Earl Blumenauer: “I personally just returned from the Arctic Wildlife Refuge. It is an area that I have not visited before in previous…”

“I personally just returned from the Arctic Wildlife Refuge. It is an area that I have not visited before in previous trips to Alaska, and I have heard people on the floor make some assertions. I wanted to take the time to see for myself, to put in context the reports that we are given, the information that comes forward. I must say that I do not pretend to be an expert based on less than a week of hiking, camping, exploring the wilderness, flying over some of the vast stretches, talking to Alaskans of a variety of different perspectives, including spending time in the Prudhoe Bay area with representatives of the petroleum industry.”