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ANWR letter signals battle ahead in D.C. Two dozen House Republicans fire opening salvo in next congressional struggle over oil drilling on Arctic coastal plain Rose Ragsdale Petroleum News Contributing Writer
Two dozen Republicans, including three committee chairmen, urged leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives to leave out provisions opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling when they assemble a budget “reconciliation” package in mid-September.
But two House leaders, who support drilling, say the group of traditionally “green” Republicans have long opposed the ANWR provision and have “nothing new” to offer.
In an Aug. 4 letter to House Resources Committee Chairman Richard W. Pombo, R-Calif., which also went to Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Budget Committee Chairman Jim Nussle, R-Iowa, the lawmakers wrote that they “would have serious concerns about any budget bill that contains provisions authorizing the development of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Under the budget resolution, H Con Res 95, the Resources Committee is instructed to come up with nearly $2.5 billion in revenue over five years from programs under its jurisdiction by Sept. 16. That figure was estimated to be equal to the anticipated receipts from oil and gas leasing in ANWR when oil prices averaged $35 per barrel. It represents the panel’s portion of a $34.7 billion reconciliation package that would enjoy protection from a Senate filibuster.
Oil prices, however, have climbed steadily all year and rose above $65 per barrel Aug. 10 before closing just below the new record mark at $64.87.
The letter-writers, led by Rep. Jeb Bradley, R-N.H., did not indicate how they would prefer to raise the funds, but instead, emphasized their opposition to drilling in the refuge, which they called “one of the last large pristine environments in our country.” Pombo: the blame list Pombo, reacting to the letter Aug. 10, criticized the group for being impractical.
“Saying no to everything does not make an energy policy, and Americans are getting fed up with politicians who complain about high energy prices but then stand in the way of practical solutions,” he said. “In this case, if Americans want to know who to blame for their gasoline prices, they were just provided a list.”
Pombo also vowed to “continue to do what is necessary to see that American consumers get some relief at the pump.” He is scheduled to speak to the Resource Development Council in Anchorage Aug. 16.
Still, opposition from such a significant bloc of House Republicans underscores the difficulty GOP leaders could face in putting together a budget package that can pass in both chambers.
While the House has approved oil and gas exploration in ANWR in the past in separate legislation, Republican leaders have little room for error on budget packages, which typically pass with a two- or three-vote majority, according to a report in the Congressional Quarterly Aug. 10.
In April, the House rejected an amendment, 200-231, to its version of the energy bill that would have stripped language authorizing oil and gas exploration in ANWR.
But the House vote on the budget conference report had a much narrower margin, 214-211. Young: ‘nothing new’ U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, said the letter writers are the same 24 Republicans who voted against ANWR drilling in the spring when the House approved the measure.
“This is nothing new. Very few of these people have been to ANWR (despite being invited), and they speak from ignorance,” Young told Petroleum News Aug. 10.
Young said the objecting Republicans are “acting as puppets for the Sierra Club and that’s unfortunate.”
He also said the letter does not worry him because he is confident Pombo will do what’s good for the American people.
Also, the lawmakers stopped short of vowing to vote against a reconciliation package that included ANWR.
“It’s as if they wanted to go on record in opposition to the drilling provision in case anyone asks, after it passes Congress,” according to one observer. “Then they can say, ‘Look, I opposed it.’”
The Congressional Quarterly said the anti-ANWR group is also notable because it includes a trio of committee chairmen: Science Chairman Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., Judiciary Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., R-Wis., and Government Reform Chairman Thomas M. Davis III, R-Va.
Of the 24 signers, nine reportedly voted against the budget resolution.
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