Update posted by Jane Clark -- thanks to those of you who called.

Sierra Club Currents
Volume I, #43
Thursday, October 11

ENERGY: Another Thwarted Attempt to Open Arctic to Drilling

This afternoon, the Senate thwarted another attempt to open the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge to drilling by amending national security bills.
This time the responsible party for a drilling amendment was Senator Phil
Gramm (R-Tex.). Sen. Gramm attached his secondary amendment to an amendment
by Sen. Jean Carnahan (D-MO). Carnahan's amendment to the airline safety
bill would have aided airline workers who have lost their jobs due to Sept.
11. The attempt to drill the Arctic Refuge by Sen. Gramm died when Sen.
Carnahan pulled her provision.

This is the third attempt in the last few weeks made by conservative
Republican Senators to attach an Arctic amendment to a national security
bill. In a letter to the Senate, Carl Pope wrote, "Senator Gramm's
amendment is irrelevant to airline security, and merely represents a
cynical effort to exploit divisions about the Arctic to deny aviation
workers the economic security that Senator Carnahan's amendment would
provide."

In a twist of irony, Senator Gramm's effort killed an amendment that would
have financially aided many members of the Teamsters Union, the most vocal
union in support of drilling in the Arctic.

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