U.S. House Votes to Allow Oil Drilling in ANWR

Washington DC May 26, 2006; The AIADA newsletter reported that the House continued to show its support yesterday for opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to drilling, voting in favor of the measure 225 to 201, marking the 12th time since 1995 the House has approved such a move, reports The Washington Post.

The reality of the bill being enacted still weighs in the balance, however, as proponents in the Senate have been unsuccessful in their attempts to reach the 60 votes necessary in order to bypass a filibuster.

"Once again, the House has voted to put Americans to work producing more of our own energy," said author of the current bill, House Resources Committee Chairman Richard W. Pombo (R-CA). "And, once again, liberals defied the common-sense principle of supply and demand by voting no. That's a great way to keep prices on the rise." Pombo's bill, "The American-Made Energy and Good Jobs Act," would add 10.4 billion barrels to the nation's oil reserves.