01.16.25

Murkowski: Interior Must be a Partner, Not a Landlord

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), former Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee (ENR), today expressed her support for former Governor Doug Burgum to lead the Department of the Interior (DOI) in the incoming Trump administration. During an ENR hearing to consider his nomination, Murkowski and Burgum discussed Alaska’s vast energy and mineral potential and the need for the Department to dramatically improve its approach in the state.  

“I don’t want the Department of the Interior to be a landlord—I want them to be a partner,” Senator Murkowski said. “Hearing the Governor say that he views Alaska as ‘one of the biggest assets this country has’ is a breath of fresh air after the last four years. I look forward to working with Governor Burgum to unleash the energy and resource opportunities that Alaska possesses.”

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Senator Murkowski engages with Secretary of Interior nominee Doug Burgum in Energy & Natural Resources Committee Hearing on January 16, 2025.

The full transcript of Murkowski’s comments is below.

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Murkowski: Governor, it’s good to see you, and it’s good to have these robust conversations. As you and I discussed, part of our challenge in Alaska is not lack of resources, whether it is oil or gas, coal… whether it’s our renewables, with everything from wind, geothermal, even solar, tidal power, we’ve got it all.

But our big challenge, as you know, is access, and it’s been noted that there are several states that the Department of the Interior has probably a disproportionate impact on. It doesn’t do my heart any good to oftentimes refer to the Secretary of the Interior as Alaska’s landlord, but we pretty much have to go to Interior to ask for permission to do anything, and this is regardless of what our statehood compact says, regardless of what ANILCA, ANCSA, the laws that have a direct impact on us say.

It’s good to be able to have a conversation with you as the nominee for the Department of the Interior, and knowing that you have the scope of knowledge and experience that you bring to these issues. I love the fact that you’re talking about America’s balance sheet, including assets that we have, such as lands and minerals. Part of the challenge that we have in Alaska is that oftentimes when we talk about our nation’s inventory of assets, we’re not on the map. We’re not included in the surveys. And we’re told, well, it’s going to be hard to assess that. Well, yes, but look at it from the business perspective. Just because it’s hard to assess your assets, you think you’re going to keep them off of that ledger, off that balance sheet?

So, as we’re talking about these, recognize that we not only have what we know we have, we probably have three and four and five and 10 times more. We just need to be able to do that assessment. So, [we are] looking forward to that kind of engagement with you.

We have a lot of work to do with the Department of the Interior. You and I have had a chance to go over many of these issues. But again, so much of it is about access, and the first question that I’m going to ask, or the first commitment that I’m going to ask of you is one that I can guarantee that nobody around this panel has mentioned, and this has to do with polar bears.

The Biden administration has done a lot of things that most Alaskans don’t appreciate. And last week, we added another thing to the list: we learned Interior is not going to finish its revised incidental take regulations, these ITRs, for North Slope activities, and it’s going to leave this very routine renewal of current letters of authorization as unfinished business. Well, when you leave those authorizations as unfinished business, it means that the business of what is going on in the North Slope is put on pause, put on hold. I need your commitment that you’ll work with Alaskans, particularly the Inupiat people up there, the North Slope Borough up there, on basically all things polar bear.

Burgum: I'll be happy to do that. And as you know, better than anyone Senator, I think close to half of the land and subsurface and offshore that Interior controls is in Alaska. So, you may view as a landlord, but I would view Alaska as the one of the biggest assets this country has, and one of the biggest responsibilities of Interior, and I look forward to working with you.

Murkowski: That is exactly what I was hoping you would say, recognizing the significance there. And I don’t want the Department of the Interior to be a landlord. I want you to be a partner. I want you to be a partner with us as we determine how we achieve the balance that we talk about in this committee, because we are just as proud of our outdoor activities (that) you have had an opportunity (to experience) firsthand. I love your story about the time that you spent in Alaska. We, of course, welcome you back anytime, all the time.

We’ve been able to access our resources, whether it’s timber or whether it’s oil and still provide for a place that most would say “this is where I want to go before I die,” type of location. So, I think we’re doing something right there.

I need to alert you, as well as my colleagues: when we talk about the abundance, we have it in Alaska. But when you can’t access it, we are now in a situation in my state, where in the Southcentral portion, where pretty much 75-80% of the people actually are living in this region where the natural gas that we have been relying on out of Cook Inlet, is dwindling in its supply. We are talking, as we speak, about building an import terminal to import liquefied natural gas from Canada to keep the lights on and to keep homes warm in Alaska, where we have unquantifiable reserves of natural gas, we just need to figure out how we’re going to be able to commercialize this.

We need the help to unleash the opportunities that we have to not only allow Alaska to have that energy independence that we so rightfully should have, but also to be able to help not only our country, but our friends and allies. We’ve had plenty of time to talk about it. My time has expired…. So good to be able to welcome you here. You didn’t have to answer any of that, but I just need you to come back to Alaska soon.