From the Office of Senator Kerry

Wednesday, August 1, 2001

"The vote in the House of Representatives today is disappointing -- not because it means the Senate will endorse drilling in the wildlife refuge, which it won't; not because it means that drilling in the pristine wilderness is responsible energy policy, which it isn't -- but because it now forces us to waste the peoples' time refighting old battles when we should be focusing on responsible choices for our country's energy future. Destroying the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, this national treasure, is a complete political non-starter -- I remain committed to filibuster any effort to drill in the refuge, it will never pass the Senate, and I look forward to sitting down with leaders from both sides of the aisle to explore, meaningful, reasonable, and creative alternatives.

While I would rather focus on policy than fight over politics, I know that good policy is the best politics - and we will have an opportunity in the coming months to share with our fellow citizens the legitimate reasons why drilling in the pristine wilderness of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is no substitute for a responsible energy plan, why it would provide no relief for consumers suffering from real energy problems today, and why, in the end, we could create millions more jobs cleaning the environment and developing clean energy technologies than we can polluting and destroying one of the last pristine places on the face of the earth.

The Senate will not accept an energy policy based on false choices. We must and we will do better. Rather than pit blue against green, jobs against the environment, I believe that most Americans in organized labor and in all walks of life want us to make the right choices for the economy and the environment. We know we don't have to choose one over the other -- and I believe that, once we've made that case clearly to our fellow citizens, we will pass a responsible energy plan which can create a whole new sector of union jobs in clean technology, while still preserving the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge."