Congress passes sweeping tax bill that allows drilling in ANWR
https://www.adn.com/nation-world/2017/12/20/congress-passes-sweeping-tax-bill-that-allows-drilling-in-anwr/...The tax bill included a measure to open a 1.5-million-acre coastal section of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.
The measure, written by Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, requires the federal government to hold two lease sales within seven years in a 1.5-million-acre section of the coastal plain. The first lease sale must be held within four years, and could lead to drilling and oil production.
Alaska's congressional delegation hailed the approval of the provision as a momentous victory after about four decades of failed attempts to open the coastal plain. President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill.
"This is a watershed moment for Alaska and all of America," Murkowski said in a prepared statement from the delegation. "We have fought to open the 1002 Area for a very long time, and now, our day has finally arrived."...
