 March 16, 2005
In his statement to the Senate, Senator Stevens urged his fellow Senators to vote against Senator Maria Cantwell's amendment to the 2006 Budget Resolution that would remove the royalties from oil development from the budget. A vote "No" by a Senator is a vote for ANWR and for oil development. Senator Stevens stated "A vote for this amendment is a vote for the status quo, which my good friend Ronald Regan used to say 'is Latin for the 'mess we're in." He went on to say that a vote
for the amendment closes the domestic energy resources to production.
"It's a vote for continuing our current policy of
importing more than 60% of our nation's oil. It's a vote
for outsourcing more than 1.3 million American jobs a yearI don't
think there is a senator in this Congress who would come to the
floor and offer a bill that exports 1.3 million American jobs
every year, will cost us $200 billion annually by 2025, and leaves
our national security vulnerable to the whims of unfriendly regimes.
But by default, that's exactly what this amendment does.
A vote for this amendment is not just a vote against ANWR.
It's a vote for closing our nation's single greatest prospect
for future oil production and backing out of the promise that
was made to Alaskans."
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