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U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), a senior member of both the House Energy and Commerce Committee and House Resources Committee, today issued the following statement in response to a decision by Congressional Republican leaders to include a controversial provision that would allow drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in a spending bill for the Department of Defense.
The provision, which was originally included in the Senate version of a budget reconciliation bill, could not have been passed in the House. Therefore, Republican leaders decided to attach the drilling provision to a defense spending conference report, which is expected to come up for a vote in the coming days.
"The fact that the Republicans are trying to attach Arctic drilling to a military spending bill shows how desperate they are to help corporate polluters. Apparently all the giveaways in the energy bill weren't enough -- opening the Arctic Refuge is one final Christmas present for their friends in the oil and gas industry." |
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