Re: OIL
Republican senator Stevens (R) Alaska attached the drilling bit dj, read it. <br /><br />Attempt to allow drilling in Alaska wildlife refuge blocked<br />21/12/2005 - 18:45:10 <br /><br />The US Senate today narrowly blocked a Republican plan to tap into the nations largest untapped reservoir of oil beneath the frozen tundra of an Alaska wildlife refuge.<br /><br />Drilling supporters fell four votes short of getting the required 60 votes to avoid a Democrat-led filibuster, a procedural move to delay or derail legislation. The vote was 56-44.<br /><br />Republicans had hoped to win passage by making the oil drilling issue part of a popular defence spending bill that has money for troops in Iraq and relief for Hurricane Katrina victims. Because of todays vote, Senate leaders are expected to rework the bill to eliminate the oil-drilling proposal.<br /><br />The vote was a stinging defeat for Senator Ted Stevens, a Republican who represents Alaska and has waged an intense fight for years to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He had thought this time he would finally get his wish by tying the proposal to a must-pass defence bill.<br /><br />Stevens called the refuges oil important to national security and bemoaned repeated attempts over the years that were killed in filibusters mounted by those opposed to drilling.<br /><br />Democrats accused Stevens of holding the defence bill hostage to Alaska drilling. The overall bill includes money for troops in Iraq and £16.4 billion for victims of Hurricane Katrina in the southern US.<br /><br />Our military is being held hostage by this issue, Arctic drilling, fumed Senator Harry Reid, the Democratic leader. He said the Senate could move quickly to pass the defence bill once the refuge issue had been resolved.<br /><br />We all agree we want money for our troops. ... This is not about the troops, said Senator John Kerry, a strong critic of disturbing the refuge in northeastern Alaska by oil field development.
