Udall: Last Chance to Save the Arctic

UDALL: LAST CHANCE TO SAVE THE ARCTIC
November 9, 2005

WASHINGTON - Today, in a last ditch effort to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and protected coastlines from oil and gas drilling, U.S. Representatives Tom Udall, D-N.M., and Roscoe Bartlett, R-MD, introduced an amendment to the Budget Reconciliation Bill.

The Bartlett-Udall amendment to H.R. 4241, the so-called Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, was offered in the Rules Committee today. However, it is unclear if the majority will even allow an up or down vote on such a controversial issue.

"Roscoe and I may not agree on every issue, but we both recognize that drilling ANWR, the only area along Alaska's north coast that is not open to drilling, for a minuscule amount of oil is simply not worth the ramifications," Udall said. "By allowing drilling to occur, we are sending the message that the majority of Congress is not committed to finding realistic, long term solutions to oil dependence.

Udall acknowledges that odds are against the amendment's adoption, but said, "If there is even the slightest chance that we can preserve the ANWR from drilling, I am willing to take it.

"My colleagues and I were elected to Congress to do the right thing for our constituents and for America's future generations. Pillaging a world recognized treasure for less than a year's supply of oil, which will not even be accessible for ten years, does not really address our nation's energy issues. That's why it was left out of the Energy Bill we passed earlier this year.

The Budget Reconciliation also contains approximately $54 billion in cuts that include crucial programs such as student loans, Medicaid, food stamps and child support.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is home to the Porcupine caribou herd, and an abundance of other wildlife including polar bears, grizzly bears, snow geese, 200 species of migratory birds, eagles, wolves, sheep and oxen.

According to a 1998 study by the U.S. Geological Survey, drilling in ANWR would provide the U.S. with less than one year's worth of economically-recoverable oil. That oil will not even be available for 10 years.

"If we have not found a long-term solution to our energy dependence in a decade, then we in the government will have miserably failed the American people. I cannot and will not stand by idly to watch such a travesty occur," Udall concluded.

http://www.tomudall.house.gov/issues2.cfm?id=11330