by Susan Jones

28-06-05 The US Senate finally passed an energy bill, which must now be reconciled with a competing House version -- no easy task, given the differences in the two versions, various lawmakers said.
Unlike the Senate bill, which does not mention the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the House bill backs ANWR oil exploration -- and even projects revenue from ANWR oil and gas leases.

President Bush is a strong advocate of Arctic oil exploration as a means of reducing America's dependence on foreign sources of energy. The president has urged Congress to send him an energy bill by August, but press reports quote lawmakers as saying that may not happen, given the difficult negotiations that lie ahead.
Also, environmentalists announced an "unprecedented, coordinated nationwide summer campaign" to block passage of legislation that would allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The campaign against ANWR oil drilling includes the Wilderness Society, religious leaders, Native American representatives, and grassroots field organizers from all over the country. More details will be released soon, said Wilderness Society President Bill Meadows.
The Wilderness Society said the battle to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling is entering a new phase this summer -- with a pivotal vote expected in Congress in September. According to the Wilderness Society, the fiscal 2006 budget resolution that Congress passed this spring set the stage for a showdown over the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge this fall. That's when Congress is expected to take up a reconciliation bill that may include language opening the ANWR's Coastal Plain to oil drilling.

The campaign to keep ANWR pristine coincides with record-setting oil prices and price creep at the gasoline pump. Crude oil futures hit a record high of $ 60.95 a barrel.
"Energy prices are way too high," Treasury Secretary John Snow told. "Clearly, it's hurting," he said -- adding that energy is his "biggest concern."