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Progress on opening coastal plain to drilling still hog-tied by filibuster threats, says Stevens
Steve Sutherlin PNA Managing Editor
Exploration and development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the largest privately financed stimulus to the economy that Congress could initiate, Sen. Ted Stevens said Nov. 20 at a press conference in Anchorage. Other projects that might have a comparable economic impact, such as rebuilding the nation’s bridges and other infrastructure or the rebuilding of New York, will require the use of taxpayer funds.
Stevens and his staff have prepared a graphic presentation Stevens plans to use on the Senate floor to illustrate the economic benefits ANWR development would bring to the nation. A color-keyed map shows how many of the 750,000 projected ANWR-related jobs would accrue to each state.
In contrast, another chart details job losses that have hit the nation following Sept. 11. Stevens said recent business failures and job losses threaten to derail economic recovery despite tax cuts and subsidies, and might plunge the nation into a deficit despite government studies that predict a continued budget surplus.
An Alaska oil production graph shows projected ANWR production would significantly extend and increase Alaska’s contribution to the nation’s domestic energy production. By contrast another display shows U.S. reliance on foreign energy sources climbing from 55 percent today to 65 percent within two decades.
Senate still stymied on ANWR Stevens said the Senate is still stymied on the ANWR issue by the threat of filibuster of any bill containing a provision to allow drilling in the refuge, and he has been cautious about attaching an ANWR amendment to vital legislation.
“We’ve had to balance the national interest against our own interests,” he said.
An ANWR amendment was not added to the Aviation Security bill because of its urgency, Stevens said, adding, “We don’t know if we can get it on the military bill; it’s already loaded up.”
Stevens dismissed the idea of adding an ANWR amendment to a farm bill that is favored by Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.
“A lot of people have suggested we put (an ANWR amendment) on the farm bill, but that would be like reserving a stateroom on the Titanic.”
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