Senate may vote on ANWR oil drilling in mid-March
Date: 14-Feb-03
Country: USA
Author: Tom Doggett
The Bush administration is pushing to open the refuge and tap its potential 16 billion barrels of oil to reduce U.S. dependence on crude imports, particularly as fears mount that a possible war with Iraq could disrupt supplies from the oil-rich Middle East.
But most Democrats and environmentalists oppose drilling in ANWR and want to protect the reserve's wildlife. They say there is not enough oil in the refuge to justify disturbing the area's wildlife, and argue the government should raise fuel mileage standards for sports utility vehicles.
The Democratic-led Senate voted against ANWR drilling last year, while the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed legislation in favor of oil exploration in the refuge.
With Republicans in charge of both chambers in the new Congress, drilling proponents have a better chance of winning this time around.
Republican Pete Domenici, who heads the Senate's energy panel, said he expected budget legislation to be sent to the Senate floor the week of March 16 that would contain language giving oil companies access to the refuge.
Backers of drilling want to add the ANWR language to the 2004 budget bill, which cannot be filibustered and would need only 50 votes to pass. Vice President Dick Cheney would be expected to break any tie vote in the 100-member Senate in favor of ANWR drilling.
Such a move would get around the Senate rules that require 60 votes to cut off debate on controversial bills like ANWR drilling and allow a vote on the issue.
The Senate's parliamentarian would have to decide whether an ANWR drilling provision could be added to the budget bill. Drilling proponents claim such language is appropriate for budget legislation because it would raise $2.4 billion in government drilling fees from oil companies.
Drilling opponents would be able to strip the ANWR language from the budget bill if they get the support of 51 senators.
Domenici said drilling opponents don't have the 51 votes yet. However, he also admitted that drilling supporters do not have enough votes at the moment to open the refuge either.
The administration's plan drill in the refuge suffered a setback last month when six Republican senators said they opposed using the must-pass 2004 budget bill to give oil companies access to ANWR.
Domenici predicted that drilling backers would eventually prevail on opening the refuge. "I think it's going to happen," he told reporters at a briefing on the new Congress' energy agenda.
The United States consumes about 20 million barrels of oil a day, with half that amount imported.
The Bush administration said it wants to lease between 400,000 acres (161,874 hectares) and 600,000 acres (242,811 hectares) in the refuge's coastal plain in 2005.
The refuge sprawls across 19 million acres (7.7 million hectares), but only the area's 1.5 million acre (607,000 hectare) coastal plain would be accessible to energy companies.
