As the U.S. Congress debates the details of a far-ranging energy bill, Interior Secretary Gale Norton has announced that she will ask President Bush to veto any version of the bill that does not allow oil drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The version of the bill approved by the House contains such a measure, while the Senate opposes drilling in the Arctic Refuge. Advocates of drilling praised Norton’s stance, even though vetoing the energy bill could endanger other proposed Alaska energy projects, such as streamlining the process of obtaining natural-gas-line permits in the state’s North Slope, guaranteeing access to the natural-gas line for non-pipeline owners, and creating a new multimillion dollar energy-grant program that could benefit rural residents.
