WASHINGTON, DC-- Environmental groups that oppose opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling, are praising Senator Collins for her vote against the fiscal year 2007 budget legislation, which included such a provision. Unlike previous years, language in this budget is exclusively focused on opening ANWR to drilling.
In a statement commending Senator Collins for her vote, Robert Dewey, Vice President of Government Relations and External Affairs for Defenders of Wildlife said,
"We applaud Senator Susan Collins for her leadership in protecting the Arctic Refuge from oil drilling. With her vote, she stood up for families in Maine and across the country who want real solutions to our energy challenges, not more drilling that only perpetuates our nation's unsustainable dependence on oil.
"Using the budget process to open the Arctic Refuge to drilling is yet another blatant abuse of power. We look forward to working with Senator Collins to stop this fiscally irresponsible and environmentally damaging proposal from becoming law."
Matthew Davis of Environmental Maine said, “We applaud the bold leadership of Senator Susan Collins in her vote to keep oil drilling out of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.”
In addition, League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Legislative Director Tiernan Sittenfeld today issued the following statement: "We applaud Senator Susan Collins for her leadership in protecting the Arctic Refuge from oil drilling. With her vote, she stood up for families in Maine and across the country who want real solutions to our energy challenges, not more drilling that only perpetuates our nation's unsustainable dependence on oil. Using the budget process to open the Arctic Refuge to drilling is yet another blatant abuse of power. We look forward to working with Senator Collins to stop this fiscally irresponsible and environmentally damaging proposal from becoming law."
Following yesterday’s Senate vote on the budget, Senator Collins cited ANWR as a major reason for her vote against the legislation. She said, “This budget brought before the U.S. Senate contains a provision that would enable the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to be open to exploration and drilling, something I have strongly and consistently opposed. America needs to increase fuel supplies and decrease demand, but in our effort to meet current energy needs, we should not use up one of our last major reserves. We need to focus our efforts on conservation measures.”