Senator Lisa Murkowski Praises Work Of Congressman Young To Convince Democratic Senate Candidates To Support ANWR
Asks Democrats to Stop Their Filibuster of the National Energy Bill
Anchorage, AK - In anticipation of a scheduled press conference in Washington, D.C., Senator Murkowski called on Senate Democrats to halt their filibuster of the national energy bill and to support drilling in ANWR. Noting some Democratic Congressmen running for the U.S. Senate this year have a long history of supporting ANWR, Murkowski also assessed the political landscape looking for Democratic candidates in other States who might actually change their mind on ANWR rather than relying on candidates who already support it.
"I commend Congressman Don Young for his past efforts in educating Democratic House Members like Brad Carson of Oklahoma and Chris John of Louisiana to support ANWR. The fact that Young sponsored Congressional Delegations to ANWR that both Representatives Carson and John participated in speaks to Young's ability to convince them to vote repeatedly for ANWR and is a testament to his persuasiveness," Murkowski said.
Both Reps. John and Carson have voted for allowing production in ANWR and against amendments that would have blocked production. (#317, H.R. 4, 8/1/01; #135, H.R.6, 4/10/03) Newspapers in both Louisiana and Oklahoma have noted the pro-production positions of these Congressmen. (Ray, Russell. "Land Official Seeks Balance" The Tulsa World. 5/24/01; John McKinney, "La. Congressmen Push Production" The Baton Rouge Advocate, 8/3/01)
"Even assuming these two candidates were to win their races in Oklahoma and Louisiana, an assumption with which I'm sure the National Republican Senatorial Committee would take issue with, they would be replacing two current Senators who already support ANWR. Senator Don Nickels of Oklahoma and Senator John Breaux of Louisiana have been staunch supporters of ANWR and their presences will be sorely missed on this issue. The prospects of having Chris John and Brad Carson in the Senate would mean no new net votes for ANWR in the Senate," Murkowski noted.
Murkowski noted that Congressman Chris John visited ANWR on a CODEL sponsored by Congressman Don Young in August 1997 while Brad Carson visited ANWR on a Young CODEL in August 2001. Senator Murkowski also noted she attended a congressional trip to ANWR last spring, where Members of Congress heard testimony from the residents of Kaktovik on their desire to see ANWR opened.