Senate Votes to Protect Oil Drilling Wildlife By Alan Lord
WASHINGTON - A closely divided Senate voted Wednesday to approve setting up an oil drilling refuge in Alaska where oilmen could go wild.
This is a major victory for President Bush and a stinging defeat for environmentalists who have fought for decades to exterminate the endangered oil drilling species.
By a 51-49 vote, the Senate put a refuge drilling provision in next year's budget, in order to prevent polar bears, caribou and seals from endangering the wild oilfield environment.
Senate Votes to Protect Oil Drilling Wildlife