Anchorage Daily News

The rhetoric over drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is heating up as gas prices rise, with pro-drilling members of Congress and congressional hopefuls making visits to the refuge to hammer home their point.

A group of House Republicans led by minority leader Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, are headed to Alaska this weekend for a tour of ANWR. Seven Republican U.S. House candidates from around the country also flew to the refuge this week and told reporters in Anchorage Thursday that it strengthened their pro-drilling stance.

"I will go back to the people of Utah and confirm to the rest of the nation, hopefully ... that locals want it, Alaskans support it and the nation needs it," said Jason Chaffetz, who is the Republican nominee for a U.S. House seat in Utah.

The reality is that anti-ANWR-drilling Democrats control Congress and both of the major presidential candidates, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, are opposed to drilling in the refuge. Senate Republicans have, for now, put ANWR drilling on the back burner, choosing to focus on persuading Democrats to lift a moratorium on offshore drilling.

"In view of the presidential election, I've predicted all along that if we get an ANWR vote, it will be after the election," Republican Sen. Ted Stevens said Thursday in Washington, D.C.

Republican Gov. Sarah Palin said she was not giving up hope that McCain, if elected, might end up reversing his position and support oil drilling in ANWR. Palin said she's encouraged that McCain changed his position to support offshore drilling.

The state-funded pro-drilling lobbying group Arctic Power helped organize the congressional hopefuls' visit to ANWR. But the candidates paid their way. Three of them, including former U.S. Rep. Mike Sodrel, are running for office in Indiana and others are candidates in Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Utah. Most, but not all, of their opponents appear to be against ANWR drilling.

The hopefuls have won press attention in their hometowns for visiting ANWR. They said the trip was about seeing the area for themselves.

They talked about how their home states are suffering from high gas prices and said domestic drilling should be a part of a national energy plan. The candidates said they were struck by how small the proposed drilling section was compared to the size of the refuge, by environmental protections at North Slope oil fields, and by support for drilling among Natives they spoke to in Barrow and Kaktovik.

"I came up here a supporter but I am now even more enthusiastic," said Greg Goode, who is running for a U.S. House seat in Indiana.

The candidates did not visit Interior Athabascan villages where ANWR drilling is opposed.

About two dozen protesters outside the candidates' news conference sought to demonstrate that there are Alaskans who are against drilling in the refuge. They said it is not going to drive down the price of gasoline and held up signs like "Phony Crisis, Phony Solution" and "Don't Make Our Wilderness Your Platform."

Conservation is what is needed right now, said protester Jennifer Hillman of the Alaska Wilderness League.

Find Sean Cockerham online at adn.com/contact/scockerham or call him at 257-4344. Daily News reporter Erika Bolstad contributed to this story.

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