Early Actions by Rep. Nussle May Set the Course for Arctic Drilling in 2006
Audubon
Just
days into the 109th Congress and the pro-drillers are already hard at
work pushing to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas
drilling! As we write, their first effort is underway: trying to attach
drilling revenues to the FY06 budget resolution – the Congressional
blueprint that sets overall funding levels for government agencies for
the upcoming fiscal year.
This
is nothing more than a back-door, underhanded way to avoid a fair and
open debate on one of the most controversial issues Congress will
tackle this year.
Fortunately, this sentiment is not lost on Chairman
of the Budget Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, Iowa
Representative Jim Nussle. Chairman Nussle has steadfastly opposed
attaching this back-door maneuver to the House budget resolution in the
past. With your help, we can ensure he does so again this year!
That’s
why we’re writing to you today – to ask you to please contact
Representative Nussle and urge him to continue to keep the budget
resolution free and clear of provisions relating to drilling in the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Just click HERE now to instantly send
your letter to Rep. Nussle on this issue today!
KEEP IN MIND
As
their sneaky tactics are being employed, the pro-drilling special
interests are also working tirelessly to win over Members of Congress
by overwhelming them with less-than-accurate claims, but make no
mistake, drilling in the Arctic Refuge will in no way reduce our
dependence on foreign oil. In fact, it has been widely reported that
there is only a 6-month supply of oil in the Arctic Refuge – and it
would take a full 10 years before any of that oil would begin to flow.
Raising the fuel efficiency of light vehicles by less than one mile per
gallon could save the same amount of oil that might be under the Arctic
Refuge!
For the
pro-drillers, this is about short-term financial gains. For those
against drilling, it’s about protecting America’s last great frontier,
protecting an environmentally sensitive and biologically productive
area for birds and wildlife that call it home. For over 20 years,
Audubon has been a leading voice in protecting the Arctic Refuge. Help
us continue preserve one of America’s last great frontiers, a true
national treasure.
For more information, please contact us at audubonaction@audubon.org. Thank you for your support and participation!
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