ANWR

Senator Jeff Bingaman delivers a speech on the Senate floor pointing out the flaws in the Senate Republican energy proposal and calling instead for bipartisan support of a plan to put more oil on the market.The Senate is to vote on a Republican plan that would, among other things, open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to drilling. In his speech, however, Bingaman says that there are millions of acres yet to be leased in areas poised for drilling. And, he says, millions of other acres have been leased, but no drilling has yet occurred.

Senator Nelson argues that drilling in environmentally sensitive areas is not a remedy for rising fuel prices.

This morning on NPR, President Bush tried to blame congress for the nation’s high gas, food, and electricity prices. Apparently, Congress has been thwarting the President’s attempts to fix the economy: “I’ve repeatedly submitted proposals to help address these problems,” the president said. “Yet time after time, Congress chose to block them.” His answer: Drill in ANWR.