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Wildlands & Wildlife:
Remove Arctic Wildlife Refuge Drilling from Budget Resolution

Our Position: support
Bill Number: S.AMDT.168 to S.CON.RES.18
Sponsor: Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
Legislative Session: 2005

For decades, the oil industry and its allies in Congress have targeted the sensitive coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas development. Now they're using the nation's current crisis to forward their efforts, under the guise of national security. The truth is, the speculative amount of oil that could be had from the coastal plain would not put a dent in our dependence on foreign oil, would do nothing to strengthen our national security, and would not save consumers a dime. 

This amendment would remove a provision in the Fiscal Year 2006 Budget Resolution that would open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling.  This vote represents the first round of a complicated and drawn out Congressional Budget Process that unfortunately adds the highly controversial issue of Arctic drilling to an already contentious budget bill. 

Status

On March 16, 2005, the Senate voted 51-49 against the amendment.