Bush Pushes for Arctic Oil Drilling

ANCHORAGE —  President Bush made a strong appeal here Saturday for opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to energy exploration, saying that such a move would start the nation toward energy independence.

“We’ve got to find energy in our own country. And a great place to start is right here in the great state of Alaska,” Bush said of his proposal to explore a portion of the pristine refuge in the northernmost reaches of Alaska.

That plan, as did a similar push by his father, has drawn strong condemnation from environmentalists and has met with determined opposition from the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate.

But the president brushed aside those concerns during a speech before military personnel at Elmendorf Air Force Base, adding that such exploration also would be “good for jobs.”

Bush also defended his $1.35-billion tax cut and called on the Senate to enact an economic stimulus package.

The president stopped here on his way to Tokyo as part of a weeklong Asia trip that also will take him to Seoul and Beijing.

“I’ve heard ‘em all in Washington,” Bush said dismissively of his critics on oil drilling in Alaska. “I’ve heard all the skeptics say: ‘Well, you can’t do that; it’s going to ruin this or that.’

“Listen, there’s no doubt in my mind, there’s no doubt in your governor’s mind, there’s no doubt in the minds of people who take a sound, scientific look at this that we can do so without endangering the environment, that we can find energy for America’s people and, at the same time, preserve the beauty of Alaska.

“What we need is a common-sense approach to energy,” he added.

In Washington, the Senate is expected soon to begin debate on comprehensive energy legislation, with Republicans and Democrats offering competing plans.

The Republican House last summer passed a wide-ranging energy bill, based largely on the agenda issued by the Bush administration in May 2001.

The development of the administration’s energy policy was headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, like Bush a former oilman. Cheney and his task force have come under fire not only for some of its controversial elements but also for not disclosing details of their work--a dispute between the White House and Congress that is headed for the federal courts in Washington.

Saturday was Bush’s first visit to Alaska since the summer of 1974. He worked a desk job for an airline and a construction company during the state’s energy boom, when a pipeline was built to transport newly discovered oil from Prudhoe Bay.

The Prudhoe Bay fields, a major source of crude oil for California, are in decline, and the oil industry wants to look for more oil in the wildlife refuge east of the oil fields.