Apr. 18, 2005 – The US House of Representatives is quickly advancing an energy bill that that would, among other things, provide relatively few resources for alternative energy development and allow oil exploration in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).
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Though the cost of the entire energy package is estimated at $8 billion, less that $500,000 of that funding is devoted to encouraging renewable energy and boosting energy efficiency.
The inclusion of an amendment to allow oil drilling in the Arctic Refuge further heightens a debate that intensified earlier this year when the Senate included a similar provision in its budget resolution.
While the president has argued that allowing energy development in the Refuge would reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil, environmental groups have argued that the relatively little amount of oil under the refuge is not worth the environmental destruction that accompanies oil drilling. They have instead called on lawmakers to use the opportunity to address fuel economy and the need for alternatives to fossil fuels.
Debate over the energy bill is expected to take place in the House for much of the week.
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The ANWR provision could face a greater challenge in the Senate, where Democrats have threatened a filibuster. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California) said she plans to organize a consumer boycott "of any oil company that decides to drill in this pristine Alaskan wilderness area."
