Denny Rehberg: “I was a staffer on the Committee on Resources 20 years ago when the distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr.…”

“I was a staffer on the Committee on Resources 20 years ago when the distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey) was making the same tired arguments. Here we are 20 years later, still without an energy policy. Over the course of those years, my colleague, the gentleman from Massachusetts, has yet to visit either ANWR. That is right, I said either ANWR. Why? Because there are really two ANWRs, the one the authors of this amendment like to talk about, and the one that is actually at issue when we talk about energy development. To illustrate this, I would like to highlight the testimony of the mayor of the borough that includes ANWR, testimony that my friend, the gentleman from Massachusetts, would have heard if he had taken the time to go up to Alaska last Saturday, as we did. Testifying as to the two ANWRs, the mayor said: "The first ANWR is beautiful mountain scenery that seems to go on forever. It is a world of wildlife, a refuge from the noise and disruption of human community. You are here in the second ANWR. It is tundra, an old military site, and Eskimos who have lived and hunted and survived around here for thousands of years. You won't see this ANWR on Sierra Club posters. That is because it is not really a refuge, it is a land of many uses. This is Eskimo country. It has a thriving village whose residents work at local jobs and hunt for caribou, whales, and all the other animal species that have always sustained our people.…”