Bluestem Action Alert – September 2005

Final Vote on Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 

The final Arctic National Wildlife Refuge vote in Congress will take place in the last two weeks of September.  Because drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has been defeated through the filibuster time after time, proponents of drilling in the Refuge have attached drilling to the budget bill, which cannot be filibustered.  To protect the Refuge we will need to persuade Congress to defeat the entire federal budget.

 THIS IS DOABLE IF WE ALL TAKE ACTION!

IN SPRING, THE DRAFT BUDGET BILL ONLY PASSED BY TWO VOTES IN THE HOUSE AND THREE IN THE SENATE!  

We have one more chance to save the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from destruction.  The House and Senate must revote the budget in a version that reconciles the House and Senate budget bills.

Remember, only a couple votes need to change. Every call, every letter, every action counts in saving this environmental treasure.   The following actions are listed with the easiest first so you can choose your level of involvement.  Please send this alert to anyone you know who might help.

  1. Please call your Congressman and tell him or her to vote NO on the budget reconciliation bill because it contains provisions to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The number for the congressional switchboard is 202-224-3121.  Ask for your Congressman by name.  Find out who your congressman is at http://elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/AddressSearch.aspx

 

  1. Both Senators Durbin and Obama voted against the draft budget bill, thus against drilling in ANWR.  Durbin provided great leadership on this issue.  They need to be thanked profusely and told to be sure to vote against the budget reconciliation bill. Again, the congressional switchboard is 202-224-3121.

 

  1. If you have time, send a letter.  An attachment provides several sample letters.  Simply address it to your senator or representative in Washington, DC.  The Senate zip code is 20510 and the House zip code is 20515.  Or you can email letter to your elected representatives by going to http://www.sierraclub.org and selecting “Arctic Action” from the menu bar on the left of the home page.  You can also find a good deal of information and action oriented materials on that site.

 

  1. Write a letter to the editor against drilling. Again, you can use the attachment or compose your own.  This is extremely effective, even if your letter is not printed, because if you help create a volume of letters on this subject, you will make it more likely someone’s letter will get printed and that the paper will write about our concerns. To contact your local paper, visit http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media

 

  1. Join thousands of concerned citizens on a national bus tour to Washington D.C. Americans from all across the nation will gather on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol to tell Congress to keep the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge off-limits to oil drilling. The gathering will include a program by well-known speakers and advocates. Attendees will have an opportunity to visit their members of Congress to tell them you care about protecting America’s Arctic Refuge.  Bus Departs Sept. 19 (time TBD), returns Sept 20/Sept. 21 (time to be decided).

For more info or to sign up contact Erika Schafer at erika@alaskacoalition.org or 312-795-3744  

 

Thank you for all you do.

Linda Sullivan

lsullivan23@hotmail.com