Senate moves on Arctic refuge, bioterror
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 2001:
WASHINGTON D.C.–Post-September 11 concerns about
bio-security and U.S. dependence upon Middle Eastern oil boosted U.S.
Senate efforts to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil
drilling, and to upgrade the investigative capabilities of the USDA,
including the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
U.S. President George Bush took office pledging to allow
drilling in the Arctic refuge, an issue split along party lines,
but his chances dwindled when Senator Jim Jeffords, of Vermont,
changed his affiliation from Republican to Democrat, giving
Democrats the Senate majority. The Republican-controlled House of
Representatives passed an enabling bill, however, in August.
Sensing that current events might have weakened Democratic
resolve, Repub-lican Senators tried twice in September to attach
enabling amendments to bills on defense funding and energy policy.
Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) pledged to filibuster against
any pro-Arctic refuge drilling bills that reached the floor.