04.27.22

Murkowski Applauds New $14.9 Million FCC Commitment in Emergency Connectivity Funding to Lower Yukon School District

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski issued the following statement on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announcement of its 13th wave of Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) program support, which includes $14,947,328 available for the Lower Yukon School District (LYSD) for the upcoming school year. The funding for equipment and services aims to close the homework gap by supporting affordable broadband and connectivity efforts in the school district. "I am thrilled for the kids of the Lower Yuko… Continue Reading

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10.18.21

Murkowski, Reed, Braun Introduce Bills to Address Student Loans

U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Mike Braun (R-IN) have introduced two bills to address the rising cost of post-secondary education: the State-Based Education Loan Awareness Act and the Student Loan Repayment Freedom Act. The State-Based Education Loan Awareness Act would eliminate deterrents and penalties that prevent universities from informing students about student loans offered by non-profit, state agency lenders whose mission is to make college affordable and acc… Continue Reading

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04.15.21

Alaska Delegation Introduces Legislation to Provide Long Term Fiscal Stability for University of Alaska

U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski, Dan Sullivan, and Rep. Don Young, all R-Alaska, introduced, in both the Senate and House of Representatives, the University of Alaska Fiscal Foundation Act. The legislation fulfills the University of Alaska's promise as a land grant university with sufficient lands to generate revenues that help support its students and operations. The University of Alaska (UA) currently has one of the smallest land endowments-just 110,000 acres-of any applicable institution of high… Continue Reading

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12.28.20

Year-End Omnibus Appropriations Package Signed Into Law

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) applauded a year-end omnibus bill being signed into law, which includes a 12-bill appropriations package to fund the government through the end of Fiscal Year 2021, including Senator Murkowski's Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill. This historic funding package also provides nearly $900 billion for COVID-19 relief; Senator Murkowski's bipartisan, bicameral Energy Act of 2020; a bipartisan compromise to address the issue of Surprise M… Continue Reading

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12.22.20

Murkowski Applauds Senate Passage of Interior Appropriations Bill

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) applauded Senate passage of an Appropriations Package for Fiscal Year 2021, which included the Interior-Environment Appropriations bill. As chairman of the Interior Subcommittee, Murkowski crafted a bill which invests in health and wellness, reduces regulatory burdens, increases economic opportunity, improves Alaskans' abilities to respond to natural disasters, support for the arts and humanities, and more. "Building on my long-standing efforts to address issu… Continue Reading

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11.18.20

Murkowski Highlights Need for University Land Grant, ANCSA Fulfillment Act at Legislative Hearing

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today highlighted two bills important to Alaska at an Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining (PLFM) legislative hearing. Murkowski spoke about the need to provide long-term fiscal stability for the University of Alaska (University) and to resolve a set of outstanding issues from the almost 50-year-old Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA). Murkowski's first bill, S. 4696, the University of Alaska Fiscal F… Continue Reading

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09.30.20

Duckworth, Murkowski Urge Senate Leadership to Include Head Start Funding in a Future COVID Relief Package

U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) sent a bipartisan letter to Senate leadership requesting that any future COVID-19 relief package include emergency funding for Head Start programs that have experienced an uptick in operational costs due to expanded programming and services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Head Start programs deliver high-quality, evidence-based education and comprehensive services to children across the country. During this public health crisis, the or… Continue Reading

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09.18.20

Murkowski Joins Colleagues in Examining Ways to Simplify the FAFSA

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) took part in a Senate HELP Committee hearing focused on fixing the burdensome and complicated Federal Student Aid Application (FAFSA), which students utilize to apply for federal student financial aid to help pay for college. The hearing explored legislative solutions to simplify and shorten the FAFSA, including making it easier for low-income families to qualify for federal Pell Grants. "We must do a better job of not only communicating to high school student… Continue Reading

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06.17.20

Bipartisan Group of Senators Introduce Keeping Women and Girls Safe from the Start Authorization Act of 2020

U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) were joined today by four of their Senate colleagues in introducing the Keeping Women and Girls Safe from the Start Authorization Act of 2020. Against the backdrop of the largest refugee crisis in recorded history, the new bipartisan legislation seeks to bolster current United States' and international efforts to address gender-based violence during humani… Continue Reading

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06.05.20

Murkowski Addresses Need for Student Relief During Senate HELP Committee Hearing

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) took part in a Senate HELP Committee hearing titled COVID-19: Going Back to College Safely. The hearing focused on how institutions of higher education are preparing for students, faculty, and staff to return to campus this fall. Those efforts include implementing testing and contact tracing, restructuring classroom and dormitory spaces, providing appropriate personal protection equipment, and protecting those with increased medical risk. The hearing included… Continue Reading

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05.20.20

Gillibrand, Murkowski Urge Congress To Prioritize Impact Aid Funding In Next Coronavirus Relief Package

U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) led a bipartisan group of senators urging Congress to prioritize Impact Aid funding for federally impacted schools in the next coronavirus relief package. Federally impacted school districts educate some of the most vulnerable student populations - including Native American and military connected children and children living in federal low-rent housing - and rely on Impact Aid for resources. As these school districts struggle to r… Continue Reading

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05.19.20

Senators Urge Congressional Leaders to Support Vulnerable Students Amid Coronavirus Crisis

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) recently joined Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Jon Tester (D-MT), in leading a bipartisan group of 40 senators, pressing congressional leadership to include in the upcoming coronavirus relief package significant funding for the Federal TRIO Programs (TRIO), which are integral to supporting vulnerable students and their families that have been impacted by the virus. The senators' letter comes as the economic fallout of the coronavirus c… Continue Reading

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04.01.20

Murkowski: Alaska Communities to Receive $8.8 Million through Secure Rural Schools Program

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today announced that $8.8 million will be distributed to Alaska communities located near or in national forests. The money, which Murkowski secured in the fiscal year 2020 budget process, will fund schools and local budget priorities. "As we navigate the uncharted territory wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, these payments will provide a measure of certainty for communities as they budget for schools, emergency response, and other essential services," Murko… Continue Reading

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02.14.20

U.S. Senators Tina Smith & Lisa Murkowski Press Secretary DeVos for Answers About Undercounting American Indian and Alaska Native Students

U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) pressed Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to stop undercounting the number of American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) students in America's schools. Inaccurately identifying students leads to an incomplete picture of whether or not a school is adequately meeting students' educational needs. Sens. Smith and Murkowski-both members of the Senate Indian Affairs and Education Committees-said that the Department of Education's guidance a… Continue Reading

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02.14.20

Murkowski, Smith Introduce Bill to Protect Children from Human Trafficking

According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), every two minutes a child is being victimized for sexual exploitation. U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Tina Smith (D-MN) introduced the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Prevention Training Act of 2020, which would prevent the human trafficking and exploitation of children by providing grants critical for training students, parents, teachers, and school personnel to understand, recognize, prevent, and respond to signs of human tr… Continue Reading

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01.31.20

House Companion of Shaheen, Murkowski Bipartisan Bill to Improve Girls’ Access to School Worldwide Clears House of Representatives

U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) applauded the passage of the House companion legislation to their bipartisan bill - the Keeping Girls in School Act - which cleared the House of Representatives this afternoon. The bipartisan legislation would help address unique barriers adolescent girls in developing countries face in accessing an education. Representative Lois Frankel (FL-21) led the effort in the House of Representatives with Representatives Susan Brooks (IN-05) a… Continue Reading

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12.18.19

Senators Work to Address Student Loans

As the cost of a college degree continues to increase, U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Mike Braun (R-IN) introduced the State-Based Education Loan Awareness Act. The legislation would eliminate disincentives and penalties that prevent universities from informing students about low-cost student loans offered by non-profit, state agency lenders whose mission is to make college affordable and accessible. Click here for more information on the State-Based Education Loan Aw… Continue Reading

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12.18.19

Alaska Delegation Locks In Two More Years of Secure Rural Schools

U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, Dan Sullivan, and Rep. Don Young, all R-Alaska, today issued the following statements after successfully including a two-year extension of the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program in the final Appropriations measures for Fiscal Year 2020. All three delegation members are strong proponents of the program, which many Alaska communities are forced to rely on due to declining timber receipts from surrounding federal lands. "From the Kenai Peninsula to Yakutat to Wrangell, t… Continue Reading

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07.18.19

Van Hollen, Murkowski, Foster Introduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill to Create National Fab Lab Network

U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and U.S. Representative Bill Foster (D-Ill.) recently introduced the National Fab Lab Network Act, legislation to expand Fab Labs across the country. These facilities are equipped with digitally-controlled tools that enable individuals to create and innovate new products. These tools range from laser cutters, to 3D printers, to automated knives - and training is also provided. To encourage the growth and expansion of new and cu… Continue Reading

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07.02.19

Murkowski, Schatz Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Expand Impact of the ANSEP Program

Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) have introduced the Building Indigenous STEM Professionals Act. This legislation will reauthorize and amend a grant designed to help create or expand programs that produce Native Alaskan and Native Hawaiian graduates in science, technology, engineering, and math fields (STEM). Inspired by the nationally-recognized Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP), which grows STEM professionals from elementary school through coll… Continue Reading