The Senate narrowly passed (51-49) an FY07 budget resolution on March 16, 2006, that includes assumptions of revenue from drilling the Arctic Refuge.
In a late-night session on March 16th, all of the Democrats except for Senator Landrieu (D-LA) voted against final passage of the budget resolution. Independent Senator Jeffords (VT) and Republican Senators Chafee (RI), Collins (ME), DeWine (OH), Coleman (MN), and Ensign (NV) also voted against the resolution. Senators Snowe (ME) and Smith (OR), who have opposed Arctic Refuge drilling in the past, voted for the budget resolution despite the assumption of drilling revenues.
The lobby effort on both sides of the aisle was intense and these Senators were under immense pressure. In the waning hours of debate there were a number of amendments that complicated the vote. Senator Snowe sponsored a successful amendment on drug benefits, Senator Specter offered a successful amendment on health care and Senators Landrieu, Vitter, Frist (TN), and Domenici (NM) worked on plans to link Gulf Coast restoration to Arctic Refuge development revenues. One amendment provides $10 billion for Gulf Coast restoration and another provides $3.3 billion for low-income heating assistance.
The battle for the Refuge now moves to the House, where that body is scheduled to take up its own FY07 budget resolution the week of March 26th.
The extraordinarily close vote on this resolution is a reminder of how controversial this backdoor drilling scheme remains. Countless conservation-minded Americans have made it clear that they want the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to remain wild, unspoiled, and free of oil drilling. The budget process is long and complex, and members of Congress will be hearing from their constituents at every step of the way.
Even though it narrowly passed in the Senate, this misguided, controversial maneuver faces the same steadfast, bipartisan opposition in the House of Representatives that decisively rejected it last year. Last year, a few drilling-obsessed politicians tried every dirty trick and every back door maneuver, but they were stopped by the American people and bipartisan leadership in Congress in the end. What part of “no” don’t they understand?
Americans want a clean Congress this year, not politicians who will bend the rules of the Senate on behalf of Big Oil and the drilling lobby. This backdoor drilling scheme has nothing to do with the budget or generating revenue – it's all about the oil lobby’s power and influence inside Congress and the White House. The drilling lobby and their allies in Congress know they cannot pass their short-sighted Arctic Refuge drilling plan through the normal process for controversial bills, so they are resorting to a procedural end-run instead of an open honest debate.
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Note: A "Nay" vote would protect the Arctic Refuge; a "Yay" vote moves the Refuge one step closer to oil development.
