Domestic Policy

House Approves Alaskan ANWR Oil Drilling, Reluctantly

December 19, 2005 ⋅  E-Mail Article ⋅  Print Article ⋅ Post a comment

Representatives of the House pulled an all night pajama party Sunday night so that they could close out pressing issues before the holiday break. Results from the House party are causing some to celebrate way into the morning. The major issue most are concerned with is the ANWR drilling issue in Alaska.

House lawmakers have reportedly opened the way for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as one of their final actions before the Monday deadline that brings their lawmaking year to a close.

The ANWR stipulation was attached to a major defense bill, this has angered some Democrats in the House, but because it was on the same legislation as other vital defense policies many opponents of oil and gas exploration in the Alaskan Refuge felt they had to vote for it.

The conflict has raged between whether or not the high oil potential assumed to be located at the refuge site justifies upsetting and transforming the virtually pristine environment of the refuge. Do you feel Congress should be allowed to open the refuge for oil and gas development or should the area’s flora and fauna be given permanent protection from oil development projects?

Representative David Obey of Wisconsin, Chief Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, was very vocal about the ANWR issue, he criticized the ANWR provision by stating, “There is something especially outrageous about the willingness of the majority party leadership to allow the Defense Department bill, in a time of war, to be held hostage to totally unrelated special interest items.”

Most Democrats and moderate Republicans have opposed drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Democrats complained after signing the bill that they were being forced to accept ANWR drilling because the vote was tied into military spending and hurricane relief.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge measures out to be 19 million acres in the northeastern part of Alaska. The refuge is under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior. There is a 1.5 million acre coastal plain in this area that many feel are America’s best prospect of a new and long lasting supply of cheap oil. Some estimate the ANWR locale holds over 13 billion barrels of oil.
House Approves ANWR Drilling

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