Source: United States Senator for Alaska Lisa Murkowski
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) issued the following statement after the Appropriations Committee posted the remaining nine Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations bills, including the Interior-Environment appropriations bill of which Senator Murkowski serves as the Ranking Member:
“The Appropriations bills posted earlier this week are a mixture of the good, the bad, and the ugly. On the good side, I am pleased that we were successful in including so many priorities from Alaskans for local projects that have the potential to make very significant impacts on entire communities. I’m particularly proud of the breadth of projects for Alaska contained in the Interior-Environment appropriations bill—from support for water and sewer facilities to PFAS remediation to support for domestic violence survivors and so much more.
“On the bad side, the level of spending increases proposed by the majority is almost breathtaking. Non-defense domestic spending increased by nearly 14 percent over last year while defense spending is disadvantaged. The bills contain certain poison pills that a more collaborative process could have avoided.
“The ugly side has been the process—or lack of process for consideration of these nine appropriations bills. The Committees are still operating without a topline budget number, no agreement has been reached regarding longstanding policy riders, and none of these nine bills have gone through the Committee process. I realize that this is just one step in the process, but it does not bode well for bipartisan collaboration that could produce bills that reflect both Democratic and Republican funding priorities.”
Click here for a list of Congressionally Directed Spending allocations for Alaska which Senator Murkowski secured in the Fiscal Year 2022 bills currently before the Senate.