I haven't covered the recent debate over drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge because others have been doing a stellar job with it. Still, I was very glad to see that House of Representative's Republican leaders have stripped the provision for drilling from the current budget bill. This doesn't mean that ANWR is safe yet: it could still be re-inserted in the reconciliation process between the House and the Senate. I think it's a good sign, though, that this happened in the much more conservative House. Over the past years, the Senate has been much more reliable on protecting ANWR, and while last year's election certainly moved it in a more conservative direction, my sense is that the will to start a fight over this provision isn't there...
Categories: USA, ANWR, politics, congress
