Murkowski Morning Meeting For Tuesday, March 25, 2014

What DC is Reading

• Politico “Health Care Bill is Riddled with Exemptions and Loopholes”
• Washington Post “White House Plans to Halt NSA Collection of Americans’ phone data”
• Wall Street Journal “What did the IRS Commissioner Know, and When?”

U.S. Senate Events

America, the Energy Exporter

Alaskan Impact: Natural gas is already a prominent topic of interest in Alaska, with the state Senate passing legislation last week advancing a major LNG project. National energy exports have become a key issue of late, partly due to Senator Murkowski’s white paper which raised this issue’s profile: The Narrowing Window: America’s Opportunity to Join the Global Gas Trade. This morning, Murkowski and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee focused on the impact increased natural gas exports could have, both on the state and national level.

6:00 am AKDT

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Hearing

Topic: “Importing Energy, Exporting Jobs. Can it be Reversed?”

Witnesses:

• Adam Sieminski, administrator of the U.S. Energy Information Administration
• Jaroslav Neverovic, minister of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Lithuania
• David Montgomery, senior vice president of NERA Economic Consulting
• David Goldwyn, nonresident senior fellow at the Energy Security Initiative at the Brookings Institution
• Edward Chow, senior fellow in the Center for Strategic International Studies’ Energy and National Security Program

(Click to watch)
Senator Murkowski: What signal could we send the world to become a serious player on the energy market?

Protecting Alaska, the Nation

Alaskan Impact: Alaska has a strong relationship with Asia, and the opportunities between our two countries are just beginning – especially in our national defense, as Russia, Iran and North Korea have become the Pentagon’s focal point. Our base location in South Korea is strategic to act as a staging area for F-35 operations in the Pacific, as Alaska pursues F-35s of our own. Today’s hearing asked important questions about the leadership of North Korea, and how this impacts Americans day-to-day lives today and in the near-term.

5:15 am AKDT

Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing

Topic: “The U.S. Pacific Command and U.S. Forces Korea in review of the Defense Authorization Request for FY2015 and the Future Years Defense Program.”

Witnesses:

• Navy Adm. Samuel Locklear III, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command
• Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, commander of the United Nations Command/Combined Forces Command, U.S. Forces Korea

(Click to watch)
Sen. Donnelly: Is Kim Jong Un fully in charge of the North Korea regime? How much influence does China have over him and his actions?

(Click to watch)
Sen. Wicker: What does the Pacific region’s stability mean to the average American on the street?

Watch the hearing here: armed-services.senate.gov

U.S. House Events

Deepening Debt

Alaskan Impact: The nation’s spending has been unsustainable for years, and debt level increases with each passing day. (As of today, it averages out to over $55,200 for every American – and rising.) Senator Murkowski shared her views on reversing this trend in her Economic Town Halls statewide, telling Alaskans we need tax reform, mandatory spending reform and making difficult decisions about our spending priorities – as evidenced through her recent vote against the bloated Farm Bill, despite a few small benefits for Alaska. This hearing looks to address the unsustainable debt and help steer our nation’s spending habits.

6:00 am AKDT

House Financial Services Committee – Hearing

Topic: “Why Debt Matters.”

Witnesses:

• David Cote, chairman and CEO of Honeywell International Inc.
• Alice Rivlin, former White House Office of Management and Budget Director, Senior fellow for economic studies at the Brookings Institution;
• Douglas Holtz-Eakin former Congressional Budget Office Director, President of the American Action Forum
• Jared Bernstein, senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Watch the hearing here: financialservices.house.gov