US Senate set to resume Alaska oil-drilling debate
Date: 18-Apr-02
Country: USA
Author: Tom Doggett
Drilling supporters argue that ANWR should be opened to make the United States less reliant on unfriendly foreign oil suppliers such as Iraq. Opponents argue that the refuge does not boast enough oil to justify threatening the area's wildlife.
Republican lawmakers this week finally offered their amendment to the pending Senate energy bill to give oil companies access to the refuge.
The plan called for limiting the ANWR area that would be affected by drilling to just 2,000 acres (809 hectares) at any one time. The proposal matched language contained in energy legislation passed by the House of Representatives last year that allowed drilling in the refuge.
However, Senate drilling proponents were dealt a blow late this week when Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas said she would vote against opening the refuge, giving drilling opponents a majority in the 100-member Senate.
"The costs of drilling for oil in ANWR outweigh the benefits," Lincoln said.
Lincoln initially was one of 10 senators in a Reuters survey who said they were undecided on the drilling issue.
With Lincoln joining opponents, there now are 51 senators who have said publicly they are against drilling in ANWR, based on the Reuters survey. Forty lawmakers have said they would vote for opening the refuge and nine senators have remained undecided.
Opponents to the ANWR drilling are expected to the take to the Senate floor yesterday to denounce the plan.
Possible 2004 Democratic presidential hopefuls John Kerry of Massachusetts and Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, who have vowed to filibuster any attempt to drill in the refuge, are scheduled to speak.
The Senate's Democratic leadership has ordered a vote on Thursday on the drilling proposal.
The drilling plan faces an uphill fight, lacking the 60 votes needed under Senate rules to end debate on controversial measures and move toward an up-or-down vote.
The Bush administration says new drilling technology will not harm the refuge, and ANWR's potential 16 billion barrels of oil is needed to reduce U.S. imports.
Iraq, which last week halted its exports to protest Israeli military action against Palestinians in the West Bank, is the sixth-largest oil supplier to the U.S. market and provides about 800,000 barrels per day.
"We are at the mercy of events that are often beyond our control around the world," Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said this week.
The Senate's Democratic leadership wants to finish work on the energy bill this week, which may prove difficult given that about 40 amendments are pending on the legislation.
Once a Senate energy bill is passed, members of the House and Senate will meet to iron out differences in their versions of the legislation before a final plan can be sent to President George W. Bush.