Audio Sen. Coleman explains his decision (All Things Considered 3/19/03) More from MPR Environmentalists' eyes on Coleman as Arctic Refuge fight nears (02/11/2003) Resources U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: official ANWR site Arctic Circle: background report on ANWR debate Your Voice Join the conversation with other MPR listeners in the News Forum.

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Coleman votes against drilling in ANWR
March 19, 2003

Despite last-minute reservations, Sen. Norm Coleman decided to stick with a campaign promise and voted against allowing oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Washington D.C. — (AP) - Shortly before the vote, the Minnesota Republican said he was considering changing his stance because supporters had offered to divert money to support biodiesel. That would have helped Minnesota farmers, Coleman said.

Coleman was one of the last senators to vote on an amendment removing the drilling provision from a budget resolution that's expected to pass later this week. The amendment passed 52-48, with one more vote than needed to block drilling.

Environmental groups pressured Coleman to keep his campaign promise, and ahead of Wednesday's vote, a handful of demonstrators appeared outside Coleman's St. Paul office. They carried a giant reproduction of a letter Coleman sent a constituent last month stressing his commitment to protecting the refuge.

"We know that Senator Coleman is under intense pressure to go back on his pledge to protect the Arctic refuge," Josh Buswell-Charkow, a field organizer of the Alaska Coalition of Minnesota, said in a telephone interview.

"But we in the environmental community believe that this is an absolutely crucial issue," he said. "We will be watching his vote very closely. We anticipate he will vote the way he promised he will."

Drilling supporters tried to use a budget resolution to lift the congressional ban on drilling in ANWR. Senate Democrats and a few anti-ANWR Republicans needed 51 votes to strip the drilling provision. Both sides had expected a close vote.

Last week, Coleman was one of a handful of senators targeted by drilling supporters in hopes of picking up a 50th vote. At the time, he said he still opposed drilling but was willing to listen to drilling proponents.

Coleman said his main objection was that energy policy should be focused on biodiesel, and that drilling supporters said they were willing to work with him on that.

Earlier this year, Coleman declined to sign a letter circulated by anti-drilling GOP senators, urging Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., not to include ANWR in a budget vote.

President Bush has argued the refuge's oil - anywhere from 5.6 billion to 16 billion barrels - should be tapped to reduce America's dependance on foreign crude. Environmentalists say that ANWR should be preserved as a sanctuary for polar bears, musk oxen, caribou and migratory birds.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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