WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives approved Thursday a bill that would open up parts of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the Rocky Mountains, and the offshore continental shelf for oil and gas exploration. The bill intended to fund a surface transportation package whose fate hangs in the hands of Republican leaders struggling to find more votes from the conservative wing of their own caucus.
Failure to pass a new transportation bill would represent a major defeat for Republicans. On Tuesday, Transportation Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) called it "our only hope -- this is very serious -- of putting people to work in a major piece of legislation this year."
Speaker John Boehner won't get any help from Democrats. The president has promised to veto the bill, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has said it would take American infrastructure "back to the dark ages," and Democratic leaders in the House fiercely opposed the drilling bit of the overall package.
"The House Republican transportation bill may be on the skids, but today’s vote makes it clear that nothing can stop the Republican oil company gravy train from chugging along," Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said in a statement immediately after the bill passed on a largely party line 237-187 vote.
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