URGENT ACTION ALERT

BACKGROUND ON ANTICIPATED SENATE CLOTURE VOTES ON
MONDAY, DECEMBER 3

In their latest attempt to ramrod the destructive House-passed energy bill
through the Senate, Minority Leader Trent Lott and Alaska Senator Frank
Murkowski will be offering a version of H.R. 4 to the Railroad Retirement
Bill on Monday, December 3.  Our champions are filibustering this
Lott/Murkowski Amendment, and there will be a cloture vote to stop the
filibuster on THIS Monday at 5pm.  Lott needs 60 votes to move his amendment
forward. Our goal is to sustain the filibuster by having 40 plus Senators
vote against cloture.

Immediately following the Lott/Murkowski Amendment cloture vote, there will
be a second cloture vote on an amendment by Senator Brownback imposing a
moratorium on human cloning immediately following the cloture vote on
energy.  (We don't have a position on that amendment and are not asking you
to take action on it.)

Finally, just to make it more confusing, after the Lott and Brownback votes,
Senator Daschle will hold a cloture vote on the underlying
railroad retirement bill -- we should urge senators to vote for cloture on
the Daschle motion because that will guarantee that any further damaging
amendments will be subject to point of order and need 60 votes.  We expect
the Democrats to remain united on these cloture votes, and are concentrating
on our swing Republicans.  At this moment, we think that politics of the
underlying railroad bill might possibly result in a lopsided vote in our
favor, but we must let Republican offices know that this is a priority for
the Sierra Club.

We need field staff to make the action below a priority in your work on
Monday.

GOAL

Defeat anti-environmental Senators' efforts to add anti-environmental
House-passed energy bill (HR 4 which includes Arctic drilling) to the
railroad retirement bill

TIMING

The cloture vote will be at 5 pm on Monday December 3.

ACTION NEEDED:

Call Senate offices

MESSAGE

(1)
Urge target Senators to vote *against cloture* on the Lott/Murkowski
Energy/Arctic Drilling amendment to the Railroad bill.  The Senate
leadership has pledged to bring up an energy bill in February, and that
is where this debate belongs, not on this unrelated legislation.
(2)
Urge target Senators to vote for Daschle's cloture motion on the
underlying railroad bill to stop any further efforts to attach
anti-environmental amendments to unrelated legislation.

(Note:  See detailed talking points below, for our positive alternative
energy bill which should include fuel efficiency and renewables.  )

BACKGROUND TALKING POINTS

Bottom line:  this controversial, destructive energy bill does not belong on
the Railroad bill.  Vote *against cloture* on the Lott/Murkowski amendment.

Our nation needs a sound energy policy based on increased fuel economy and
more reliance on renewables such as wind and solar, which will truly address
our energy security needs, unlike drilling in the Arctic.

The Sierra Club strongly opposes H.R. 4, particularly its provision to open
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. Some drilling
proponents are using the current national crisis to push forward efforts to
open the Refuge to drilling in the name of "national security." The fact is,
drilling in the Refuge or other sensitive public lands will not make a dent
in our dependence on foreign oil, nor will it do anything to help improve
national security. But it will forever destroy one of  America's greatest
natural treasures.

Now is not the time for debate over controversial and divisive long-term
energy policy. Attaching H.R. 4 or any other provision to open the Refuge to
drilling will merely hold up consideration of other important and unrelated
legislation.

Please contact Alex Veitch at 202 675 7913 with any questions.

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