Lisa Murkowski
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Lisa Ann Murkowski (born May 22, 1957) is an American politician. She is currently the junior United States Senator from Alaska. She is the first U.S. Senator who was born in Alaska.
She was elected to a full six-year term against former Governor Tony Knowles in the 2004 election, after facing a primary challenge due to charges of nepotism. It is likely that the circumstances of her appointment reduced her margin of victory, but they were apparently insufficient to overcome the Republican majority of Alaska. Near the end of the campaign, senior senator Ted Stevens shot campaign ads for Murkowski and warned the public that if a Democrat replaced Murkowski they were likely to receive fewer federal dollars.
Senator Murkowski is a member of The Republican Main Street Partnership and supports stem cell research. She is also a member of The Republican Majority For Choice, Republicans For Choice and The Wish List (Women in the Senate and House) a group of Pro-Choice women Republicans.
Early Life and Career
Born in Ketchikan, Alaska to Polish-American parents: Nancy Murkowski and Frank Murkowski. As a child, she and her family moved all over the state due to her father's job. Lisa earned a B.A. in economics from Georgetown University in 1980, and a J.D. from Willamette University College of Law in 1985.She became a member of the Alaska Bar Association in 1987. She was an attorney in Anchorage, Alaska from 1985 to 1998. She also served, from 1990 to 1991, on the mayor's task force on the homeless.
In 1998, she was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives and had been elected the House Majority Leader for the 2003-2004 session. Murkowski sat on the Alaska Commission on Post Secondary Education and chaired both the Labor and Commerce and the Military and Veterans Affairs Committees. In 1999 she introduced legislation establishing a Joint Armed Services Committee, She resigned from the House in December 2002, when she was appointed by her father, Governor Frank Murkowski, to his own unexpired senate seat because he had been elected governor.
U.S. Senate
She was elected to a full six-year term against former Governor Tony Knowles in the 2004 election, after facing a primary challenge due to charges of nepotism. It is likely that the circumstances of her appointment reduced her margin of victory, but they were apparently insufficient to overcome the Republican majority of Alaska. Near the end of the campaign, senior senator Ted Stevens shot campaign ads for Murkowski and warned the public that if a Democrat replaced Murkowski they were likely to receive fewer federal dollars.She is the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on on Water and Power and the Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs. She is a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, The Committee on Environment and Public Works, The Committee on Indian Affairs, and the Committee on Foreign Relations
Policy & Issues
Murkowski is known to be fairly moderate, and is one of ten Republican Senators who have refused to commit to Bill Frist's nuclear option to end judicial filibusters. Even though her voting record on abortion is mixed, Murkowski is one of a number of pro-choice Senate Republicans. She supports oil exploration in ANWR, whereas some other moderate Republicans do not. She has claimed that recent technological developments have reduced the environmental risks of drilling in ANWR.She supports Heath Care reforms, largely because Heath care costs for Alaskans is up to 70% higher than costs in the Continental United States. She supports the H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, This bill would permit the Secretary of Health and Human Services to support research that utilizes human embryonic stem cells. She also supports the Fetus Farming Prohibition Act of 2006, would prohibit fetuses from being grown for research purposes.
Family
Murkowski married Verne Martell. She has two children, Nic and Matt. She is a Roman Catholic.Electoral history
- 2004 Race for U.S. Senate
- *Lisa Murkowski (R) (inc.), 49%
- *Tony Knowles (D), 46%
External links
- [Official Senate Web Site]
- [Official Campaign Web Site]
- [Lisa Murkowski on the issues]
- [record maintained by the Washington Post]
- redirect
| Alaska Congressional Delegation currently serving in the United States Congress | |
|---|---|
| Senators : | Ted Stevens (R), Lisa Murkowski (R) |
| Representative(s) : | Don Young (R) |
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