Rep. Bartlett, in reversal, backs drilling in Arctic refuge

HAGERSTOWN, Md. – Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, a conservative Republican with an unusually green reputation, said Thursday he will co-sponsor a bill to allow oil and natural gas drilling in part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge after years of opposition.

Bartlett, R-Md., cited skyrocketing crude oil prices in announcing his support for the American Energy Independence and Price Reduction Act, which would send all the revenue from drilling leases in the refuge’s coastal strip to alternative and renewable energy programs.


“I have resisted drilling in ANWR because I believe that these oil reserves are like money in the bank that is yielding huge interest rates,” Bartlett said in a news release. “Today, with oil at $134 per barrel, there is obviously no surplus energy or capital to invest in alternatives.”

Bartlett acknowledged that drilling would do some environmental harm in the coastal strip, where polar bears, musk oxen and caribou abound. But he said, “I am convinced that the environmental impact will be minimal.”

AP