Pro-oil politicians like Cory Gardner said drilling the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would add $1.1 billion over the next 10 years to the budget.
Oil leases are only $14.99 an acre, and low oil prices cause economists to estimate that only $37.5 million in federal revenues are available in ANWR, half going to Alaska, leaving little for the budget.
There is significant risk of environmental disaster for a spill with no infrastructure for cleanup and potential devastating effects on plants and animals.
No major oil companies were behind this sleazy, closed door deal to put Arctic Refuge drilling in the budget and tax bills with no public comment or full congressional debate.
The Coastal Plain has a higher degree of ecological diversity than any similar sized area on the North Slope, which is almost entirely open to drilling. The Arctic Refuge was established for its unique wildlife, wilderness, recreational values, and treaty obligations, not to fund tax cuts to the wealthy.
Phyllis Mains
Cortez
