Drilling for oil in ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) 
 

ANWR is located in northeast Alaska and is the nation's second largest national wildlife refuge, comprising 19 million acres. The plain contains caribou, polar bears, grizzly bears, wolves, and various migratory birds; several of which are protected by international treaties or agreements. The refuge was created in 1960 by Congress to specifically protect the region’s wildlife.

I strongly oppose efforts by the Bush administration to target ANWR for oil exploration. We do need to reduce America’s dependence on foreign energy, but more oil and gas could be saved by ramping up energy efficiency, renewable energy and conservation programs than could be found in ANWR.

ANWR’s 1.5 million acre coastal plain is estimated to hold 11 billion barrels of crude oil. However, drilling experts tell us it will be ten years before any of that oil reaches the United States. Decreasing supplies from Prudhoe Bay, which is not in ANWR, also mean that ANWR oil would replace some of the oil from that declining field. It will not necessarily result in an overall increase in supply. It is also important to remember that much of the oil expected from ANWR would be developed by foreign oil companies such as British Petroleum. Therefore, even if ANWR oil resulted in a net increase in supply, which is doubtful, it would not be to the sole benefit of United States markets.

On November 18, 2003, the House approved a final version of the Energy Policy Act of 2003. One of the very few good things about that bill is that with your help, I and other opponents of drilling in ANWR were able to raise enough opposition to remove a provision opening ANWR to drilling from the final bill.

I still voted against the entire bill because of its unbalanced emphasis on more drilling and extraction, and its inclusion of unnecessary tax breaks for big oil and gas producers. The bill has not yet been passed by the Senate, and its prospects are uncertain for 2004. Throughout any future proceedings, I will continue to strongly oppose drilling in ANWR.

My concerns about the safety and ecological risks of gas and oil drilling in areas that are jewels of our national heritage extend to the Great Lakes, where oil and gas drilling now occurs. In fact, I have worked hard to prevent such exploration in the past Congresses. In the 107th Congress, I re-introduced H.R. 1032, which would ban oil and gas directional ( slant) drilling in the Great Lakes. This provision was added to appropriations bills in 2002 and in February, 2003. The latest provision bans directional drilling through 2005.

I also offered an amendment to the Energy Policy Act of 2003 that would have permanently prevented new directional and offshore drilling in the Great Lakes, but the Republican controlled Rules Committee refused to allow my amendment to go to the floor of the House for debate and a vote.

Instead, the Rules Committee approved a meaningless amendment by Congressmen Reynolds and Rogers that merely states it is the “sense of the Congress” that the Great Lakes states should continue to prohibit offshore drilling only – mere advice, with no regulatory teeth, regarding something that is not a current threat. Once again, the House leadership opted for window dressing rather than substance on an important environmental issue.

The potential consequences resulting from a disaster – whether it affects the Great Lakes or the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge -- are simply too high to allow directional drilling under the Great Lakes, or oil and gas drilling in ANWR. I will continue to do everything in my power to prevent this from happening.