THE NATION

Bush Pushes for Arctic Oil Drilling

By EDWIN CHEN
TIMES STAFF WRITER

February 17 2002

ANCHORAGE -- President Bush made a strong appeal here Saturday for
opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to energy exploration,
saying that such a move would start the nation toward energy
independence.

"We've got to find energy in our own country. And a great place to start
is right here in the great state of Alaska," Bush said of his proposal
to explore a portion of the pristine refuge in the northernmost reaches
of Alaska.

That plan, as did a similar push by his father, has drawn strong
condemnation from environmentalists and has met with determined
opposition from the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate. But the president
brushed aside those concerns during a speech before military personnel
at Elmendorf Air Force Base, adding that such exploration also would be
"good for jobs."

Bush also defended his $1.35-billion tax cut and called on the Senate to
enact an economic stimulus package.

The president stopped here on his way to Tokyo as part of a weeklong
Asia trip that also will take him to Seoul and Beijing.

"I've heard 'em all in Washington," Bush said dismissively of his
critics on oil drilling in Alaska. "I've heard all the skeptics say:
'Well, you can't do that; it's going to ruin this or that.'

"Listen, there's no doubt in my mind, there's no doubt in your
governor's mind, there's no doubt in the minds of people who take a
sound, scientific look at this that we can do so without endangering the
environment, that we can find energy for America's people and, at the
same time, preserve the beauty of Alaska.

"What we need is a common-sense approach to energy," he added.

In Washington, the Senate is expected soon to begin debate on
comprehensive energy legislation, with Republicans and Democrats
offering competing plans.

The Republican House last summer passed a wide-ranging energy bill,
based largely on the agenda issued by the Bush administration in May
2001.

The development of the administration's energy policy was headed by Vice
President Dick Cheney, like Bush a former oilman. Cheney and his task
force have come under fire not only for some of its controversial
elements but also for not disclosing details of their work--a dispute
between the White House and Congress that is headed for the federal
courts in Washington.

Saturday was Bush's first visit to Alaska since the summer of 1974. He
worked a desk job for an airline and a construction company during the
state's energy boom, when a pipeline was built to transport newly
discovered oil from Prudhoe Bay.

The Prudhoe Bay fields, a major source of crude oil for California, are
in decline, and the oil industry wants to look for more oil in the
wildlife refuge east of the oil fields.

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latimes.com/archives. For information about reprinting this article, go
to www.lats.com/rights.

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