Political Quotes

“for more than 30 years, we have seen political battles over the Arctic Refuge--with some wanting to open the area for oil and gas leasing and many others believing that this pristine and ecologically important area should be given the highest protections available under the law. This week the fate of the Arctic Wildlife Refuge is again being taken up by the Senate, this time as part of the budget process. There is no question that this is a divisive issue, one that deserves to be debated in the Senate, not taken up as part of the budget process with little to no debate, but Republicans are insisting on ramming an attempt to open the Arctic Refuge to drilling through using a partisan process because they know they lack the bipartisan support needed to properly debate the issue. The President's budget estimated that leasing in the Arctic Refuge will generate $3.6 billion in revenues, but the President's budget estimates just don't add up. In order to meet that number, oil companies would need to bid an average of $2,400 per acre on every single acre of the 1.5 million acre coastal plain, more than 10 times the average lease sale bid on Alaska's North Slope. We know this number is significantly inflated. If we look at other lease sales between 2010 and 2015, the industry bid on less than 5 percent of the leases in Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve.…”