November 10, 2005 (Washington, DC) - Late last night, the House leadership was forced to drop Arctic National Wildlife Refuge drilling from its reconciliation bill. It is clear that the House of Representatives is a dead end for this cynical maneuver.

Ultimately, Congress could not ignore the millions of Americans who called and wrote letters, and the thousands who came to Washington to tell their elected officials that our greatest wildlife refuge should not be sacrificed for oil company profits. Today’s victory is also a tribute to the courage of the Representatives who have resisted the drilling lobby’s ploy to sneak Arctic Refuge drilling into the budget bill.

If this bill passes the House, the pro-drilling congressional leadership has made it clear that they will still try a “bait and switch” maneuver to put Arctic drilling back in the bill during the House-Senate conference process. Nevertheless, we have confidence that members of Congress from both sides of the aisle who believe that Arctic Refuge drilling has no place in the budget bill will not back down from their principled stand they have taken.

However, the removal of Arctic drilling doesn’t mean this bill is good for America. As written, this bill would still have disastrous consequences for our public lands. The reconciliation bill still contains a mining provision that could lead to the cut-rate sale of millions of acres of existing and future “mining claims” on public lands, including our national forests and even national parks. Additionally, many Americans remain deeply concerned about the hardship this bill could impose on the most vulnerable people in our country.

The battle for the Arctic Refuge is not over. In the coming weeks and months, a growing coalition of conservation-minded Americans will continue to send a single message to Washington: Protect our Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, every step of the way.