-19. This financial support may be used for airport capital expenditures, airport payroll and utilities, and d… Continue Reading
04.15.20
Murkowski Welcomes Temporary Extension of Timber Contracts
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it will allow timber operators to request up to two years' extension on certain timber harvest contracts with the Forest Service. In Alaska, the USDA will allow contractors to request up to three years' extension in light of the impacts of China's retaliatory tariffs on Alaska spruce exports. "The coronavirus pandemic threatens timber jobs and could potentially ba… Continue Reading
04.14.20
Murkowski, Brown, Stabenow, Bipartisan Senators Press USDA to Provide Relief For Local Farmers During COVID-19 Pandemic
U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) led a bipartisan group of senators in urging the Trump Administration to provide relief for local farmers who are struggling as the nation works to combat the spread of COVID-19. In a letter sent to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue, the senators urged USDA to ensure that a portion of the $9.5 billion they secured in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, goes… Continue Reading
04.14.20
Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, Murkowski, Klobuchar, Casey, Colleagues Urge Support for Survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Bob Casey (D-PA) together, penned two letters outlining supplemental funding proposals to address the rising rates of domestic violence and sexual assault amid the stay-at-home orders put in place to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Senator Murkowski joined Senators Klobuchar and Casey in a letter, supported by a bipartisan group of 38 colleagues, requesting that any future legislation to address COVID-19 includes supplemental fundi… Continue Reading
04.13.20
Murkowski: OPEC+ Agreement is a Good Step
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today released the following statement after the OPEC+ group, comprised of 23 member nations, collectively agreed to reduce their global oil production by 9.7 million barrels per day. The cuts will be made to limit global oversupply in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. "I'm glad the Saudis and Russians are taking a step back from their economic warfare against U.S. producers, and I thank President Trump and Secretary Brouillette for their leadership in r… Continue Reading
04.08.20
Alaska Delegation Welcomes Nearly $16 Million in Health and Human Services CARES Act Grants
Today, the Alaska Congressional Delegation welcomed nearly $16 million appropriated by the CARES Act and awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to help community health centers prevent and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Specific grant amounts and awardees may be found below. "Our state continues working around the clock to turn the tide in the fight against COVID-19. The CARES Act continues to provide critical resources to help Alaska prevent and respond to this pa… Continue Reading
04.08.20
Murkowski, Barrasso: States Need Flexibility in Using Coronavirus Relief Fund
U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and John Barrasso (R-WY) recently led a letter with 16 senators to the Trump administration urging flexibility for how state and local governments can use funds included in the Coronavirus Relief Fund. The Coronavirus Relief Fund, created in Section 601 of the recently passed CARES Act, provides each state a minimum of $1.25 billion in funding to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This injection of revenue is critical for state and local governmen… Continue Reading
04.08.20
Murkowski Welcomes EIA’s Prioritization of Storage Data
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today thanked the Department of Energy's (DOE) Energy Information Administration (EIA) for quickly prioritizing her request to publish timely data on U.S. oil storage capacity. In response to Murkowski's March 31 letter to Administrator Linda Capuano, EIA today began publishing a weekly estimate of U.S. oil storage capacity utilization as part of its Weekly Petroleum Status Report release. "The timely collection and analysis of data related to petrole… Continue Reading
04.06.20
Murkowski Supports Bipartisan, Bicameral Push for Swift, Effective Implementation of Tribal Provisions of the CARES Act
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) recently joined a letter led by U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-NM), supported by a bipartisan, bicameral group of 18 senators and 12 U.S. representatives, in writing to President Donald J. Trump requesting that federal agencies implementing the Tribal provisions of the CARES Act do so in a manner that upholds the federal trust and treaty responsibilities to Indian Tribes, respects Tribal sovereignty and provides for meaningful government-to-governme… Continue Reading
04.03.20
Alaska Delegation Applauds Federal Transit Administration CARES Act Grant
Today, the Alaska Congressional Delegation applauded funding appropriated by the CARES Act and awarded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to help Alaska prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19 through various existing urban, rural, and tribal grant programs. The state of Alaska will receive a total of $144,852,468. "Alaskans have watched as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases have increased in our state, and it is clear that an all-hands-on-deck approach that includes federal … Continue Reading
04.02.20
Murkowski: Put Out Wildland Fires Fast and Early
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt encouraging them to adopt an aggressive posture for fighting wildfires during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Currently, the federal government along with state and local governments across the country are mobilized to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. And now those same government entities, already stretched thin, are preparing to fight wildland fire in a… Continue Reading
