WASHINGTON – Today, the House of Representatives approved a Fiscal Year 2018 budget bill that advances drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Senate Committee on the Budget also voted on a draft budget today that would pave the way for refuge drilling. Last month, a leaked Department of the Interior memo revealed the Trump administration’s own plans to illegally rollback restrictions on oil and gas exploration in the Arctic Refuge.
Statement from Former president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife, Jamie Rappaport Clark:
“This is a flagrant attempt to highjack the budget process to pave the way for drilling in the iconic Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. These votes will railroad more than 30 years of protections for one of our nation’s last great wildlands through bureaucratic legislative procedures. They want to settle the debt of the nation on the backs of denning polar bears, migrating caribou herds and migratory birds. Our wild natural heritage should be preserved for all Americans and for future generations, not sold to the highest bidder.”
For nearly 80 years, Defenders of Wildlife has worked to protect and restore America’s wildlife at risk of extinction, advancing a vision of a future in which wildlife thrives, sustained by broad public support and a resilient network of healthy lands and waters. With a network of more than 2 million supporters, Defenders is an advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard wildlife for generations to come. To learn more, please visit https://defenders.org/newsroom or follow us on Instagram @defendersofwildlife.
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