Legislative Background
Recent Action on ANWR
Since passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (ANILCA), many bills have been introduced and hearings held on development and protection of the coastal plain (1002) area of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR); however, the original law has remained unchanged. In 1995, Congress passed, but President Bill Clinton vetoed, legislation to open ANWR to development. Current Legislative Choices In the current (107th) Congress, several approaches to ANWR and domestic energy production have emerged. One would permit oil and gas leasing in the 1002 area. Bills to allow such development include H.R. 39, introduced by Representative…
