Political Quotes

“my amendment strikes the title requiring oil development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This refuge is the largest refuge in our Nation and the last pristine ecosystem for the Arctic in North America. Requiring oil development in the heart of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge should not be in this bill. Although the bill text has been changed to address Byrd Rule violations, the Congressional Budget Office continues to estimate that it will raise less than $1 billion over 10 years. Opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling doesn't even meet the $1 billion reconciliation instruction. It certainly doesn't represent a serious offset to huge deficits in the Republican bill. To put this in perspective, this represents less than seven one- hundredths of 1 percent of the $1.5-trillion-dollar increase in the national debt that the Republican tax policies will cause. Drilling in the Arctic has nothing to do with serious budgetary policy, but it has everything to do with evading regular order to pass something that could never be enacted on its own. In addition to drilling in the Arctic refuge, this bill would sell 7 million barrels of oil from our Nation's strategic petroleum reserve. A portion of that sale is necessary simply to meet the committee's reconciliation instructions. The sale of oil from the reserve would also provide for a $300 million windfall to four States: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.…”