House approves bill to bolster contentious drilling project in Arctic

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In this undated file photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an airplane flies over caribou from the Porcupine caribou herd on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Alaska. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP)

The House on Wednesday approved controversial legislation that would reinstate rights to drill in a wildlife refuge that were overturned by the Biden administration.

The bill, which passed in a 214-199 vote, would reinstate six oil and gas leases to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge that the Biden administration revoked last year.

The refuge is home to caribou herds, wolves and more than 200 species of birds, as well as land considered sacred to the Gwich’in people.

Supporters of drilling there say it could open up economic activities, including for indigenous groups such as the Iñupiat.

The bill would also undo the administration’s move to ban drilling on 13 million acres in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve — an area that was set aside in the 1920s as emergency oil for the Navy and home to wildlife including caribou herds and polar bears.

While the legislation has some bipartisan support, it’s unlikely to move past the Democrat-led Senate or win White House approval.

It does, however, express House Republicans’ disapproval with the Biden administration’s policy, and puts swing-district lawmakers on the record.

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