Cantwell-Requested GAO Audit Finds That Coal Mining Gets a Deal Unfair to Taxpayers

Washington, D.C. – Today, Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) confirmed that the coal mining industry in the United States is the only onshore industry with the ability to demonstrate financial assurance through self-bonds, which harms taxpayers and communities affected by mining. The findings are part of a […]

Cantwell: We Must Shrink the Skills Gap By Investing in Energy Workforce Training Programs

Read DOE’s jobs report here.  Washington, D.C. – Today, Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) applauded the U.S. Department of Energy’s new report on national energy employment and urged support of energy workforce training programs. “This report reinforces findings from the Quadrennial Energy Review—we don’t have enough trained […]

Delegation Introduces Bill to Accelerate AMHT Land Exchange

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, and U.S. Rep. Don Young, all R-Alaska, today introduced companion bills to accelerate an equal value land exchange between the Alaska Mental Health Trust (Trust) and the U.S. Forest Service. The legislation, which nearly passed last Congress, protects important community viewsheds, local trails, and other conservation values […]

Murkowski, Enzi: New Report Suggests Improvements to Management of NPS Maintenance Backlog

U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., today welcomed the release of a report they requested from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) examining the National Park Service’s (NPS) deferred maintenance backlog. The report outlines the amount and composition of deferred maintenance reported within the NPS, the methodology the agency uses to determine maintenance […]

Cantwell: The Incoming Administration Shouldn’t Drop the Ball and Shortchange Taxpayers

Washington, D.C. – Today, Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) made the following statement on the Interior Department’s coal reform roadmap: “The Department of the Interior’s roadmap is another important step in making sure taxpayers aren’t shortchanged by coal companies that mine on federal lands. It’s the Interior […]

Murkowski, Sullivan Keep Up the Fight for King Cove Road

U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, both R-Alaska, today introduced legislation to authorize a short, one-lane, gravel, non-commercial road for the isolated community of King Cove, Alaska. The road is needed to link King Cove to the all-weather airport in nearby Cold Bay and will provide local residents with reliable access to emergency medical […]

Washington Congressional Delegation Urges President-Elect Trump to Prioritize Hanford Cleanup, Worker Health, Tri-Cities’ Safety

Washington, D.C.  – Today, U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Representatives Dan Newhouse (Wash.-04), Adam Smith (Wash.-09), Rick Larsen (Wash.-02), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.-05), Dave Reichert (Wash.-08), Jaime Herrera Beutler (Wash.-03), Suzan DelBene (Wash.-01), Denny Heck (Wash.-10), Derek Kilmer (Wash.-06), and Pramila Jayapal (Wash.-07) wrote President-Elect Donald Trump to urge him […]

Murkowski Slams BLM’s Final Plan for Eastern Interior Alaska

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today sharply criticized the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Regional Management Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement (RMP/EIS) for the Eastern Interior Planning Area of Alaska.  “Once again, it is clear that the Obama administration is trying to ram through as many plans, regulations, and policies at the eleventh hour as possible,” […]