WASHINGTON, May 19 -- Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto's (D-Nev.) bipartisan effort to crack down on xylazine continues to pick up support from across the country, with 39 attorneys general from both parties calling for Congress to pass her Combating Illicit Xylazine Act. In a new letter, attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florid  more

WASHINGTON, May 19 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12006) on Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on May 17, 2023, by natural resources policy specialist Laura B. Comay. Here are excerpts: * * * Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Status of Oil and Gas Program The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR or the Refuge) comprises 19 million acres in northeast Alaska, administered primarily by the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in the Department of  more

WASHINGTON, May 14 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R44692) on May 10, 2023, entitled "Five-Year Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing Program: Status and Issues in Brief" by natural resources policy specialist Laura B. Comay. Here are excerpts: * * * Contents Leasing Program Status ... 1 Selected Issues for Congress ... 4 Timing Considerations for the Five-Year Program ... 4 Potential for Zero-Lease Program ... 5 Regional Leasing Decisions ... 6 Gulf o  more

WASHINGTON, May 16 -- Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, issued the following news release on May 15, 2023: U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), founding members of the Senate Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) Caucus, reintroduced the Justice for ALS Veterans Act alongside Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.). This bipartisan measure would guarantee that surviving spouses of veterans receive all benefits due to them. This bill was previously i  more

WASHINGTON, May 20 -- Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, issued the following news release on May 19, 2023: U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, (both R-Alaska), and Representative Mary Sattler Peltola (D-Alaska) welcomed allocations of nearly $216 million in fishery disaster funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce. In December, the Secretary of Commerce announced that a number of Alaska's crab and salmon fisheries met the requirements for disaster determinations in the past few year  more

WASHINGTON, May 20 -- Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) introduced the RTCP Revitalization Act, legislation to secure additional funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Reimbursement Transportation Cost Payment (RTCP) Program. The program enables geographically disadvantaged farmers and ranchers in Hawaii, Alaska, and other insular areas to receive reimbursements for costs incurred when t  more

WASHINGTON, May 18 -- Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, issued the following news release on May 17, 2023: In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), joined advocates from Alaska and across the U.S. in welcoming the news that her amendment, the Safe Step Act of 2023, was reported favorably out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee - of which Senator Murkowski serves as a Senior Member. The Safe Step Act, which was included by amendment into the Pharm  more

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey, May 20 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on May 19, 2023: U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) reintroduced bipartisan legislation today to support the use of technology to help close the gap in maternal health care and address the racial and ethnic disparities in maternal mortality outcomes. The Tech to Save Moms Act invests in and promotes the integration and development of telehealth and other digital  more

WASHINGTON, May 20 -- Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, issued the following news release on May 19, 2023: On the eve of the G-7 Summit in Japan, U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) yesterday introduced the Indo-Pacific Strategic Energy Initiative Act, legislation to promote the financing and development of new energy infrastructure projects in the Indo-Pacific region--with a focus on natural gas--in order to end U.S. allies' dependance on Russian natural gas in the wake  more

WASHINGTON, May 18 -- Rep. Mary Sattler Peltola, D-Alaska, issued the following news release on May 17, 2023: Representative Peltola confirmed today that she will support a discharge petition to raise the nation's debt ceiling, alongside continued negotiations between the House Majority, Senate Majority, and White House. The Representative is currently in Alaska attending to funeral arrangements for her mother, who passed on Friday. "Americans understand that we cannot afford to default on our  more

WASHINGTON, May 18 -- Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) reintroduced the Justice for ALS Veterans Act. This bipartisan legislation would guarantee that surviving spouses of veterans who died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) receive the benefits they have earned. "Our men and women in uniform have made incredible sacrifices so that we can  more

WASHINGTON, May 18 -- Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, issued the following news release and letter on May 17, 2023: U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and eight other senators sent a letter today to Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell cautioning the Fed to stop engaging in climate activism far outside of its statutory authority, and to instead return to addressing the pressing issues facing the American people, such as record inflation and the recent regional banking collapse that sparked   more

WASHINGTON, May 18 -- Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, issued the following news release and letter on May 17, 2023: U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) sent a letter today to the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler criticizing the SEC for implementing political and burdensome climate disclosure rules that increase costs on the American people and distract the SEC from addressing serious threats to American investors, such as the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) increa  more

WASHINGTON, May 18 -- Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, issued the following news release on May 17, 2023: U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) released the following statement ahead of the First Lady of the United States Jill Biden and Secretary of the Department of the Interior (DOI) Deb Haaland's scheduled visit to Alaska: "While I'm pleased to see Biden administration officials visiting Bethel and our rural communities to promote federal broadband investments authorized by Congress, I hope the   more

WASHINGTON, May 20 -- Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, issued the following news release on May 19, 2023: U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), today released the following statement responding to reports that President Joe Biden has approved a plan to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets and for U.S. allies to provide the fourth-generation fighters, signaling a clear reversal from the Biden administration's year-long rejection of the a  more