GOP leaders yank Arctic drilling plan

WASHINGTON — House leaders late Wednesday abandoned an attempt to push through a hotly contested plan to open an Alaska wildlife refuge to oil drilling, fearing it would jeopardize approval of a $54 billion budget-cutting measure today.

They also dropped from the budget document plans to allow states to authorize oil and gas drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, regions now under a drilling moratorium.

The actions were a stunning setback for those who have tried for years to open a coastal strip of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil development, and a victory for environmentalists, who have lobbied hard against the drilling provisions. President Bush has made drilling in the Alaska refuge one of his top energy priorities.

The House Rules Committee formalized the change late Wednesday by issuing the terms of the debate today when the House takes up the budget package, which would allow states to impose new costs on Medicaid recipients, cut funds for student loans and child-support enforcement, trim farm supports and restrict access to food stamps.

The Senate last week included ANWR drilling in its version of the budget.

The House decision to drop the ANWR language came after at least 22 Republicans told the chamber's leadership they would not vote for the sweeping bill unless the drilling provision was removed and they were given assurances it would not return after House and Senate negotiators hash out a final measure.

The offshore-drilling provision also was viewed as too contentious and a threat to the bill, especially in the Senate.

A few conservatives may vote against the bill without the drilling provisions. And Senate negotiators on a conference committee will include Sens. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, and Pete Domenici, R-N.M., both of whom have made it clear they will not agree to a final measure that does not include Arctic drilling.

Marnie Funk, a spokeswoman for Domenici, said the New Mexico senator considers the ANWR provision "one of the most critical components" in the budget package. "He is committed to coming back to the Senate from the conference with ANWR intact," she said.

For years, environmentalists have championed protection of the Alaska refuge from oil companies. The House repeatedly has approved drilling in the refuge as part of broad energy legislation, only to see their efforts blocked each time by the threat of a filibuster in the Senate.

The budget bill is immune from filibuster, but drilling proponents suddenly found it difficult to get the measure accepted by a House majority. That's because Democrats oppose the overall budget bill, giving House GOP who oppose ANWR drilling enough leverage to have the matter killed.

Republicans, led by Rep. Charles Bass of New Hampshire, signed a letter asking GOP leaders to strike the ANWR drilling provision from the budget bill.

Moderates knew they had leverage, given the narrow margin of GOP control of the House. It takes only 14 Republican defections to scuttle a bill, assuming every Democrat opposes it.

Still, removing the ANWR drilling provision could incite a backlash from lawmakers who strongly favor it, which is a big majority of Republicans.

GOP leaders also agreed to drop a plan to allow states to waive a 24-year ban on drilling along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and open a contested tract off the Florida Gulf coast to oil drilling. Several Florida Republicans opposed the plan.

The overall budget bill is a Republican priority.

The Senate passed a milder version of the bill last week that would curb automatic growth of spending by $35 billion through 2010. The House plan cuts more deeply across social programs.

Details about the possibility ANWR could reappear in a final version of the bill were provided by

The Washington Post.