The Senate will take a final vote Thursday to strike down a Biden administration decision that restricted oil drilling in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve.
At the same time, senators on Wednesday blocked a resolution from Louisiana Republican John Kennedy against a Fish and Wildlife Service plan to protect the endangered northern spotted owl. Only 25 senators voted for the measure.
On Alaska, the vote to proceed was 54-46, mostly along party line. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat to join Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Republicans in moving to overturn a 2022 decision protecting millions of acres from oil and gas development.
Sullivan, during floor debate, reiterated his contention that the Biden administration wrongly attacked his state with 70 executive actions targeting resource development, hurting jobs and life expectancy — all in the name of helping Alaska Native people.
