This is truly welcome news, but I'm afraid there's nothing definitive,
nothing final to celebrate, until the House and Senate conferees send
identical, "clean" bills back to their respective chambers for final
approval.  Because Frist changed his vote on the cloture resolution, to be
on the "prevailing side" of both the procedural and final passage votes,
he can move--and therefore control--timing of both the motion for
reconsidering passage of the bill and the motion to reconsider cloture. 
He and Hastert meanwhile can name Republican conferees who can force
amending the bill in joint conference and send it back to the Senate, with
drilling once more included.  If Frist has by this time done enough
arm-twisting on the maverick Republican Senators (see below) to make them
change their anti-cloture votes, he can move to reconsider the bill, then
move to reconsider the cloture motion, pass it, and cut off the
filibuster.

That's one scenario.  There are others.  This is very time-sensitive
maneuvering:  be watching for the the pro-drilling forces to start probing
and pressuring with polls and ads, stirring up feelings against
"environmentalists and their Senate allies who are harming our troops."

--BW

And yes, let's also make sure we thank Tom Harkin who continues as Iowa's
"rock" in the Senate--and Jim Leach who is providing growing leadership
for moderate Republicans in the House.

> It matters who we get in office!  Sierra Club members in WA state were
> more active than Democrats in getting Maria Cantwell into office & today
> we got what we worked so hard for!  I worked every day for 4 weeks after
> the election to get Maria Cantwell elected.  I hope we can make this kind
> of difference  in Iowa in 2006!  The following is from the Cascade
> Chapter.  Phyllis Mains
>
> a message from our Senator on the Arctic win today! What a champion!!!
> You
> can call and thank her or send an email to:
> 1-888-648-7328 or [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
> FROM:  U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, Washington
> For Immediate Release December 21, 2005
>
>
>
> Cantwell Leads Senate in Stopping Arctic Drilling
>
> Calls for Immediate Passage of Funding Bill for Troops
>
>
> WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) issued the following
> statement on the successful blocking of drilling in the Arctic from the
> defense spending bill.  Cantwell led the fight on the Senate floor to
> keep
> the Senate playing by the rules and putting the people's interests before
> the special interests.
>
> "This was a great bipartisan victory for all members who worked to play
> by
> the rules and a great bipartisan victory for our troops," said Cantwell,
> a
> member of the Senate's Commerce and Energy Committees. "I'm glad we stood
> up
> to say that this trickery.  It's time to fund and support the troops now
> without anymore tricks.   Now that we've successfully removed these
> provisions from this legislation, we can get down to business and deliver
> to
> our men and women in uniform around the world the resources they need to
> do
> their jobs and keep America safe.  We successfully stopped drilling in
> the
> Arctic for now, but we will remain vigilant next year to make sure that
> the
> country focuses its energy on real solutions to our over dependence on
> foreign oil and not Christmas packages for the oil companies."
>
> Cantwell, who also serves as the chair of Energy Independence 2020, had
> threatened earlier in the week to use all procedural means to remove the
> Arctic Refuge drilling provision and had been working to convince her
> colleagues to stand with her on this issue.  Cantwell has been a leader
> in
> the fight to prevent drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
>
> # # #
>
> Every Monday, Maria provides a brief outline about her work in the Senate
> and issues of importance to Washington state.  If you are interested in
> subscribing to this update, please visit her website at:
> http://gp1d.senate.gov/mailman/listinfo/cantwell-weekly-update
>
>
>
>
>
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