{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-speaks-out-against-drilling-in-arctic-national-wildlife-refuge", "King Speaks Out Against Drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge", "2017-11-15", "2017", "2017-11", "Independent", "House", "ME", "Angus King", "K000383", "www.king.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "King Speaks Out Against Drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tWednesday, November 15, 2017\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the U.S. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (ENR), today spoke out against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge during an ENR Committee business meeting. The legislation considered before the committee today would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish and administer an oil and gas program in the Coastal Plain within the refuge.\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe words \u2018wildlife refuge\u2019 mean something it seems to me,\u201d Senator King said. \u201c[\u2026]We\u2019re talking about lot of coverage of this area \u2013 in multiple wells \u2013 a minimum of 400,000 acres being leased. Alaska is 375 million acres, the state owns 105 million acres, the National Petroleum Reserve is 23 million acres, and it just strikes me that the case hasn\u2019t been made to open up this particular, relatively small area of the state for drilling. Particularly when we\u2019re now projecting \u2013 in the news just yesterday \u2013 a record oil production in the United States next year of almost 10 million barrels a day, rivaling that of Saudi Arabia.\u201d\r\nThe 19-million acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the largest protected refuge in the United States, supports more than 250 animal species, and represents one of the last intact arctic ecosystems on the North American continent. The Coastal Plain, a 1.57-million acre section of the refuge, is the current focus for development. It is also designated as a critical habitat for polar bears under the Endangered Species Act and is an important hub for caribou, musk ox, and other wildlife.\r\nAt present, the United States is world\u2019s third largest oil producer after Russia and Saudi Arabia. There are currently 23.6 million acres in Alaska open for development at the National Petroleum Reserve.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-speaks-out-against-drilling-in-arctic-national-wildlife-refuge"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.958806999027729, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}