Senator Murkowski Launches New Radio Ad
New Ad Critical of Knowles' Failure to Move Clinton on ANWR
Washington, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski unveiled a new radio ad criticizing Tony Knowles' failure to convince President Clinton to sign ANWR into law in 1995. "I was in Alaska when Tony Knowles ran for Governor in 1994. I remember he alluded that he could get Bill Clinton to approve ANWR, if Alaskans just gave him that chance. Well, Alaskans gave him that chance, and that chance was squandered," Senator Murkowski said.
Despite highly publicized campaign claims that as a Democratic Governor, Tony Knowles would be able to sway then President Bill Clinton on passage of ANWR, and even more highly publicized meetings between Knowles and Clinton in December of 1994, Clinton vetoed the 1995 Budget Resolution which contained approval for drilling on Alaska's Coastal Plain.
Since Bill Clinton vetoed ANWR in 1995, Alaska has lost (based on a 2002 McDowell Group study): $792 million in state revenue that could have been used to reduce the state deficit or keep up the Constitutional Budget Reserve, $799 million in new deposits into the Alaska Permanent Fund, nearly $50 million in direct deposits into the Alaska Public School Trust Fund (in addition to general fund money that would have been available to appropriate to schools) and $136 million in new money for next year's budget. In terms of lost jobs, Bill Clinton's veto in 1995 means that last year Alaska didn't create over 1,100 new jobs in Alaska and it means this year Alaska didn't see over 2,000 new Alaska jobs created.
Once again Tony Knowles is running on the theme that he will be able to change Democratic minds in Washington, D.C. This time, the minds he would have to change are the likes of John Kerry, Ted Kennedy and Tom Daschle - Democratic Senators who take pride in being champions of keeping ANWR closed to production.