Congressman Aderholt Votes in Support of ANWR and U.S. Energy Independence

Congressman Aderholt Votes in Support of ANWR and U.S. Energy Independence

House Republicans, by a vote of 225 to 201, today approved H.R. 5429, the American-Made Energy and Good Jobs Act, which will open 2,000 acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to energy production while creating hundreds of thousands of jobs in the United States.

"Bold initiatives are needed to help ensure America's long-term energy independence. We can't continue to rely on countries such as Iran or Venezuela to supply our energy needs," Congressman Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville) said. "Any disruption in the U.S. energy supply could have devastating impacts on the economy of the United States."

In 1980, the Congress and President Carter created the nearly 20 million acre ANWR, setting aside 1.5 million acres in its northern coastal plain for the purpose of future energy exploration and development. It is estimated that 10.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil are present in ANWR's 2,000 acres.

Using government estimates, oil from ANWR would power Alabama for 103 years.

Congressman Aderholt continued, "ANWR represents one piece of our energy puzzle. With the adoption of a comprehensive national strategy, we have the ability to control our own energy future. But to do so, we must act today."

At peak production ANWR could deliver an additional 1.5 million barrels of oil a day to the Continental U.S., nearly equal to the amount of oil the U.S. imports from Saudi Arabia each day. Further, experts have estimated that safe energy exploration and production in ANWR could create between 250,000 to 1,000,000 new jobs in America.

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/al04_aderholt/PR060525ANWRSupport.html