Arctic Drilling May Get Dumped From Bill

Associated Press ^ | Thu, Sep 18, 2003 | JOSEF HEBERT

[presidio9]

The White House is easing away from insisting that Congress open an Alaska wildlife refuge to oil drilling after the president was told by lawmakers the issue could doom energy legislation.

President Bush, after meeting with legislators involved in the energy talks, said Wednesday he wanted a bill "that will pass both bodies" — the House and Senate. He said the White House would work with those trying to resolve "contentious" issues such as drilling in the Alaska refuge.

To the lawmakers present, it was a clear signal that the White House is willing to accept energy legislation without a provision to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil development, according to congressional sources close to the negotiations.

Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said he and the other lawmakers made clear to the president "we're not going to let ANWR defeat a comprehensive energy bill."

"We're going to have to determine whether inclusion of ANWR will kill this or not," Domenici said the president was told. "If it's going to kill it, it's not going to be in."

Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., head of the House delegation to the energy talks, said Bush gave no indication during the meeting how he viewed such a strategy.

Earlier this year a Senate proposal to open the refuge to oil companies failed 48-50, a dozen votes shy of what would be needed to overcome a promised Democratic filibuster of an energy bill that includes a refuge drilling provision.

There is no indication that Senate sentiment has changed dramatically since then, said one GOP source closely involved in the energy discussions.

"It's certainly a contentious issue, and you'll find strong opinions around the table about this," Bush acknowledged. "And the job of the conferees is to work through these issues, and we look forward to helping them."

While Bush renewed his call to find way to "become less dependent on foreign sources of crude," he did not say — as he often has in the past — that capturing the oil in the Alaska refuge was essential to doing that.

In a letter to energy conferees last week, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham reiterated the administration's desire to exploit the refuge's oil — estimated at between 5.6 billion barrels and 16 billion barrels — and urged conferees to include a drilling provision in the bill.

Still, congressional sources said the administration has not pushed the ANWR issue particularly hard, while stepping up efforts to forge compromises that will assure passage of a broad energy package in the coming weeks.

Domenici has said that he is confident a bill will be approved in part because it has many of the things lawmakers — and the White House — want, including a major expansion of corn-based ethanol in gasoline, a boon to farm states. Last month's blackout added to the sense of urgency, increasing public demand for the government to assure reliability of the nation's power grid.

Bush on Wednesday cited the Aug. 14 blackout, which darkened an area from eastern Michigan to New York, as an additional reason to pass energy legislation. "The American people know we need to have a national energy policy and this is a chance to get it done," he said.

Tauzin said he and the other lawmakers promised the president they would have a bill to his desk by the middle of October. Domenici said his conference committee is "maybe three-quarters of the way finished with the work product."

[Diogenesis]

AMERICA NEEDS ENERGY SECURITY - NOW

[Pan_Yans Wife]

And the Republicans cave, again.

[Roughneck]

Although the area in ANWR they speak of can hardly be considered beautiful, and drilling is far cleaner and safer than earlier this century, I dont see what the big deal about drilling in Alaska is.

Alaskans would like to see it because it would improve their prosperity 100-fold, but I'd rather keep domestic drilling where it's near and dear to MY prosperity - TEXAS!

[presidio9]

By the time we get around to exploiting this natural resource fuel cells probably will be perfected and we will not realize the windfall that is rightly ours.

[CROSSHIGHWAYMAN]

And the Republicans cave, again.

I can show you dozens of stock charts where a 1000% gain is shown over the last three years of this so-called "weak economy".

Every chart has something in common.
None of them goes straight up....the charts have dips along the way.

It's better to take half a loaf at this time and then go for more after Republicans gain 5 or more seats in the Senate in 2004.

And as we saw with the tragic Wellstone crash, miracles do happen!!

[Pan_Yans Wife]

And as we saw with the tragic Wellstone crash, miracles do happen!!

OUCH!

But, I do see your point.

[Reeses]

The world has changed. We CONTROL Iraq. We need to focus on oil production in Iraq right now. The amount of oil in the Artic is tiny compared to the oil in Iraq. The production costs in Iraq are $5/barrel. I would guess production costs in the Artic are north of $20/barrel. It does not make sense anymore to expand drilling in the Artic right now.

Here is info about world oil reserves. Iraq is number 2. www.bp.com

[TRY ONE]

"after Republicans gain 5 or more seats in the Senate in 2004"

The "or more" is best because of the likes of the Pubbie lesbians from Maine, etc. who think oil comes from skinning cute little caribou!

[RightWhale]

I'd rather keep domestic drilling where it's near and dear to MY prosperity - TEXAS!

Don't worry about Texans. Plenty showed up in Alaska for the Pipeline, and plenty are here right now betting on ANWR.

[sauropod]

None of the Iraqi oil is coming to the US. Its the Iraqi people's property and is being treated that way.

[Reeses]

The oil doesn't need to come here but it needs to get on the world market to drive down prices to the $15/barrel range. That will fuel an economic boom in America, and will more than pay for the war itself, not to mention the reduction in terrorist costs and OPEC price fixing. The source of America's great wealth comes from turning energy into products. If energy costs are low our wealth increases dramatically. Also, under the Geneva Convention rules, Iraq must pay us for work we do there reconstructing their country. The money they use to repay us will mostly come from oil sales.

[sauropod]

Understood and agreed.

[biblewonk]

Just so windmills are still in the bill.

[newgeezer]

Just so windmills are still in the bill.

C'mon, give it a rest. Every good FReeper knows windmills are stupid.

Just like we know the earth is flat. The moon is made of Swiss cheese. And, if God intended man to fly, He woulda gave us wings.

[presidio9]

Right, and nuclear power was devised by the devil to destroy all life on Earth.

[newgeezer]

Yeah, that's just as true.

By the way, I live 12 miles from one nuke plant, and less than 100 miles from another. I like them. I'd like them even more if we could fully exploit the fuel so as to eliminate the radioactive waste.

[presidio9]

What the green are not telling you is that we are about 10 years away from perfecting an economical use for the spent rods.