Cleaner and More Affordable Energy

As a leading voice on energy, Murkowski continues to provide crucial support to advance Alaska projects and make our state’s energy cleaner and more affordable. In this package she provided support for tidal energy projects, secured funding for critical mineral activities, and provided for the Arctic Energy Office to support projects in rural communities and throughout the Arctic.

Between this appropriations bill and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Murkowski has provided tens of millions in funding for small modular and microreactors, which will begin deployment over the next several years.

Murkowski also secured the following CDS requests to support energy projects across Alaska:

• Kenai Peninsula Borough: $2.74 million for the Kenai Peninsula Borough to collect methane gas while increasing energy efficiency and analyze the feasibility of the technology in small communities.
• Metlakatla: $166,000 for the Metlakatla Indian Community for a study to evaluate and mitigate impacts from rising sea levels on hydropower systems at Purple Lake.
• Sitka: $514,000 for the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association to research and identify decarbonization and clean energy transition options for vessel owners and shoreside businesses.
• Kotzebue: $3 million for the Kotzebue Electric Association to deploy energy storage for resiliency and enable grid formation in an isolated microgrid.  

• Ahtna Region: $998,000 for the Ahtna Intertribal Resource Commission for a project that will identify and prioritize critical minerals on abandoned mines and material sites conveyed to Ahtna as an operation of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

Strengthening Alaska Fisheries and Oceans Research

Alaska’s oceans and fisheries are the heartbeat of communities across the state—and that’s why Murkowski worked hard to include provisions throughout the appropriations package that will strengthen our blue economy, support coastal communities, promote electronic monitoring development and installation, and enhance research abilities to create healthier fisheries.

Murkowski helped secure more than $205 million for Fisheries Data Collections, Surveys, and Assessments; $44 million for Regional Fishery Management Councils and Fisheries Commissions; and $65 million for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund. 

She also secured the following CDS requests to strengthen Alaska’s fisheries and oceans research abilities:

• Statewide: $4 million for the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation to conduct research on Bristol Bay red king crab enhancement, including optimum rearing conditions, habitat, growth, and survival through rearing stages and post release.
• Statewide: $2.01 million for the Marine Exchange of Alaska to create a user guide to keep ships sailing safely in the Arctic.
• Statewide: $1.2 million for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to fund coastal marine surveys that support sustainable salmon management in the northern Bering Sea, southern Bering Sea, and western Gulf of Alaska.
• Statewide: $2.5 million for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to better equip their research vessels with necessary technology and upgrades.
• Statewide: $4 million for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to fund juvenile Pacific salmon research.
• Statewide: $2 million for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for research and equipment related to Alaska critical salmon stocks.
• Statewide: $520,000 for the Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association to train Fisheries Technicians to further develop their capabilities in salmon research, project implementation, and administration.
• North Slope Borough: $1.5 million to support the North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management in estimating the abundance of the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort stock of bowhead whales.
• Statewide: $2.8 million for the University of Alaska System to research the impacts of environmental stressors on freshwater and marine aquatic life in Alaska.
• Anchorage:  $110,000 for the University of Alaska System to research alternative methods of energy consumption reduction in kelp and seaweed drying processes.
• Annette Islands Reserve: $403,000 for the Metlakatla Indian Community for fish hatchery improvements.
• Annette Islands Reserve: $1 million for the Metlakatla Indian Community to monitor, survey, and trap European green crab in Southeast Alaska.
• Statewide: $1.07 million for the Inuit Circumpolar Council-Alaska to strengthen Alaskan Inuit engagement and ensure Indigenous Knowledge inclusion in the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement.
• Statewide: $1.7 million to the Ocean Conservancy to support a pilot program for backhaul of marine debris from multiple remote coastal communities in Alaska, likely including Dutch Harbor, St. George, St. Paul, Port Heiden, Nome, and Yakutat.
• Anchorage: $239,000 for the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) to research the relationship between rock glaciers and downstream water quality through an interdisciplinary comparative field program.

Fighting Illegal Drug Use

As illegal drugs devastate families and communities throughout Alaska, Murkowski continues to fight for drug prevention efforts and support for those impacted by this terrible scourge. In addition to the recently enacted FEND Off Fentanyl Act, she has supported the Community Based Coalition Enhancement Grant Program, which will encourage community-led coalitions to raise awareness of fentanyl and prevent drug overdose deaths caused by the drug. 

• Statewide: Murkowski continues to support the Drug Free Communities program and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program. 
• Statewide: Murkowski has pushed to ensure that medication assisted treatment is available and accessible to individuals with substance use disorder (SUD). The bill includes language to permanently require state Medicaid plans to cover medication-assisted treatment, and to allow treatment of SUD at institutions

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