Posted on 12/18/2005 11:28:58 PM PST by ncountylee
WASHINGTON - Republican leaders huddled into the morning hours today trying to ensure passage of a bill that would open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northern Alaska to oil and gas exploration.
House GOP leaders worked to quell a rebellion by moderate Republicans unhappy with the strategy to attach the drilling language to a Defense Department spending bill.
The battle could become even more intense later this week in the Senate, where Democrats have vowed to try to strip the drilling language from the legislation.
The wildlife refuge is believed to hold some 10 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil, the largest untapped oil deposit left onshore in the United States. But environmentalists fear drilling there would spoil a spectacular wilderness area.
Opening a portion of the refuge to oil and gas exploration has been the linchpin of the White House's strategy to boost domestic oil production and has been a major objective of the nation's oil companies dating to the Carter administration.
During negotiations between the House and Senate over a bill to allocate money for U.S. troops, Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, chairman of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, insisted on adding the drilling language to the "must-pass" legislation.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
More signs a spine is growing in. Let's hope it's not just a trace element, and that they make this happen.
The House Republicans certainly are trying.
The house passes a LOT of good legislation, which is then assassinated in the senate.
Six year terms may in fact be too long, they seem to give senators just a bit too much conceit.
That's a lie. What they fear is economic growth and capitalism on the march. There's no "spectacular wilderness area" there. No mention in the article of the fact this is in the 10-02 area and NOT really part of the ANWR. Assinine as always.
In this case ANWR made it through the Senate and got blocked in the House.
traitors
I think while they're at it, they should open up Martha's Vinyard for offshore drilling.
When (not if) you start paying $3 a gallon for gas once more - you will know who to thanks.
The area to be used is a ridiculous tiny fraction of the whole and it's not going to do a darn thing to the critter population.
"oil drilling is not germane to defence"
How wrong can democrats be?
Couldn't the prez just do an executive order like Klintoon did? (Clinton marked off some Utah land for a park to protect his Indonesia buds and their "clean coal").Call it national defense or something. It's a strategic necessity for the war effort.
Fight as they will....The Dems know they are ticking off the unions with this no drilling, no tree cutting routine.
I posted that column, but I thought it was relevant to this, too.
The House is not where I would expect the ANWR drilling to die. The Senate, however, is another matter.
Well, best of luck to them. It's time for me to hit the sack.
To the House I say-Get it done.
“There's no ‘spectacular wilderness area’ there.”
You are correct.
Several years ago, a Freeper posted photos of this "spectacular wilderness area." The summer photo could have been confused with the Sahara (desert) only more rugged and uglier. The area was also brown in color like the desert. The winter photo was the Sahara with snow on it.
Did anybody save these photos? And if so, would you please share them once again.
Thank you.
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