[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 41 (Monday, March 26, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2844-S2845]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              TRIP TO ANWR

  Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise to extend an invitation to all 
Members of the Senate to take advantage of an opportunity this weekend 
relative to a trip to my State of Alaska to visit the Arctic National 
Wildlife Refuge.
  If Members are free, I would appreciate their contacting my office at 
224-6665. We do have room to accommodate more Members. We anticipate 
leaving Thursday at the completion of business and flying up to 
Anchorage. We will be in the accompaniment of the new Secretary of the 
Interior, Gale Norton, and we will be having breakfast in Anchorage 
Friday morning, then flying on down to Valdez where we will see the 
terminus of the 800-mile pipeline. Valdez is the largest oil port in 
North America, one of the largest in the world. We will see the 
containment vessels, the technology that is used to ensure that if 
there is an accident of any kind, the capacity for cleanup is 
immediately there.
  We will also have an opportunity to go across from the terminal to 
the community of Valdez. We will be able to monitor the Coast Guard 
station that basically controls the flow of tanker traffic in and out 
of the port of Valdez. Then we will fly on to Fairbanks where we will 
overnight and have an opportunity to attend a dinner hosted by some of 
the people of Fairbanks, including Doyon, which is one of the Native 
regional corporations. At that time, we will have an opportunity to 
hear firsthand the attitudes of the people in interior Alaska.
  Fairbanks is my home. The 800-mile pipeline goes through Fairbanks. 
As a consequence, there will be an opportunity to visit the largest 
museum in our State which contains all the material from public lands 
that have been generated over an extended period of time. It is an 
extraordinary collection. It is regarded as one of the finest 
collections outside of the Smithsonian.
  The next morning, we will fly up to Prudhoe Bay. We will visit 
Deadhorse. We will see the old technology. Then we will go over to the 
village of Kaktovik in ANWR. We will be in ANWR, and we will be able to 
meet with the Eskimo people and see physically what is there. We will 
be able to fly over ANWR, and then we will go back to a new field near 
what they call Alpine and be hosted by a group of Eskimos at Nuiqsut 
where they are going to have a little bit of a potlatch for us. Then 
that evening, we will be in Barrow overnight. Barrow is the 
northernmost point of the world.
  Many of you, if you have any questions about a trip such as that, 
might contact Senator Helms. Senator and Mrs. Helms made this trip a 
couple years with us. They could be firsthand advocates. What it does 
is give every Member an opportunity to view objectively the issue of 
whether or not it is in the national interest to open ANWR, whether we 
can do it safely, whether indeed it makes, as it does in my opinion and 
those of many other Alaskans, a significant contribution to the 
national security interests of this Nation and makes a significant 
contribution to the economy. They will have an opportunity to hear from 
Alaskans themselves their attitude on whether or not this can be opened 
safely.
  One of the things that bothers me about this issue is, I continually 
have to account for my knowledge of the issue as an Alaskan. Yet my 
opponents, who have never been there and don't have any intention of 
going, never seem to have to account for their ignorance or lack of 
knowledge--if I may put it a little more kindly--on the issue.
  So this is a rare opportunity, Mr. President. I again encourage 
Members to think about it. Spouses are welcome to accompany Members. We 
in Alaska are certainly willing to do our part. This development would 
take place on land as opposed to offshore. It is much safer to do it on 
land. It seems to me that as we look at the high price of energy, there 
is a recognition that we can have some relief, at least from dependence 
on imported oil, which affects our

[[Page S2845]]

transportation costs; that it is significant.
  Some Members obviously don't notice much of an increase in their 
bills because maybe somebody else pays the bills. A lot of people in my 
State of Alaska, including fishermen--and, for that matter, fishermen 
on the east coast, in Massachusetts and other States--are affected by 
the high price of fuel for their vessels. They are all affected by the 
high cost of energy. So I don't think we should rely on the NIMBY 
theory--not in my back yard.
  I was doing some figuring the other day as a consequence of a little 
address we did on ``Face The Nation'' this weekend, where we had a 
debate with one of my friends from Massachusetts. I am told there is 
enough oil in ANWR to fuel the State of Massachusetts for 125 years. 
ANWR happens to be about four times the size of the State of 
Massachusetts.
  In any event, I am not picking on Massachusetts this morning. I am 
extending an invitation to Members that this weekend would be an ideal 
opportunity for you to see and evaluate for yourselves, and not 
necessarily take the word of America's environmental community, which 
has seen fit to use this issue as a major factor in generating 
membership and dollars. I think they have not really related to the 
recognition of the technical advancements we have made in producing 
energy in this country, in recognition that we can do it safely.
  Mr. President, I will be leaving this Thursday night and returning 
Sunday evening. I encourage all Members to consider this invitation. 
This is an invitation from Senator Stevens and myself.
  I yield the floor.

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