Political Quotes

“I wanted to take an opportunity to clarify the implications of title II in the reconciliation bill before us pertaining to the development of oil and gas resources along the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. As our colleagues recall, the Senate instructed the Energy and Natural Resources Committee to report legislation that reduces the deficit by $1 billion between 2018 and 2027. In response to those instructions, the committee reported recommendations to open the refuge's coastal plain, otherwise known as the 1002 Area, to oil and gas development. In the process of considering and ultimately reporting this legislation, the chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the senior Senator from Alaska, Ms. Murkowski, assured members of the committee that, if the legislation became law, it would require such development be subject to the full scope of environmental review required by the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, as well as other environmental laws. Indeed, earlier in this floor debate, the Senator from Alaska reiterated an assurance that the environment and local wildlife will always be a concern and a priority and that this legislation does not waive NEPA or any other environmental laws. I take my colleague at her word and thank her for her commitment.…”