Democrats fail to block Arctic reserve oil drilling
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democrats on Thursday failed to pass a measure to block oil and gas drilling in part of the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, losing to Republicans who believe production there would provide jobs and wealth.
An amendment blocking the development failed 48-52, mostly along party lines. A lone Republican, Senator Susan Collins of Maine, supported the measure. The only Democrat to vote against it was Joe Manchin from West Virginia.
Conservationists and many Democrats treasure the Alaskan reserve, also known as ANWR, as one of the planet’s last paradises. Established by Congress in 1980, it is home to tribes and a habitat for sensitive wildlife including caribou, polar bears and hundreds of species of migratory birds.
Republicans, who now control Congress and the White House, have long wanted to open a portion of ANWR called the 1002 area. Senator Lisa Murkowski, the chair of the Senate energy committee and an Alaskan Republican, called the 1002 portion a “non wilderness area” because the government put it aside decades ago for petroleum exploration. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the area on the Prudhoe Bay in Northern Alaska has up to 12 billion barrels of recoverable crude.
A Senate budget measure introduced this fall instructed Murkowski’s committee to raise $1 billion over 10 years. She hopes some of that money will come from energy company royalties after opening the 1002 area to drilling. Murkowski urged senators to see the “instruction as an opportunity to do something constructive” and focus on boosting energy output from federal lands that have long been off limit.
More: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-oil-arctic/democrats-fail-to-block-arctic-reserve-oil-drilling-idUSKBN1CO36H
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He considered this to be one of his greatest accomplishments. Yet one more pressing reason we need to take back Congress! 