Liz Ruskin, Alaska Public Media
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
Alaska senators vote in favor of highway bill
Congress has averted a crisis in U.S. Highway funding. The Senate passed a House bill on Thursday to keep the highway program afloat until at least Halloween.
Tale of 2 Murkowski Bills: Bipartisan and Not
Sen. Lisa Murkowski passed two major bills out of the Senate Energy Committee today, each containing priorities she’s been working on since she became the panel's chairman. One passed on a strict party-line vote while the other passed overwhelmingly, but each bill reflects elements of the senator’s legislative style.
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Alaska Senators No Fans of Iran Deal
The Obama administration faced a tough crowd this morning as it defended its nuclear agreement with Iran in Congress. Both of Alaska’s senators are among the chorus of lawmakers who say the deal is bad for the U.S.
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Murkowski Fends Off Thorny Add-Ons to Energy Bill
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s big energy policy bill, if it passes, would be the first since 2007. Several national energy bills have washed up on the rocks since then. Murkowski’s strategy is to keep controversies out of the package, and it was tested at a Senate Energy Committee meeting this morning.
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VA Secretary to Visit 49th State
Alaska can expect another high-level Washington visitor next month. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Robert McDonald, plans to come to the state for several days starting Aug. 11.
Young Votes Yes, Meant No, on Bill Gutting GMO Labeling Laws
The U.S. House today passed a bill to gut state labeling laws for GMO foods. Alaska Congressman Don Young voted for the bill, which he says he did by mistake.
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2nd Murkowski Energy Bill Has Controversies Lacking in 1st
Yesterday Sen. Lisa Murkowski introduced an energy bill that steered clear of hot-button issues to ensure Democratic support. Today, the Alaska Republican sponsored a separate energy bill of just hot buttons.
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Murkowski Energy Bill Avoids Hot Buttons
Sen. Lisa Murkowski today released a national energy policy bill. It’s been one of her highest priorities as chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, and she produced the bill jointly with the top Democrat on the committee, Maria Cantwell of Washington. Murkowski says it required compromise; the bill doesn’t include some of the big items on Murkowski’s energy agenda.
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Saxman: Call us ‘Rural’
The Southeast village of Saxman took its fight to be designated a “rural” community to Congress today. Saxman Village President Lee Wallace told a House subcommittee he was devastated in 2007, when he watched the Federal Subsistence Board decide Saxman was “non-rural.”
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Murkowski balks at funding source in highway bill
The deadline for renewing the nation’s highway programs is nine days away. Leaders in the Senate this week negotiated a bill that would fund highways for the next six years. But it would require selling off $9 billion of crude oil that’s stashed in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
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General Says Decision on JBER Cuts Not Final Without Arctic Plan
The general nominated to be the Army’s Chief of Staff suggested this morning that the plan to cut 2,600 Alaska soldiers isn’t final yet. But it’s hard to say whether the Army really plans to reconsider, or whether the general merely agreed to follow a procedure to ultimately reach a pre-determined end.
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Senate Ed Bill Bolsters Role of Alaska Tribes
An education bill the U.S. Senate passed last week includes several provisions that boost the role of Alaska Native tribes, and a new grant program for Native language immersion programs.
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Shell Rigs Leave Dutch for Chukchi, To Wait
Shell is still moving its drill rigs into the Arctic, even as one of its icebreakers prepares to head back south for repairs. The unexpected crack in the hull of the Fennica has added uncertainty to the start of the short Arctic drilling season.
It’s Official: Obama to Visit Anchorage Aug. 31
The White House announced today that President Obama will visit Alaska at the end of next month. On Aug. 31 Obama will visit Anchorage to address a State Department conference focused on climate change that is expected to draw foreign ministers from Arctic and non-Arctic countries.
Ohio newspaper endorses Mt. McKinley name change
The longstanding Alaskan campaign to restore the name "Denali" to Mount McKinley got an unlikely endorsement today.
Short $1B, Icebreaker Advocates Consider Leasing, Sharing
Nothing illustrates American disinterest in the Arctic as much as its tiny inventory of icebreakers. Alaska leaders, among others, say the country can’t assert its national interests, or see the economic benefits of a melting Arctic, without more icebreakers. But some now ask, why buy when you can lease?
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Coast Guard Gears Up for Shell’s Chukchi Season
Coast Guard Commandant Paul Zukunft says if Shell is allowed to drill in the Chukchi Sea this summer, the Coast Guard will be there with five ships and two aircraft. But, the admiral says, nothing about the Arctic is easy.
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49 Voices: Michelle Sparck of New Jersey
This week for 49 Voices, we’re going far afield, to hear from an Alaskan living in …New Jersey! Michelle Sparck grew up in Bethel, one of a set of triplets born to Lucy Sparck, of Chevak, and the late Harold Sparck, who moved from Baltimore to Bethel in the ‘60s.
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Governor, Delegation Rally to Stymie JBER Cuts
The reduction of 2,600 soldiers from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson isn’t expected to begin for more than a year. Alaska officials hope that gives enough time to stop it, or at least mitigate the loss. Gov. Bill Walker Thursday pledged a campaign to retain Alaska’s military forces and attract new ones.
First Lady Wows Crowd at Native Youth Confab
About 30 Alaskans in their teens and 20s were in Washington, D.C. today to participate in the first-ever White House Tribal Youth Gathering. The highlight for many was a passionate speech by First Lady Michelle Obama.
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