Posted on 05/23/2006 1:59:21 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
House eyes another vote on ANWR oil drilling
By Chris Baltimore 6 minutes ago
The House of Representatives will hold another vote this week on opening Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, Majority Leader John Boehner said on Tuesday.
Drilling in ANWR, a cornerstone of President George W. Bush's energy blueprint, is the only one of three Republican energy proposals that will come to a vote before lawmakers leave for a holiday recess at week's end, Boehner said.
A vote on opening about 2,000 acres of ANWR to drilling was likely on Thursday, House aides said.
A proposal to give companies incentives to expand refining capacity will be delayed, and the fate of a bill requiring the administration to rethink vehicle fuel efficiency standards was unclear, Boehner told reporters.
In the Senate, Alaska's two Republican lawmakers said they would continue to push to advance ANWR drilling.
Sen. Ted Stevens (news, bio, voting record), chairman of the Commerce Committee, said ANWR drilling could be included in a package of energy legislation that Republicans are drafting for possible consideration this summer.
The Senate will not take up any energy-related provisions this week, Majority Leader Bill Frist said.
Both the House and the Senate have passed proposals to drill on a limited number of acres in ANWR. But both bodies have failed to pass the same bill approving ANWR, which has prevented the proposal from advancing.
Tapping the refuge's potential 16 billion barrels of crude is a key part of the Bush administration's national energy plan to boost domestic oil supplies and reduce U.S. reliance on petroleum imports.
Environmental groups argue that there is not enough oil to justify destroying the habitat for ANWR's polar bears, caribou and other wildlife.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Better idea: Make Republicans take a stand.
Maria Cantwell is very depressed.
No need to get excited...the Main Streeters (R's) will kill this effort, too.
They've been in DC too long. Forgot who sent em.
Never underestimate the gross stupidity of some large percentage of Americans to oppose drilling for oil in ANWR and then complain that gas prices are too high. These are the kind of people who believe chocolate milk comes from brown cows and that Wheaties are made by elves in the back of grocery stores.
Considering that Congress (both Republicans and Democrats) won't do jack-squat about ANWR...
...maybe be should sell it to China?
They'd drill for the oil and sell it on the world market.
It's not a good idea in my book, but it's better than letting it sit around and not be used to boost oil production.
Any thoughts?
My thoughts are that the Democrats dont want anything solved while George Bush is in office.
God only knows what the Republicans are thinking.They have made the worst mess of their majority in the history of the country. We cant get any bill through the Congress without so many pork attachments and litle hidden "bombs"
that most bills are voted down bcause of their attachments. Its a stinking mess and it isnt getting better.
Sorry, it was 22 REPUBLICANS who blocked an ANWAR vote last fall after the Senate had finally voted for drilling there. Sensenbrenner, Nancy Johnson, and some jerks from Ohio and NY were in the forefront of the anti-drilling block, as I recall. Now the voters, who are fed up with $3/gal gas, are supposed to forget that the GOP is the majority in the House as the blame is shifted to the Democrats. Sorry, Pubbies, but that dog don't hunt.
I used to. . . but I didn't own the mineral rights.
I don't understand why drilling for oil will "destroy" the habitat for these creatures
A couple of times a year the well areas would have to be sprayed with herbicide to keep them from being overgrown.
Yes , good stuff, I hope this puts a bit of pressure on Congress to finally get something done! Please visit the new ANWR -ACTION SITE and BLOG and sign the petition and send a letter to your Congressman supporting ANWR.
http://anwr.action.org
Remember, caribou are good eats, and there they outnumber people nearly 3 to one in Alaska so dig in!
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