Alaska Wins-Oil Loses! Oil is not inevitable!
WASHINGTON - House Republican leaders late Wednesday abandoned an attempt to push through a hotly contested plan to open an Alaskan wildlife refuge to oil drilling, fearing it would jeopardize approval of a sweeping budget bill Thursday.
They also dropped from the budget document plans to allow states to authorize oil and gas drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts - regions currently under a drilling moratorium.
The actions were a stunning setback for those who have tried for years to open a coastal strip of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil development, and a victory for environmentalists who have lobbied hard against the drilling provisions. President Bush has made drilling in the Alaska refuge one of his top energy priorities.
The House Rules Committee formalized the change late Wednesday when it issued the terms of the debate when the House takes up the budget package on Thursday.
The decision to drop the the ANWR drilling language came after GOP moderates said they would oppose the budget if it was kept in the bill. The offshore drilling provision was also viewed as too contentious and a threat to the bill, especially in the Senate.
Last week, the Senate included ANWR drilling in its version of the budget, so the matter will have to be thrashed out in negotiations between the Senate and House, if the budget is approved by the House.
Protection of the Alaska refuge from oil companies has been championed by environmentalists for years. The House repeatedly has approved drilling in the refuge as part of broad energy legislation, only to see their effort blocked each time by the threat of a filibuster in the Senate.
The budget bill is immune from filibuster, but drilling proponents suddenly found it hard to get the measure accepted by a majority of the House.
That's because Democrats heartily oppose the overall budget bill, giving House GOP opponents of drilling in the Arctic enough leverage to have the matter killed.
At long last, we have some good news about the Arctic to report! Earlier this week, after months of intense grassroots pressure from activists like you, the House Rule Committee dropped provisions to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from their version of the budget bill. This surprise move came after 22 brave moderate Republicans stood their ground and announced that they would not vote for a budget bill that included provisions for Arctic drilling.
This is a HUGE victory for all of us who care about preserving the Arctic Refuge and protecting out natural heritage for future generations. In the end the House leadership had to pull their version of the budget off the floor because they didn't have the votes to pass it. However, they are likely try to bring it back for a vote in the near future.
Over the past few months, we've called on you and other SaveOurEnvironment.org supporters to send letters, make phone calls, attend rallies and donate money to protect this pristine wild land from being destroyed. Thank you again to all of you who spoke out against this attack on our natural heritage - your efforts paid off this week!
While this is a step in the right direction, the battle for the Arctic Refuge is not over yet. Unfortunately, the Senate version of the budget bill does include provisions to open our Arctic Refuge to oil drilling. As the Senate and the House hammer out the final budget measure next month, there's a chance oil drilling in the Arctic Refuge could be revived. If that happens, we hope that we can count on your support once again.
This week's victory proves that your voices really can make a difference. A year ago, many people thought that drilling in the Arctic Refuge was inevitable. But millions of activists sent a clear message to Congress: drilling in the Arctic Refuge will not solve our energy problems. And Congress appears to have listened.
Thank you again for all that you have done to protect the Arctic Refuge, we could not have achieved this victory without your support. Save Our Environment will continue to keep you up to date with ways that you can take action to make sure that Arctic drilling stays out of the final budget bill.
Best,
Katelyn Sabochik
Online Campaign Manager
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Last updated on November 16, 2005