House Committee Moves Forward With Arctic Extraction Bill

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 6, 2023
Contact: Anja Semanco | anja@alaskawild.org 

House Committee Moves Forward With Arctic Extraction Bill
House Republicans attempt to turn back progress in protecting America’s Arctic

Washington, D.C. —  Today, the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources voted to advance Rep. Stauber’s “Alaska’s Right to Produce Act of 2023” (HR 6285). If passed into law, this bill would not only reverse the recent safeguards the Biden administration put in place to protect more than 10 million acres of the Western Arctic, but it would also undo the cancelation of leases in the Arctic Refuge.

“This bill makes it abundantly clear that Congressional Republicans will continue to prioritize extractive industries, putting people, communities and landscapes in harm’s way in the beleaguered hope of turning a profit,” said Alex Cohen, government affairs director at Alaska Wilderness League. “Every step forward the administration takes to protect America’s Arctic, Congressional Republicans take us two steps back.”

While this pro-drilling bill stands to set back significant progress to protect America’s Arctic, we applaud the champions in the Committee for continuing to stand strong in defense of these critical landscapes.

This bill puts more than 13 million acres of America’s Arctic at risk of oil and gas development at a time when climate impacts are affecting more and more Alaskans. Caribou herds — critical for subsistence ways of life — continue to struggle in the changing landscape, as do many other wildlife and local communities. The people and wildlife of this region cannot risk further destruction. 

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