The Democratic-led US Senate is closer than ever to approving leasing of the coastal plain in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an organized labor leader said last week.
Teamsters Union spokesman Jerry Hood said a majority of senators would vote to lease the region of northeastern Alaska. He suggested leasing proponents may soon have the 60 votes needed to shut off a potential filibuster of any legislation that would allow ANWR leasing.
"We'll be there very, very shortly," Hood said.
Senate Democrats refuted that claim, saying they have enough votes to maintain a filibuster.
Congressional challenge
Last July, Hood predicted the House of Representatives would pass an ANWR leasing provision at a time when many industry observers doubted the issue had enough political support. A month later, the House defeated, on a surprisingly decisive margin of 222-206, an attempt to strip ANWR leasing from the House Republican energy bill (OGJ Online, Aug. 2, 2001).
ANWR supporters said the Democratic-led Senate offers more of a challenge, although not an insurmountable one. They say they had enough votes in the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources to move an ANWR bill to the Senate floor.
But Senate Democrats earlier this month suspended a markup of an energy bill in the committee; Democratic leaders say they are working on a comprehensive proposal that will have bipartisan support (see related story, p. 30).
Meanwhile, Republicans say public pressure is growing to enact energy policy legislation this year that includes ANWR leasing as a way to boost jobs and keep energy prices low.
Teamsters' view
Hood would not say which Senate lawmakers are mulling a change in their positions or how close ANWR supporters are to reaching the critical 60 votes. "We promised to give these people cover," Hood said.
The Teamsters representative also suggested that as the economy continues to weaken, many Democratic lawmakers may need to reassess their opposition to ANWR.
"As the party moves forward, it needs to know its constituency," Hood said. He said former Vice-President Al Gore failed to win the presidential election in large part because his views on the environment were "too harsh."
"This isn't a threat," Hood noted but said Gore would be president "if he had gotten the five electoral votes from West Virginia."
Trading barbs
Meanwhile, pro-industry Senate Republicans continued to criticize Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD). They say Daschle won't allow a comprehensive energy bill to move forward because he knows it would pass with an ANWR provision.
Sen. Larry Craig (R-Ida.) said the Democrats may have to act sooner than later. "He [Daschle] is beginning to sense the message has been delivered," Craig said.
Meanwhile, some Democrats are blasting Republican persistence on the ANWR issue.
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), spoke early this month at a press conference with organized labor representatives who oppose ANWR drilling. Kerry said the Republicans "threaten to attach it to every piece of legislation before Congress. They say it's security; it's not. They say it's stimulus; it's not."
Democrats say they may consider attaching some energy-specific proposals to a $20 billion homeland security bill by Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Committee on Appropriations.
Byrd has $1.9 billion earmarked for infrastructure security, but some Senate Democrats are suggesting more money could be spent on energy-related issues. Items under consideration by Senate Democratic leaders include a renewable oxygen standard for clean fuels that would expand the market for fuel ethanol in reformulated gasoline, spending to increase oil stored in the SPR, and tax incentives for domestic oil, gas, and alternative energy production. Whether ANWR will be part of the debate is uncertain.
