Senator Murkowski Attends Homer's "First Annual Senator Lisa Murkowski is Coming to Town" Luncheon
Senator Murkowski addressing audience gathered for the Homer Chamber of Commerce Luncheon. Image-Alaska Native News
Alaska's senior Senator, Lisa Murkowski made a stop in Homer on Wednesday.
Senator Murkowski started her day in the community by spending an hour in the morning on KBBI's Coffee Table program, then swinging over to the Seldovia Village Tribe's Health Center to tour the new Wellness Center that recently opened.
After her tour, Senator Murkowski made her way to the Best Western Inn to the Homer Chamber of Commerce luncheon where Murkowski gave the audience assembled there a congressional update, she spoke on Alaskan, as well as national issues.
The Senator spoke and answered questions for about 45 minutes at the luncheon. She touched base on a few local issues as well as state-wide ones such as the halibut regulations that are currently in place.
Murkowski stressed "the necessity of understanding the declining growth rates as well as a refinement of management program that will maintain a sustainable halibut fisheries." She pointed out that the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council was actively reviewing halibut by-catch levels in the Gulf Groundfish fisheries, while the National Marine Fisheries Service was drafting regulations to implement council recommendations to restructure the groundfish observer program.
With that Senator Murkowski moved on to issues of national consequence. She related to the poeple gathered at the Best Western how that many times she asks students when discussing the deficit in spending in Washington, "Do you have $48,000 in your pocket?" and that her question is met with quizzical looks. But, she explains that that amount is what would need to be paid by each and every individual regardless of age to bring the United States out of its current deficit.
She spoke of how spending on Medicare and other mandatory programs were squeezing out discretionary spending, saying, "Long term sustainability of Medicare and other mandatory spending programs are projected to comsume 58% of all Federal spending by the year 2021" She added, "2021 is not too many years away."
