CQ WEEKLY  WEEKLY REPORT
Jan. 2, 2006  Page 35

2005 Legislative Summary: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Drilling

Bills: H Con Res 95, S 1932, HR 2863

Status: Republican leaders did not deliver to President Bush the cornerstone of his 2001 energy policy blueprint when Congress rejected a measure that would have opened the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to energy exploration. ANWR drilling boosters, including Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Pete V. Domenici, R-N.M., promised to renew their efforts to pass an ANWR development bill in 2006, although drilling opponents predicted the legislation would not survive in an election year.

Synopsis: Guided by Domenici and Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, pro-drilling lawmakers tried to avoid a threatened Democratic filibuster by inserting language authorizing exploration in ANWR into a budget reconciliation bill (S 1932). The strategy took form March 16 when the Senate rejected, 49-51, an amendment by Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., to strip from the Senate version of the fiscal 2006 budget resolution (S Con Res 18) language that assumed $2.5 billion in ANWR leasing revenues. Once the budget resolution assumed the savings from ANWR, the language in the reconciliation bill would be protected from filibuster.

For drilling advocates, that vote marked a potential turning point in the 25-year debate, but even the staunchest among them acknowledged challenges ahead. I recognize that the vote today is the first of several votes this year regarding ANWR, said Domenici after the March vote.

Republicans held the line again Nov. 3, rejecting, 48-51, another Cantwell amendment that would have deleted the ANWR provision from the Senates reconciliation bill. The Senate then adopted, 83-16, an amendment by Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Jim Talent, R-Mo., barring export of any oil or natural gas produced in the refuge.

Those votes seemed to seal the deal, until a group of moderate Republicans stripped the language from the House version of the reconciliation bill. That set up a third showdown between Cantwell and Stevens, who had inserted the ANWR language into the conference agreement on the must-pass fiscal 2006 Defense appropriations bill (HR 2863). Stevens linked the ANWR provision to money for hurricane relief and energy assistance for the poor.

This time, Cantwell prevailed. On Dec 21, the Senate fell short of the 60 votes needed to end a filibuster of the Defense spending measure. When the motion to end debate failed on a 56-44 vote, GOP leaders conceded that the ANWR language had to be removed so that the spending bill could be cleared and sent to the president. The last action was adoption of a concurrent resolution by the House and Senate (S Con Res 74) that actually stripped the provision.

Legislative action:

Senate adopted S Con Res 18, 51-49, on March 17, then on April 4 inserted the text into H Con Res 95 and adopted it by voice vote.

House adopted the conference report on H Con Res 95 (H Rept 109-62), 214-211, on April 28.

Senate adopted the conference report on H Con Res 95, 52-47, on April 28.

Senate passed S 1932, including ANWR language, 52-47, on Nov. 3.

Conference committee completed work on S 1932 on Dec. 18, dropping Senates ANWR language.

House adopted the conference report on HR 2863, including the ANWR language (H Rept 109-359), 308-106, on Dec. 19.

Senate adopted S Con Res 74, instructing congressional clerks to strip the ANWR language from the cleared version of HR 2863, 48-45, on Dec. 21.

Senate cleared HR 2863, which still included the ANWR language, 93-0, on Dec. 21.

House adopted S Con Res 74 to strip the ANWR language from HR 2863, by voice vote, on Dec. 22.

 
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