UPDATE - Senate to vote today on drilling in Arctic refuge
Date: 03-Dec-01
Country: USA
Author: Tom Doggett
Senate Republicans are pushing a comprehensive energy bill that would give oil firms access to the refuge in an effort to boost domestic oil supplies and cut back on the U.S. addiction to foreign crude imports.
With foreign imports accounting for 60 percent of U.S. petroleum supplies, and one out of every four of those barrels coming from the volatile Middle East, Republicans warn that energy firms need access to the 16 billion barrels of oil that might potentially be extracted from the refuge even if it would take several years to begin drilling.
The Republican-led House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a similar bill in early August.
The legislation faces an uphill battle in the Democratic-led Senate, where the Democratic leadership has prevented a simple up-or-down vote on the measure, because it would likely pass. Instead, Republicans have been forced to try to attach the energy bill as an amendment to an unrelated railroad retirement bill.
That means rather than getting a simple majority of 51 votes in the Senate to open the refuge, Republicans will have to get 60 senators to agree to end debate on the measure and block a threatened filibuster of Democrats opposed to opening the refuge.
"I think we'll be able to show ... a majority of the Senate wants an energy bill, but under Senate rules you know you've got to get 60 (votes)," Senate Republican leader Trent Lott of Mississippi told reporters last week.
"There is a chance - I don't know what the numbers will be, but I'm assuming it's going to be well over 50 (votes)," he said.
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a South Dakota Democrat, has said he wants to wait until lawmakers return from their holiday recess in late January to debate an energy bill, preferably legislation he will introduce this week that will keep the refuge closed and instead focus more on energy conservation.
"This doesn't make sense for us to wait 10 years for six months of supply, which is what ANWR represents, and destroy one of the most pristine parts of our country's environment in the process," Daschle said yesterday on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Republicans argue that U.S. energy supplies must be made secure now as America fights its war on terrorism.
"Our nation's energy concerns are too vital to be delayed until next year," said Frank Murkowski of Alaska, the top Republican on the Senate Energy Committee.
FEARS FOR WILDLIFE
Most Democrats and environmental groups are opposed to opening the Arctic refuge, fearing the drilling would harm the polar bears, caribou and other wildlife that live there.
They also say there is only a 1 percent chance the full 16 billion barrels of oil can actually be extracted from the refuge, because the government did not look at the high cost of drilling in such a remote area.
"Reserve estimates do not take into account the cost of oil exploration and production, which would make much of the oil too expensive to extract," said Elliott Negin, spokesman for the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Republican lawmakers accuse their Democratic colleagues of trying to appease environmentalists, instead of putting the country's national security interests first.
"Members are going to have to determine whether a responsive vote is to environmental groups or is to what's right for America at a time when we are not only at war, but also when there is a recession," Murkowski said.
Labor groups back drilling in the refuge, saying it would create more than 700,000 jobs. "This energy bill will be a significant economic stimulus," Murkowski said.
In addition to opening the refuge, the Republican bill would also:
- Increase government funds to help low-income families pay their energy bills.
- Reduce gasoline consumption by 5 billion gallons (22.73 billion liters) over six years, but only enough to raise fuel requirements on vehicles by about 1 mile (1.6 kms) per gallon.
- Expand energy conservation
