House votes to ban drilling in Arctic refuge

WASHINGTON — The House approved a bill Thursday to bar oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, reversing a policy established in the 2017 tax bill.

The bill passed 225 to 193 and now goes to the Senate, where it is unlikely to be considered. Rep. Kendra Horn, D-Oklahoma City, voted for the bill, while the four Republicans from Oklahoma opposed it.

The legislation was one of three bills approved by the House this week to restrict oil and gas drilling in places one California Democrat called “too special” for the activity.

Combined, the bills would prohibit oil and gas development off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

Horn voted for all three, while the Oklahoma Republicans opposed them all.

Rep. Jared Huffman, a California Democrat, said the bill approved Thursday “reflects the proposition that there are some places that are simply too special, that are too unique, too environmentally vital, too sacred to indigenous people to wreck them with oil and gas development.

“In fact, we saw bipartisan votes (Wednesday) that reflected that same proposition that the pristine coasts of the Atlantic and the low country in South Carolina and the beautiful California coast — these were places too special to wreck them with new oil and gas development.”

In an interview, Horn said, “If this was something that said: ‘You can’t drill in Oklahoma’ or ‘We’re going to put so many hurdles around drilling that you can’t do it,’ I wouldn’t support it.”

Horn’s district includes some of the nation’s biggest independent oil and gas companies, Devon Energy, Continental Resources and Chesapeake Energy.

“The companies that are doing the offshore drilling are not Oklahoma companies,” she said. “As a matter of fact, they’re international companies for the most part.

“So if we continue to flood the market with additional drilling, it actually suppresses the price. So if we find a balance and Oklahoma companies continue to do the work that they need to do, it actually gives an opportunity for prices to go back up and it’s better economically for Oklahoma companies.

“Another consideration is, environmentally, what’s the right thing to do? The bans on offshore drilling don’t do away with current leases. They just say, ‘OK, that’s enough for now.’”

Earlier this year, Horn voted for amendments similar to the bills approved this week. She also voted to retain a federal rule requiring companies to test and repair methane leaks in their drilling operations.

Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, who opposed the bills, said this week, “My home state of Oklahoma has long been a center for producing domestic oil and gas, and since the development of new extraction technologies, the state has taken a big leap forward.

“New developments in this area means more jobs and more revenue for states. In putting forward these bills, I am worried that we are depriving other states of the opportunity to make that same choice.“

The White House issued a veto threat this week of all three bills. Regarding the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge bill, the White House said it would repeal a provision in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to allow the use of "no more than about 0.01% of the total acreage of ANWR" for drilling activity.

“The Administration supports environmentally responsible energy development in the Coastal Plain," the White House said. "Such development is expected to increase America’s energy security and independence, create jobs, and provide affordable, reliable energy for consumers while providing much-needed revenue to both the State of Alaska and the Federal Government.”