"Clinton's vocal recognition of the duty was "music to Murkowski's ears. 
Phyllis
JUNEAU — Alaska’s senior U.S. senator said Friday that national leaders
heard first-hand this week of the need for greater investment in and
attention to the Arctic.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski joined two White House Cabinet members at a
multilateral Arctic Council meeting Thursday, where officials from eight
nations signed a binding search-and-rescue agreement for the region.

The council also approved a project aimed at taking candid stock of
capital infrastructure — and shortfalls therein — needed to oversee a
busier Arctic.

“We’re going to have to commit some resources in the north” to address
the expected gap, Murkowski told reporters Friday.

She said the expectation faces the prospect of a fight in Congress, given
calls for deficit reduction, but was glad Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton and 

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar helped lead the country’s delegation to
hear of the problem directly.

The council also launched a two-year review of oil spill response
preparedness in the north.

Murkowski said she has asked for a study of a northern Alaska deep-water
port and has sought funding for investments in new polar class
icebreakers. She said she believes Congress will also consider more
funding for Arctic research in general.

The multilateral council was formed in the 1990s to help navigate
difficult environmental protection and economic factors in the largely
undeveloped Arctic. It includes as permanent members the United States,
seven other northern nations and a handful of indigenous groups.

Murkowski said this year’s high-profile U.S. delegation “elevates”
acknowledgment of the United States’ role and responsibility in the
region. She said Clinton’s vocal recognition of the duty that position
carries was “music” to her ears.

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