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ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY DAILY

Friday, March 10, 2006
 



SPOTLIGHT

 1. ANWR: Senate floor is next for Arctic drilling
Ben Geman, E&E Daily senior reporter
Inclusion of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge oil drilling in the fiscal
year 2007 budget survived its first challenge yesterday when the Senate
Budget Committee rejected an amendment to strike the language on a 9-11
party line vote. 

The budget resolution was later approved by the committee in an 11-10
vote, with floor action -- and likely further challenges -- expected next
week. Drilling supporters mustered a slim majority last year, but floor
passage of another resolution that includes ANWR would be one of just
several steps needed to allow leasing. 

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) led the effort to eliminate a $3 billion
reconciliation instruction to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Committee from the resolution during a markup yesterday. Energy Committee
Chairman Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) plans to raise the money by authorizing
lease sales on the refuge's coastal plain. 

And Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) came under attack from
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and several other anti-drilling GOP
moderates over including ANWR again in this year's budget process. Use of
the budget process is key because budget measures cannot be filibustered.


"As you know, the budget process was designed to ensure that important
fiscal matters be debated and decided swiftly. Congress should not be
making environmental and energy policy decisions of this magnitude on the
budget bill," states a letter released yesterday from Sens. Snowe, John
McCain (R-Ariz.), Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and
Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.). 

But Domenici, in speaking against Feingold's amendment during yesterday's
markup, called the matter one of basic fairness. He said ANWR should be
entitled to an up-or-down vote rather than subject to filibuster. 

Nineteen Democrats -- including Minority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) -- also
attacked the renewed ANWR push with their own letter yesterday to Senate
Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.). The Democrats call projected lease
revenues "highly speculative" numbers irresponsible to assume in the
budget. 

The Congressional Budget Office estimates lease sale revenues at $6
billion, which would be split 50-50 with the state of Alaska, while the
White House uses an even higher figure. The Democrats who signed the
letter include Sens. Reid, Maria Cantwell (Wash.), Jeff Bingaman (N.M.).
John Kerry (Mass.), Joe Lieberman (Conn.) and others. 

Gregg's proposed budget resolution does not seek to trim mandatory
spending programs, such as health entitlements, which is considered very
tough in an election year, leaving ANWR as the sole item to be addressed
in the subsequent reconciliation process. 

The Senate decision to avoid a push on mandatory spending cuts this year
has major ramifications for the drilling effort, especially if House
lawmakers were to forgo or limit efforts to cut mandatory programs in
their budget process. Last year, ANWR cleared the Senate as part of a
controversial spending cut package, but it was jettisoned in the House
debate over spending reconciliation plans amid revolt by anti-drilling
GOP moderates. 

It remains unclear if the House budget will seek mandatory spending cuts
or pave the way for the House Resources Committee to authorize ANWR
leasing. Introduction of the budget resolution has been delayed in that
chamber. 

A spokeswoman for the House Budget Committee indicated Committee Chairman
Jim Nussle (R-Iowa) may try to slow mandatory spending growth again this
year but did not provide details. "That is a discussion that has been
ongoing," the aide said. "We are not there yet as far as a final number
or final decision at this point." The aide said it is Nussle's "intention
and hope" to continue reforming spending programs. 

Environmentalists launched attacks on the ANWR effort throughout the day,
with a GOP environmental group linking it to recent GOP ethics scandals
and claiming it could hurt the party at the ballot box. Inclusion of ANWR
in the budget will "feed the impression that our party is ethically
bankrupt," according to David Jenkins, government affairs director for
Republicans for Environmental Protection. 

"Concocting a one-issue budget plan to ram through an unpopular
pork-barrel scheme represents a new low in ethical lapses. This could be
the last straw that convinces voters to throw the Republican majority
out," Jenkins said in a prepared statement, adding it could harm GOP
members in swing districts. 

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