Lisa Murkowski in 2016 AK Senate race

On Abortion: Don't cut off all federal funds to Planned Parenthood

The Senate took another procedural vote on a bill to defund Planned Parenthood, this one linked to a stop-gap measure to fund the government. Murkowski was one of eight Republicans to vote against advancing the bill. She sided with Democrats who say cutting Planned Parenthood funds would limit access to healthcare and contraception.

Murkowski said, "I have made very, very clear to anyone who is within range of listening that I do not support shutting down the government. Period." The senator says she doesn't believe federal funds should be cut off to all of Planned Parenthood. "Those facilities in Alaska that provide for the STD testing, some of the other services, will not have those resources. And that is very troubling," she said. "The women of Alaska, and I think women around the country, need to make sure that they don't have a disruption of service."

Planned Parenthood has been under fire after videos secretly recorded by anti-abortion activists surfaced.

Source: KTOO Public Media on 2016 Alaska Senate race Sep 24, 2015

On Abortion: Don't ban all late-term abortions; exceptions needed

Murkowski explained why she missed a vote on another abortion bill, that one to ban abortion after the 20th week of pregnancy. The senator says she was in Texas, raising money for her re-election. "I had made, months and months ago, made arrangements to do a fundraising swing, and had put in place these plans at the early part of the summer," she said. Murkowski says when she made her plans, she predicted the Senate would not have any votes that day, and that turned out to be the wrong call. "I do regret not being here for the vote because that's your responsibility," she said.

The abortion ban also failed to get enough votes to pass. She disappointed anti-

Source: KTOO Public Media on 2016 Alaska Senate race Sep 24, 2015

On Government Reform: Scrutinize states with a history of voting discrimination

In a sign of just how much the Republican Party has shifted on the Voting Rights Act since the bipartisan landmark civil rights bill was passed 50 years ago, Lisa Murkowski signed on to a bill to restore the now-gutted legislation. The bill that Murkowski now cosponsors, the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015, would revitalize the VRA by forcing states with a history of voting discrimination to clear any proposed changes to their election laws or procedures with the federal government. Voting rights advocates and Democrats have demanded a fix since the Supreme Court invalidated a crucial section of the VRA in 2013 that mandated such federal scrutiny for jurisdictions across the country, including Alaska.

But such a fix has stalled in the Senate, as the chamber's Republican leadership has resisted any calls to restore the legislation. Murkowski's support is also surprising because she said in 2013 that she didn't sense much of a motivation to restore the VRA in Congress.

Source: Huffington Post coverage of 2016 Alaska Senate race Sep 10, 2015

On Government Reform: Opportunity to vote, regardless of where people live

Murkowski now supports the Voting Rights Advancement Act, but she said in 2013 that she didn't sense much of a motivation to restore the VRA in Congress: "I'm not sensing there is this drive," she told the Alaska Public Radio Network. "Right after the Supreme Court ruled on this there was a lot of discussion, a lot of talk going around, but you didn't hear this unanimous cry that we've got to go out and address legislatively."

The bill that Murkowski has signed on to would increase the number of polling sites on tribal reservations, since Alaska Natives and Native Americans are often forced to travel long distances to vote in person. The Department of Justice came out in favor of a similar proposal earlier this year.

Murkowski explained, "The Voting Rights Act of 1965 brought an end to the ugly Jim Crow period in American history. Every American [should] be given the opportunity to vote, regardless of who they are, where they live, and what their race or national origin may be," she said.

Source: Huffington Post coverage of 2016 Alaska Senate race Sep 10, 2015

On Drugs: Legalizing recreational marijuana is public health risk

In 2014, Alaska considered Ballot Measure 2, which would legalize the sale and use of marijuana for recreational purposes. Murkowski explains in this opinion piece why she plans on voting against this measure. She argues that "marijuana--like tobacco and alcohol--is big business. Like alcohol and tobacco, the costs of marijuana to public health, public safety, our youth and lost productivity are similarly high. Therefore Measure 2 is less about freedom than it is about profit at the expense of public health."

Murkowski notes that the risks include addiction, impaired cognitive functioning and impaired driving. She also stresses that "research provides some support for longstanding fears that use of marijuana may be a gateway to use of other drugs with even greater known adverse health effects. Whether the mechanism is chemical, cultural or some combination of the two is less well known, but no evidence is cited to suggest that marijuana use keeps young people away from other drugs."

Source: News-Miner OpEd by L.Murkowski for 2016 Alaska Senate race Oct 21, 2014

The above quotations are from 2016 Alaska Senate race: debates and news coverage. Click here for other excerpts from 2016 Alaska Senate race: debates and news coverage. Click here for other excerpts by Lisa Murkowski. Click here for a profile of Lisa Murkowski.
*Lisa Murkowski on other issues:*
Abortion Budget/Economy Civil Rights Corporations Crime Drugs Education Energy/Oil Environment Families Foreign Policy Free Trade	Govt. Reform Gun Control Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Jobs Principles Social Security Tax Reform Technology War/Peace Welfare
Please consider a donation to OnTheIssues.org! Click for details -- or send donations to: 1770 Mass Ave. #630, Cambridge MA 02140 E-mail: submit@OnTheIssues.org (We rely on your support!)

Page last updated: Dec 07, 2018