WASHINGTON, DC– Representative George Miller (D-Calif.) today voted against yet another effort by the Republican Congress to drill for oil in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska.

The Republican bill, H.R. 5429, was sponsored by Representative Richard Pombo (R-CA) and was approved by a vote of 225-201. It would open protected lands of Alaska for oil drilling, yet it would do nothing to reduce the overall consumption of oil.

“Many people have referred to the fact that the President stood here in January and told us we were addicted to oil,” Miller said on the House floor today. “Well, the supporters of this legislation and the President of the United States are acting just like addicts. What they're doing is looking for one more quick fix. One more fix and they’ll get religion tomorrow. One more fix and they’ll get well, one more fix and they’ll go into treatment. What they're telling us is they've postponed conservation, they've postponed new technologies, and they've postponed new sources of energy...

“Now, in the eleventh hour, with American consumers suffering from $3.50 gas prices, they're buying a lotto ticket,” Miller said. “They're buying a lotto ticket and it’s called ANWR, and they're hoping to be able to redeem it. When it doesn't work, America will be deeper in debt, more dependent on foreign sources of oil than they are today because if they can get ANWR, they can once again postpone the commitments to conservation and technology.”

In the course of the debate, Miller offered a motion to prohibit the oil companies that are now avoiding billions of dollars in royalty payments to U.S. taxpayers from getting new contracts to drill for oil in the pristine lands of Alaska. The motion failed by a vote of 201-223, with many Republicans who supported a similar amendment (the Hinchey Amendment to the Interior Appropriations bill) last week flip-flopping on the measure.

Miller urged the House to support his motion on the grounds that oil companies should be required to pay their fair share of royalties before they can get access to new public lands for drilling.

“I do not support opening ANWR to oil and gas exploration, and believe that Congress is missing a historic opportunity to take a critically needed new direction in improving energy efficiency and technological innovation,” Miller said. “But whether or not you support drilling in ANWR, oil companies should be required to pay their fair share to American taxpayers. That’s what the House voted for last week when it approved an amendment to the Interior Appropriations bill by our colleague from New York, Mr. Hinchey, and that is exactly what we ought to vote for today. The principle is the same.”

The federal government has since 1995 been allowing oil and gas companies to forego the payments of royalties to taxpayers for oil and gas they take out of certain public waters. Both President Bush and House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo have publicly stated that oil companies do not need any additional incentives to explore for oil at today’s prices. In February, Rep. Pombo stated: “I don't think there is a single member of Congress who thinks you should get royalty relief at $70 a barrel.”

Representative Miller's speech on the House Floor (text, video)