FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
March 9, 2006

Contact:                                            
William Lutz     202.772.0269       

Senate Budget Committee Frozen in Arctic Drilling Rut

Oil Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 
Included in Budget Again this Year

March 9, 2006 --  Washington, DC -- Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, introduced a budget on March 8 that includes a single reconciliation instruction: To open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. The instruction is the only legally binding piece of the entire budget document and implores the Senate Energy Committee to include the drilling provision in its budget. This move comes after last year's embattled Congress ground to a halt over the inclusion of this very issue in the budget process, and on the heels of President Bush's acknowledgement that America is addicted to oil.

"This is clearly not a budget that reflects what America needs or wants," stated Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife. "The best way to reduce our dependence on foreign oil is by putting more money towards further development of clean energy sources. They tried to open the refuge to drilling last year and were soundly defeated twice, first by bipartisan opposition to including drilling in the budget in the House, then again in the Senate when it was snuck on to the defense appropriations bill at the eleventh hour."

Sen. Gregg included the Arctic Refuge drilling language despite protest from every Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee.

"It is simply irresponsible for Sen. Gregg to have put the same tired, old legislation into his budget despite the division and legislative gridlock it caused last year. This is bound to tie up the entire process again, and the effort to drill is bound to fail again. Sen. Gregg should stop abusing the budget process and wasting Congress' time with this dead-end proposal," stated Schlickeisen.

Sen. Russell Feingold (D-WI), a long-time Arctic Refuge champion, offered an amendment in committee today to strike drilling language from the budget. It was narrowly defeated by a vote of 11-9. 

"It all comes down to what you say versus what you do. The Bush administration claims it wants to break our addiction to oil, but then goes to every extreme to allow drilling for more oil in one of the last protected wildernesses left in our country rather than expand technology. Thankfully, principled politicians and the American people will continue to fight hard to keep the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge safe from oil drilling," concluded Schlickeisen.