Senate Grinches

America should be celebrating a wonderful Christmas gift this year – a new supply of energy. The gift was purchased years ago, it has been wrapped and is waiting for delivery. Congress has tried a number of times to give this gift to America, and each time someone has risen up to snatch it away.

Ten years ago, Congress presented this gift to the United States; it was Bill Clinton's veto that snatched it away from the America people. Were it not for his action then, a million barrels of domestic oil would be flowing through the nation's pipelines. This is oil that would not have to be purchased from the Middle East. Several times since then, Congress has prepared this gift for delivery to Americans, but a minority in the Senate has said no.

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Again, just in time for Christmas this year, Congress prepared the gift of domestic energy for the American people. The Senate had already approved drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge earlier in the year, but it was rejected by the House of Representatives. The House reconsidered its position and approved the measure by a wide majority. A House-Senate conference committee added the ANWR provision to the Defense Appropriation bill, along with several other provisions to direct ANWR money to Katrina relief, expanded border security, provide home heating assistance, and fund flu research and prevention.

But no. The Grinch who stole Christmas from America is the minority in the U.S. Senate, joined by Republicans Mike DeWine of Ohio and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island. Although the ANWR provision has been approved by the majority of the Senate on numerous occasions, the minority in the Senate has thwarted majority rule, and imposed minority rule by invoking the filibuster, which requires 60 votes to end. Had the two Republicans, and one more Democrat voted to stop the filibuster, America could be celebrating this Christmas.

By insisting upon minority rule, the Senate is ensuring that Americans continue to send nearly $70 million per day to foreign countries, at the current price of oil. This money should be going to American companies, providing payrolls for American citizens and supplying American oil to Americans.

But no. The Senate minority says that drilling in ANWR is just a Republican gift to the fat-cat oil companies. In truth, oil companies would not begin to recover their investment for at least ten years and may or may not ever profit from the enterprise. The oil companies take the risk; Americans would reap the benefits.

But no. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said that President Eisenhower set this refuge aside to be forever protected in its natural state, but Alaska's Sen. Ted Stevens quickly corrected him. Oil exploration has always been one of the intended uses of the area of the North Slope, and two former Democrat senators added provisions into the legislation that specifically authorized drilling in the area now being contested. The ANWR reserves are the largest on-shore reserves known to exist in the United States, and they should be available for use by all Americans.

But no. A minority of senators claim that drilling in ANWR will "destroy" the 19 million acre refuge. But Alaska's Sen. Lisa Murkowski explained that the sun set on ANWR in November and will not rise again until January, and that the average temperature there is 30-degrees below zero. It is this time of year that workers would build the helicopter pads, roadways and construction platforms on ice, which would melt in the spring, with virtually no damage to the tundra. The minuscule 2,000-acre drilling zone – similar to a postage stamp on a football field – would not affect the rest of the reserve at all.

This Senate minority has deprived the American people of the use of their own resources for 25 years. Gas prices have more than doubled during this period. World demand has also doubled during this period. Our dependency upon foreign sources for energy has nearly doubled during this period. Our need for energy will not decrease.

Every day that this Senate minority prevents the expansion of domestic oil production increases our dependency – and our vulnerability. Every day, world demand grows. As demand grows and supply diminishes, prices increase. Americans from one end of the country to the other are already suffering from rising energy prices. The Senate minority doesn't seem to care.

While complaining bitterly about Republican efforts to trim future government spending by less than one-half of 1 percent, the Senate minority imposes a far more significant economic hardship on all Americans, by depriving them of the use of domestic energy.

The Senate minority – the so-called champions of the poor and downtrodden – thumb their noses at the lowest wage earners, who are hardest hit by every penny increase in the price of energy.

The Grinch who stole Christmas from Americans is the Senator minority that insists upon imposing its will upon the majority.