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Byrd Goes Against Old Friend in Battle Over Arctic Drilling

Posted on: Thursday, 22 December 2005, 09:00 CST

By Paul J. Nyden, The Charleston Gazette, W.Va., The Charleston Gazette, W.Va.

Dec. 22--Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., played a role on Tuesday and Wednesday in defeating Bush administration efforts to begin drilling for oil in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, a longtime colleague and friend of Byrd, mentioned Byrd by name in his appeal on the Senate floor to allow drilling -- an issue Stevens has advocated since the 1980s.

Stevens had tied the drilling to a $453 billion military appropriations bill. Byrd said Senate rules prohibited that maneuver.

Stevens lost his bid on Wednesday when a vote to close debate on the measure failed 56-44. At least 60 senators are needed to close a debate.

In a speech on the Senate floor late Tuesday afternoon, Byrd called Stevens "a dear friend" and praised his "unyielding commitment to people of his state."

But Byrd vigorously opposed attaching the ANWR proposal to the bill.

"If permitted today, the process could be utilized again and again, with terrible consequences for the Senate rules."

Byrd said those rules "must come first, before political party and before legislative maneuvering. Those battles are fleeting, but the Senate must stand forever.

"I do not want to see the Senate ... the 'last exalted refuge' that guarantees a voice to the minority among the din of an overwhelming majority ... take the position that a majority of senators is entitled to suspend the Senate rules whenever they prove inconvenient."

Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, praised the Senate after the vote.

"Drilling proponents have tried time and again, using every legislative trick available, to gain congressional approval for their energy industry friends to explore the Arctic Refuge for oil and gas.

"In this case, the Senate made it clear that drilling should never have been attached to defense spending legislation," Beinecke said. "The Arctic should be left alone when it comes to drilling."

After Wednesday's Senate vote, Byrd said, "We must support our troops in the field. They need support and resources to do their jobs and come home safely. But instead of getting these dollars to the men and women in harm's way, the Senate Republican leadership is using our troops as a shield for oil speculation in Alaska and other special-interest giveaways."

When the Senate passed its original version of the legislation in October, which had no provisions allowing Arctic drilling, it was approved, 97-0.

To contact staff writer Paul J. Nyden, use e-mail or call 348-5164.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Charleston Gazette, W.Va.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Charleston Gazette

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