As ANWR Vote Moves to Senate, 5 Generals Urge Senate to Drop ANWR

As ANWR Vote Moves to Senate, 5 Generals Urge Senate to Drop ANWR from Defense Bill
December 19th, 2005
House lawmakers paved the way for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge during an all-night session Sunday night through early Monday morning bringing their legislative year to a close.

The ANWR provision was attached to a major defense bill, forcing many opponents of oil and gas exploration in the barren northern Alaska range to vote for it.

As House lawmakers now head for the their exits for the holidays, no end is in sight for the Senate, which can not leave for Christmas until it deals with spending bills, the deficit-cutting package and overcomes a filibuster on renewing the Patriot Act. A Senate vote on the deficit reduction bill could come today.

Democrats and some moderate Republicans have been blocking drilling in ANWR for years, and now its inclusion in the defense bill exposed that bill to a possible filibuster in the Senate. A filibuster can only be broken with a 60-vote majority.

Five retired generals sent members of the Senate, including Senate Leaders Bill Frist and Harry Reid, a letter today, urging them to keep Arctic drilling off the defense appropriations bill. The letter says “it is not helpful” and “only invites delay for our troops.” Below is a copy of the letter:
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and soft on terror if they filibuster or vote against the oil drilling portion no matter how much they agree and support every dollar for defense.
Repukes playin' politics with military lives again.