Maureen Lorenzetti
Washington Editor
WASHINGTON, DC, Apr. 17 -- Sens. Frank Murkowski (R-Alas.), Ted Stevens (R-Alas.), and John Breaux (D-La.) introduced a long-anticipated amendment to a pending Senate energy bill Apr. 16 that would allow leasing on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. But Senate Democratic leaders said they "easily" have the 60 votes needed to shut down debate on the proposal. Also, in recent days, ANWR leasing opponents claim they have been able to win support from undecided lawmakers assuring they would prevail even if Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) decided to risk a simple majority vote on the controversial issue.
Yet supporters of ANWR exploration say it is too soon to assume the measure is dead in the Senate. At presstime, proleasing forces were still trying to win back votes, and given the volatile nature of international oil markets, no group from either side has been willing to officially predict victory just yet.
Pro-ANWR leasing forces are hoping a nationwide appeal by some labor unions to members of Congress in support of the amendment may drum up last-minute support, a tactic successfully done in the House last summer. ANWR leasing supporters also hope to secure some "farm belt" votes, but it is unclear whether they have any political leverage—given that many of the issues Midwesterners care about, such as expanded fuel ethanol production, may have been largely been addressed in another portion of the energy bill that focuses on clean fuel issues.
White House support
Shortly after he took office in January 2001, President George W. Bush called on Congress to allow ANWR leasing with the caveat that exploration be tightly controlled.
But what the president has not done is threaten to veto an energy bill that does not contain an ANWR leasing provision.
If the Senate succeeds in passing an ANWR-free energy measure, it still must reconcile the differences between that legislation and a proposal passed by the House in August 2001 that does include ANWR leasing.
Murkowski proposal
Murkowski's amendment is similar to the House version in that it limits the area available to drilling to no more than 2,000 acres. It also has other features not included in the House bill.
According to Murkowski, his amendment does not open ANWR per se. Rather, it gives the president the authority to open ANWR if the White House "certifies" to Congress that the "exploration, development, and production of the oil and gas resources in ANWR's coastal plain are in the national economic and security interests of the United States."
Then, based on that certification, ANWR leasing could occur, provided there are strict environmental protections; an export ban preventing companies from selling the crude outside the US market (Israel excluded); and extending a US-Israel oil supply arrangement—due to expire in 2004—to 2014.
In his opening Senate speech on the measure, Murkowski said a vote for ANWR was a vote for national security.
"America needs American oil from ANWR. Today, almost two-thirds of our oil is imported from overseas—much of it from the Middle East. With ANWR open, we could cast off Saudi Arabian imports for more than 3 decades or Iraqi imports for more than a half-century," said Murkowski, referring to current levels of crude oil imports from those two countries. "When we don't control our energy supply, someone else does. As long as that continues, we remain vulnerable to the whims of Middle East rulers.
"We need only look back on the past month to understand the extent of the chaos and uncertainty that exists in the Middle East," said Murkowski. "Iraq increased the reward to each Palestinian suicide bombers to $25,000 and imposed a 30-day oil embargo against us. With labor strikes cutting exports from Venezuela and the Iraqi embargo, nearly 30% of our imported oil is now in jeopardy".
Iraq oil ban
Murkowski also wants the Senate to vote on an amendment that would prevent US companies from buying Iraqi oil from the United Nations' humanitarian "oil for aid" program. Murkowski maintains that the UN program has not prevented Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from using petrodollars to fuel his own war machine.
Oil companies have not spoken out against the amendment but privately have told the White House that the measure could exacerbate gasoline price spikes, because several refineries are optimized to run on Iraqi crude.
International trade sanctions largely prevent Iraq from selling oil directly to US companies; President Bush also already has the authority to prevent US refiners from participating in the UN oil program.
Next steps
Along with Murkowski's amendment, Stevens is offering a proposal designed to help the US steel industry and its workers receive a bailout partially funded through ANWR bonus bids. That measure is also expected to fail, in part because the White House—and some key Republican leaders—refuse to offer full support for the compromise.
Final Senate action on ANWR is expected to occur on or around Apr. 18. Next on the Senate energy agenda will likely be tax measures, including a proposal to encourage the construction of a 3,000 mile trans-Alaskan gas pipeline from the North Slope to the Lower 48. Proponents of the project say it could be the US's largest construction project ever.