Moderate Republicans Back Down from Energy Independence
Posted By Bobby Eberle On November 10, 2005 at 7:37 am
With never-ending turmoil in the Middle East and gas prices hitting the pocket book back home, it might seem like a “no-brainer” to make it a priority for America to decrease its dependence on foreign oil. Yet, it appears that Republican moderates have forced House Republicans into removing a provision of the budget bill which would have opened up a portion of Alaskan wilderness to oil drilling.
As is being reported by FOX News in Cadre of House GOP Holds Up ANWR Plan, House Republican leaders have taken out the drilling plan for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) under pressure from a group of moderate Republicans.
Republicans have battled Democrats to open ANWR to oil drilling for more than a decade, but now that drilling is closer than ever with the Senate approval of petroleum exploration last week, a tiny band of moderate House Republicans stands in the way.
A group of 25 Republicans wrote to the House Republican leadership on Tuesday and threatened to withhold support for a $54 billion deficit reduction package “unless a provision on drilling in ANWR was removed.” Despite pressure from some Senate Republicans to remain strong, Republican moderates remain defiant.
But moderate Republicans say it’s easier to defy leadership in the wake of indictments of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and vice presidential chief of staff Lewis “Scooter” Libby as well as President Bush’s own record low approval ratings.
According to a Bloomberg News report, the House Rules Committee approved the change in the bill’s language on Wednesday night.
The drilling proposal, which the Senate approved last week, would allow oil companies such as Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil Corp. and London-based BP Plc to drill on 1.5 million acres in the 19 million-acre Alaska Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. House leaders also removed a provision to allow more offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
It is simply tragic that moderate Republicans would be willing to hold budget cutting measures hostage in Congress in order to make a statement. It is equally tragic that this group would also be willing to move America in the wrong direction in its quest for energy independence.
See, some Republicans do care about the environment! I really don't care for the last paragraph at all.
Good to hear this happened. The Refuge should not be opened. What we should be doing is reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, since they are rapidly depleting, they fuck up the environment and to get to them, you have to rape the land. Here, here to the moderate Repugs. Oh, and I'm not surprised by the last graph...it's Foxnews...
__________________ The best art is understood by the fewest number of people.-James Franco on General Hospital
It's stupid, drilling in that Refuge would not have provided any kind of energy independence.. there was only enough up there for about a year, maximum.
Whoever wrote that should do even preliminary research.
__________________ "I can't help it if their ego suffers bystander trauma from my vivisection of their argument"
Moderate Republicans 1, House Republicans 0
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