Jeff Bingaman: “I speak briefly in opposition to the motion to invoke cloture. The point I want to make, which has not been made to an…”

“I speak briefly in opposition to the motion to invoke cloture. The point I want to make, which has not been made to an adequate extent here, is that the provisions to open the Arctic Wildlife Refuge that are contained in this conference report are very different from what the Senate adopted in the budget reconciliation. In fact, the version of the legislation that is before us has never passed the House. It has never passed the Senate. It has been substantially changed from what we previously sought. First, the Department of Defense conference report language limits the ability of the Secretary to protect environmentally sensitive areas in the Coastal Plain to only 45,000 acres out of the 1.5 million-acre Coastal Plain. It cuts off the ability of the Secretary to withhold lands from leasing under other authority. In addition, the language that is before us requires the Secretary to offer for lease no less than 200,000 acres of the Coastal Plain within 22 months of the date of enactment. That is new. In addition, there are provisions with regard to judicial review that are new and unprecedented. Unlike the budget reconciliation language, the conference report prohibits review of a secretarial action in a civil or criminal enforcement proceeding of any action that the Secretary takes subject to judicial review under these provisions.…”