Congress Budget Plan Moves ANWR Drilling Ahead

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A $2.6 trillion federal budget blueprint approved by Congress late Thursday may clear the way for a Republican plan to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, according to congressional aides.

The budget plan does not specifically mention ANWR drilling by name.

But Judd Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican who heads the Senate Budget Committee, indicated its language was carefully crafted to ensure that Senate legislation to give oil companies access to the Alaskan wildlife refuge would not be subject to a filibuster.

The budget blueprint included instructions to Senate and House energy panels to find about $2.4 billion in new revenue over five years, an amount roughly equal to what the federal government has estimated it could raise by leasing ANWR to oil companies.

View the rest of the article at Reuters.