Senate votes to approve drilling in the 
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

WASHINGTON (03/17/05) -- The U.S. Senate voted 49-51 yesterday to defeat an amendment by Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) that would have removed a provision of the Senate budget bill that authorizes energy development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). 

While seven Republican Senators voted for the amendment to remove authorization to drill in the ANWR, three Democrats joined the Republican majority to defeat the amendment. Republican Senators voting for the amendment were: Lincoln Chafee (RI), Norm Coleman (MN), Susan Collins (ME), Mike DeWine (OH), John McCain (AZ), Gordon Smith (OR), and Olympia Snowe (ME). Democrat Senators voting against the amendment were: Mary Landrieu (LA), Daniel Akaka (HI) and Daniel Inouye (HI).

"The Senate today affirmed its deep concern for our consumers and our economy," said the chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources, Senator Pete Domenici (R, NM). "We signaled our concern over dropping fuel inventories, record high energy prices and global uncertainty. We signaled our faith in American ingenuity and technology and we voted our conviction that America must do more to meet its own energy needs." 

Senator Cantwell, author of the amendment, said the fight to save the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling has only begun, and promised to carry the battle to the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee. 

"The fight over drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is far from over,” said Cantwell, a member of the Senate & Natural Resources Committee. "We almost stopped this budget trickery on the floor today. But now that the Energy Committee will consider this legislation, I'll be prepared to use every tool at my disposal to stop drilling in the Arctic . We need a serious national strategy to move us toward energy independence." 

"This will be a short-lived vote for those who want to drill in the wildlife refuge," Cantwell continued. "As this battle moves to the Energy Committee, defenders of a sensible energy plan for the 21 st Century will live to fight another day." 

Earlier in this year, the Senate Budget Committee included in its version of the Fiscal Year 2006 budget resolution provisions that would pave the way to opening the Arctic for oil drilling. As written, the budget directs the Senate Energy Committee to come up with legislation by June 6 that would produce $2.7 billion in new federal revenue, including $2.5 billion from opening up the Arctic Refuge's coastal plain to oil exploration and development. Special rules that guide consideration of this "budget reconciliation" measure would put drilling in the Artic on the fast-track to Senate approval. Cantwell's amendment would have removed this provision from the Senate budget.

Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-NM) said the Committee would attempt to report the Arctic drilling measure in the next four weeks.