AP: No budging in GOP split over Alaska drilling

[question everything]

No budging in GOP split over Alaska drilling

Issue put on budget measure so it couldn't be filibustered

By Andrew Taylor
ASSOCIATED PRESS

December 10, 2005

WASHINGTON – A seemingly hopeless divide within the Republican Party over oil drilling in a pristine wildlife refuge in Alaska is threatening to block unrelated budget cuts that are a central pillar of the GOP's plans for this year.

The battle pits about two dozen pro-environment and newly empowered House Republicans against veteran GOP proponents of drilling who say the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge may hold up to $500 billion worth of oil vital to the nation's energy needs. Neither side is budging.

"The Senate won't take anything that doesn't have some sort of program for ANWR in it, and the House right now won't take anything that does," said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton, R-Texas.

Year after year, Republican leaders and energy industry supporters like Barton could ignore the two to three dozen House Republicans who opposed drilling in the Alaska refugee because their "no" votes were offset by an equal number of "yes" votes from oil-state Democrats. But virtually every Democrat in Congress opposes the budget bill because of its cuts in popular social programs, so Republican leaders in the House don't have that critical support from across the aisle to carry the vote on drilling.

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Find this article at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20051210/news_1n10drill.html

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1. That's it 500 Billion...

We know there is only maybe enough there to sustain us for 6 months but that is how much it is worth.