Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) has decided against going to the floor with an amendment to remove Arctic National Wildlife oil drilling from the budget process, a spokeswoman said, setting up the vote on the overall budget as the key ANWR vote.
The amendment appeared headed toward a narrow defeat, so drilling opponents are now focused on attempting to cast the vote on final passage as a referendum on Arctic drilling.
Seven Senate GOP moderates oppose drilling, but last year they split on supporting final passage of the budget blueprint after Cantwell's amendment narrowly failed. "The strategy is to hope that by not introducing the amendment people won't feel they have political cover," Cantwell spokeswoman Charla Neuman said. "So they will feel pressure to vote against the budget as a whole."
Cantwell today said the recent Prudhoe Bay crude oil spill, which state officials have estimated at over 200,000 gallons, provides further evidence that ANWR should not be in the budget. "Clearly, we have work to do when it comes to making sure oil exploration doesn't irreversible damage our treasured public lands," Cantwell said in a prepared statement.
Also in play in the waning hours of debate are plans to link Gulf Coast restoration to Arctic National Wildlife Refuge development revenues. On the Senate floor earlier today, Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and David Vitter (R-La.) said one plan under consideration would steer revenues from ANWR, offshore drilling and broadcast spectrum sales towards gulf recovery efforts.
Sens. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) -- two leading backers of ANWR development -- are discussing the idea of steering ANWR receipts toward gulf protection and recovery with Landrieu, a Senate aide confirmed. And Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) confirmed this afternoon he plans to offer an amendment linking ANWR with Gulf Coast restoration on the Senate floor.