Arctic Drilling May Get Dumped from Bill

[kskiska]

WASHINGTON - The White House is easing away from insisting that Congress open an Alaska wildlife refuge to oil drilling after the president was told by lawmakers the issue could doom energy legislation.

President Bush (news - web sites), after meeting with legislators involved in the energy talks, said Wednesday he wanted a bill "that will pass both bodies" — the House and Senate. He said the White House would work with those trying to resolve "contentious" issues such as drilling in the Alaska refuge.

To the lawmakers present, it was a clear signal that the White House is willing to accept energy legislation without a provision to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil development, according to congressional sources close to the negotiations.

Sen. Pete Domenici (news, bio, voting record), R-N.M., said he and the other lawmakers made clear to the president "we're not going to let ANWR defeat a comprehensive energy bill."

more…
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=544&ncid=703&e=5&u=/ap/20030918/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_energy

[joeybee12]

1. Hooray!

I loathe Domenici, but his quote is indicative of how the Repukes feel towards Dumbo. Sure, they'll support him, but not blindly anymore since they know he's in trouble--the Repukes want to say they passed something, and are willing to drop ANWR.

[UpInArms]

3. it's about damn time

that they dropped ANWR from their "energy" bill - this has been the will of the people from the beginning and for the pukes to insist that they decimate one of the few remaining pristine regions is disgusting.

edited for typo

[salin]

5. read my comments below

there is a much bigger picture.

[salin]

4. No yea

that provision would have killed the whole bill. It was a trojan horse. Always meant a bargaining chip for GOP, and a poison pill for the Dems (as in - if it is in there the whole awful bill dies). THis was good for the GOP but awful for the American citizens.

[salin]

2. Spend spend spend and more tax cuts for industry in this bill

as I have said many times for several years, the ANWR provision was never real - it was a bargaining chip. The bill will take away SEC oversight over utility holding corps (making way for greater ability to gouge consumers) promotes very little R&D, very little alternative energy, and gives HUGE tax breaks to industry - with NO targets (eg company a gets a tax break if they invest in x type of R&D to develop technologies for renewable energy and/or to promote energy independence).

Add to this the 40 BILLION bush wants for manufacturers (again just give it and hope it provides some jobs - not targeted to promote jobs and only going to those promoting growth in jobs). And he appears to be poised to support the perscription drugs bills - that are underfunded (and not very adequate) but now that they have given away the treasury even this little bit of help, I believe, I read would cost another 40 Billion. Get it? He is getting hell for the additional 87 Billion for IRaq but is pushing for more than that amount of additional debt for manufacturers and energy companies - but in giveaway fashion - and we have seen just giving to corps has not spurred domestic investment (re: jobs), and is pushing for a symbolic perscription benefit to Medicare that while giving minimal relief to citizens - now in the face of mounting debts is exceptionally costly to citizens.

Did I just read a CBO or GAO report (non partisan congressional budget numbers) that put out a huge warning - including an astronomical $ amount on how much all of the debt spending - much due to the ineffective tax cuts - (all without the above items go into effect) cost each living man, woman and child in the US (I had to have misread the number - didn't do a thorough read, and I hope I misread it - because I thought I read $100,000 per person.)

[joeybee12]

6. You're right, the entire energy bill sucks...

...but at least most of the provisions can be reversed, unlike ANWR--once they drill, they've ruined that place forever. You can't go back and put something into its natural, wild state. It's not possible.

[joeybee12]

7. Also, I wouldn't just say it's a bragaining chip...

...at least for Dumbo, Norton, and those other "Left Behind" sickos. They really want to destroy the earth before Jesus comes again. To them, Jesus is a minimalist--got to clear away all that nature stuff and leave nice, clean, flat surfaces!

[salin]

9. find a copy of what they want - especially re: drilling and use of

park land for energy companies. It is all there.

Folks on the HIll have known this was a bargaining chip for a very long time.

Don't you get it? It NEVER would pass with it in the bill. That is why they negotiated it out. That is why the house kept putting it back in - so they wouldn't have to negotiate on other issues.

Did you see the item where the dems on the conference committee were LOCKED out of the drafting the compromise bill? Why? So that all the rest would stay in - but not enough to kill the bill.

The fact that so many folks respond as you do - as if this is a victory - demonstrate how effective of a bargaining chip it has been.

[salin]

8. You can't put regulation and lost $ and growing energy co influence

back in the bottle either.

THe point is the pubs have been doing this strategically. If the provision (which is awful) remained. The bill would have died. It was better in where it would have been killed along with everything else - than out where the rest will pass.

Imagine more California energy crisis (many believe that the economic impact of that spun a weak economy into full recession). But with more ways to game the system.

Imagine more and prolonged blackouts (they allow the justification of the GOVERNMENT - rather than the industries - paying the business costs of infrastructure - used to be under regulation that rate payers and companies would pay- but that rate hikes were monitored and abled to be rejected when gouging was occuring. Now the gouging can be more sophisticated and even harder to protect).

Imagine sinking further and futher into debt - due to the tax provisions - with absolutely no public good (rates will go up and be subject to wild swings; while no long-term planning for energy independence or renewables will occur - thus we will be in a worse situation (even MORE dependent on foreign energy supplies) and paying more for energy out of pocket and in taxes. Once upon a time businesses figured in the "cost of doing business" into their budgets - the biggest corporations now seem to believe that the tax payers should pay that (re: socialize the costs - privatize the profits).

And there are many drilling provisions within this - kiss even more parkland goodbye as it gets devoured by privatized energy drilling.

[stevedeshazer]

17. Thanks for pointing this out, salin

This bill is just more deregulation in disguise. The ANWR part is a Pyrrhic victory. It has a lot more to do with letting energy companies have their way.

[UpInArms]

10. the speech you are looking for

and the exact amount is $100,000 per man, woman and child can be found in the last paragraph of the first page of this pdf

http://www.gao.gov/cghome/npc917.pdf

[salin]

21. Thank you up in arms...

I have bookmarked this for future reference - the prediction is stunning.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

11. kick

THis is more robbery!

[pmbryant]

14. salin, your work on this issue has been tremendous

As you have always pointed out, this bill must die! With or without ANWR drilling, this bill is a horrific and shameful giveaway.

It was horrible last time around, and with a full GOP Congress this time, it no doubt is much much worse now.

We must work to defeat this, whether ANWR drilling is in it or not.

Thanks again, salin!

EDIT: How do we defeat this? Is there a Senator willing to filibuster it even without ANWR drilling? Will he/she have 41 votes to back him/her up? I think it's time to get busy writing/calling our Senators, or any Senator who may possibly be willing to help defeat this.

--Peter

[tom_paine]

16. Holy Sh*T!

Man, this nightmare just keeps getting worse.

How much more of this can the economy take before it groans to a collapsing heap. Damn, the Clinton economy can take a lot of pounding, but eventually it has to give.

Lots of pain below, while the Busheviks and their cronies and even to a lesser degree what used to be called the Upper Middle Class, but is now the Lesser Haves...the Squires, are experiencing masturbatory pleaure and raining fraudulent money both from Americans and Iraqis.

And we must pay our respect to one badass propaganda machine that masks all of this and more to the degree that it does. The double-standard of treatment between the Imperials and the Democrats is astonishing, Orwellian,

Goebbels v2.0 works. Sad but true. Will it continue working or will people wake to the Sovietness of it all. Perhaps they will awake too late.

[cally]

12. Another kick

This information is important.

[DeathvadeR]

13. We all know that when push come to shove...

We are going to drill that Oil out when we need it. You just watch how fast that shit gets pumped out of the ground when gas prices reach $5 a gallon. People wont give a rats ass about some caraboo.

Besides it's more like a reserve for the US anyways. They just make it seem like an issue so other Opec partners don't give us shit.

[papau]

15. Damn ANWR "no provision" is really only a 5 month delay!

Other parts of the bill seem to allow the drilling after the 5 month hold.

God these folks are con Artists.

If the Dems allow this - if the media portrays this as some great give up - I will not be happy!

:-(

[Judi Lynn]

18. Thanks to Salin for information lots of us haven't considered yet

:kick:

These pubs are vile. The world needs to recover from their poison.

[Robbien]

20. Agreed, Salin is another one of the heros here.

eom

[Robbien]

19. Please visit the companion working thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=360805&mesg_id=360805

and lend your opinions and recommendations.

[UnapologeticLiberal]

22. I predict they will back down, at least for this session

Because John Kerry has threatened to filibuster it, and the stupidest thing they could do is enable him to get attention by leading an old-fashioned filibuster (I know that does not happen much anymore, but it would be smart politics for anyone running for president to do on a popular issue like this).

[salin]

23. has he threatened this... even with Anwr out of the legislation?

If this is true - he just gained points in my book in a huge way. Without the ANWR no one seems to pay attention to this dasturdly piece of legislation.