Action is needed to
prevent Congress from trying again to use the budget process to open the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil drilling! Drilling proponents still do
not have the votes to open the Refuge outright, so they are trying to use the
budget as a filibuster-proof vehicle to give oil companies access to the
pristine lands. The Senate has passed a budget resolution for fiscal year 2007
that includes revenues from new oil and gas leases in the Arctic. So, once again
it is up to the House of Representatives to reject this maneuver.
Urge the House of Representatives to keep ANWR out of the budget!
Last year, League members and other concerned citizens succeeded in
preventing Congress from using the budget process as a means to open the Refuge.
In the end, House moderates managed to have the provision to open ANWR removed
from the fiscal year 2006 budget before the final vote. Members of the House
should be thanked for protecting the Arctic Refuge and the legislative process
from this kind of manipulation last year, and encouraged to work again to ensure
that ANWR is not in the House budget resolution for fiscal year 2007.
On March 16, the Senate passed a budget blueprint for 2007 that not only
includes revenues from oil and gas exploration in the Refuge, but also ties
those revenues to the funding of restoration in the Gulf Coast. Drilling
proponents hope that this will make it harder to strip the measure. As in last
year’s fight, the fate of the Arctic Refuge rests with the reasonable members of
the House rejecting the use of the budget in this way.
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a 19.3 million-acre refuge situated
between the Arctic Ocean and the Brooks Range in the northeastern corner of
Alaska. The Refuge covers an amazing diversity of habitat, from rugged peaks and
glaciers to tundra and the coastal plain. Estimates suggest there is a limited
amount of oil under the Refuge, perhaps a six-month supply for the U.S. Modest
fuel efficiency improvements for motor vehicles alone would save approximately
five times the amount of oil estimated to be under the Arctic Refuge.
Take action now to protect the Refuge!
ACTION NEEDED
1. Contact your Representative now, by phone and email and urge her/him to
oppose any attempt to include drilling in ANWR in the budget! Tell your
Representative that you oppose oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge and the use of the budget process as a back-door maneuver to allow access
to the Refuge. Phone calls can be made through the Capitol Hill
switchboard at 202-225-3121 or 202-224-3121.
Click here to enter your zip code above to send an email to your
Representative!
2. Send this alert link to other concerned citizens - your grassroots
network, your friends and family.
3. Join with like-minded organizations in your community to take action to
protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
