Sen. Lisa Murkowski, speaking before the joint session of the Alaska Legislature on Wednesday, talked at length about the billions of federal dollars she has brought home to communities in Alaska for various infrastructure projects, from Ketchikan to the deep harbor port at Nome. She made special shout-outs to mostly Democrats in the chamber, which had both House and Senate seated for her annual remarks. She acknowledged there are a lot of new faces in the Legislature, people she looked forward to getting to know.
She made special mention of Rep. Justin Ruffridge of Soldotna and Rep. Andrew Gray of Anchorage for forming a “freshman caucus” that she described as “bipartisan.” It’s unclear how many freshman are actual members of the caucus, but it’s open to the 17 new House members, and it’s led by Ruffridge and Gray.
In her 55 minutes at the podium, she also made special mention of Sen. Bert Stedman, Sen. Donny Olson, Sen. Jessie Kiehl, Sen. Lyman HOffman, Rep. Daniel Ortiz, Rep. Louise Stutes, Rep. Brice Edgmon, and Rep. Josiah Patkotak.
She praised Congresswoman Mary Peltola for “carrying on the legacy” of the late Congressman Don Young.
Without acknowledging that she helped create the Biden Administration, she talked about how difficult the Democrat in the White House has been for Alaska, and how Biden has shaken the economic stability of the 49th state. Her talk took a cautionary tone when she hinted that she is very uncertain how the Biden Administration will rule on the Willow Project, which has gone through numerous hoops, both regulatory and in court, and is finally back for another decision.
Under the former administration of Republican Donald Trump, that decision would probably have gone in favor of the ConocoPhillips project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. But once it was bounced from court back to the White House, it’s unclear if Biden will approve the oil project that would bring thousands of jobs and revitalize the economy of Alaska.
Murkowski expressed concern that it may be nixed. If so, she said, it’s all about politics.
Murkowski didn’t talk about abortion-for-all bill bill she has co-sponsored. She boosted the Alaska Marine Highway System and asked the Legislature to provide the matching dollars to the federal dollars she has brought to Alaska.
Murkowski spoke confidently and authoritatively, but also showed concern that Alaska has slipped to the bottom of the states in most important measures — education, economy, and the ability to recover from the Covid pandemic economy. She said the outmigration that has occurred in Alaska since 2015 concerns her.
Alaska’s longest-serving senator, in the Senate since 2002, said there is no reason Alaska should be 49th in anything, except Statehood.
