CSSJR 39(RES) AM H: Encouraging the United States Congress to pass S. 2214, a bill opening the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to responsible exploration, development, and production of its oil and gas resources.
00CS FOR SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 39(RES) am H 01 Encouraging the United States Congress to pass S. 2214, a bill opening the 02 coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to responsible exploration, 03 development, and production of its oil and gas resources. 04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 WHEREAS, in 1973, during the Arab oil embargo, the United States was 36 percent 06 dependent on foreign supplies, while today the United States relies on imports to supply over 07 56 percent of its energy consumption; and 08 WHEREAS, in the last eight years, the nation's demand for petroleum products has 09 grown by 14 percent while domestic production has declined by 17 percent; and 10 WHEREAS, by 2020, the United States expects to be 64 percent dependent on other 11 countries to fuel its industry, transportation, and homes; and 12 WHEREAS United States consumers are paying the price, with home heating oil costs 13 in the Northeastern states surpassing $1.70 a gallon, while gasoline prices have climbed to $2 14 a gallon for mid-range gasoline in California; and
01 WHEREAS some airplane passengers are currently paying a $20 fuel surcharge on 02 tickets; and 03 WHEREAS the nation's growing reliance on foreign oil is strengthening the aggressive 04 pricing policies of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC); and 05 WHEREAS the United States is currently receiving 44 percent of its imported oil from 06 OPEC countries, including 1,400,000 barrels a day from Saudi Arabia and 700,000 barrels a 07 day from Iraq; and 08 WHEREAS Iraq has emerged as the fastest growing source of United States oil 09 imports; and 10 WHEREAS the United States is spending $300,000,000 a day on foreign oil, 11 accounting for one-third of the entire trade deficit; and 12 WHEREAS the United States Secretary of energy recently visited the OPEC countries 13 of Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait and non-OPEC member Mexico to urge increased 14 production, but did not visit Alaska; and 15 WHEREAS it will take 10,000 dockings of foreign supertankers carrying 500,000 16 barrels of oil each to provide 65 percent of the nation's oil needs in 2020; and 17 WHEREAS, if the United States is going to reduce its dependence on foreign oil, it 18 must look toward domestic sources, including Alaska's Arctic; and 19 WHEREAS federal legislation has been introduced by Senator Murkowski calling for 20 the opening of the 1,500,000-acre coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to 21 environmentally sound exploration, development, and production of oil and gas resources; and 22 WHEREAS the coastal plain is America's best possibility for the discovery of another 23 giant, Prudhoe Bay-sized oil and gas discovery in North America; and 24 WHEREAS, in 1998, a three-year study by the United States Geological Survey 25 estimated the recoverable oil potential of the coastal plain to be as high as 16,000,000,000 26 barrels of oil, which could replace Saudi oil imports to the United States for 30 years; and 27 WHEREAS the vast majority of Alaskans, including the Native residents of Kaktovik, 28 the only community located in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, supports coastal plain 29 development; and 30 WHEREAS the state will ensure the continued health and productivity of the 31 Porcupine Caribou herd and the protection of land, water, and wildlife resources during the
01 exploration and development of the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and 02 WHEREAS coastal plain development could provide hundreds of thousands of jobs 03 and billions of dollars in government revenue, and could contribute billions of dollars to the 04 nation's economy; and 05 WHEREAS many national groups may argue against the development of the Arctic 06 National Wildlife Refuge gas reserves because there is no vehicle to bring the gas to market; 07 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska Legislature supports Alaska's role in providing 08 this nation with a major portion of its domestic oil and encourages the United States Congress 09 to pass S. 2214, a bill opening the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to 10 responsible exploration, development, and production of its oil and gas resources; and be it 11 FURTHER RESOLVED that oil exploration and development activity be conducted 12 in a manner that protects the wildlife and the environment and utilizes the state's work force 13 to the maximum extent possible; and be it 14 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska Legislature opposes any efforts to declare 15 the coastal plain a national monument; and be it 16 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska Legislature urges the current leaseholders 17 on the North Slope to make every effort to promptly build a natural gas pipeline to bring 18 Alaska's natural gas to market and thereby avoiding resistance by national organizations that 19 the gas resources in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge would be stranded. 20 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the 21 United States; the Honorable Al Gore, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and President 22 of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Bruce Babbitt, United States Secretary of the Interior; the 23 Honorable J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable 24 Trent Lott, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable 25 Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, 26 members of the Alaska delegation in Congress; and to all other members of the U.S. Senate 27 and the U.S. House of Representatives serving in the 106th United States Congress.