Hoffa Lobbies Senators for ANWR PassageMarch 14, 2002
General President James P. Hoffa today led the Teamsters' efforts on Capitol Hill to pass a comprehensive energy policy in the U.S. Senate. Hoffa met with Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-NJ), Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE). Hoffa urged the senators to pass an energy bill that includes provisions for petroleum exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).Before the meetings began, Hoffa appeared at a press conference in front of the U.S. Capitol to publicly support the energy bill. "We strongly support the opening of ANWR to oil development and look forward to the hundreds of thousands of jobs it will create," said Hoffa. "We understand that some of our friends in the Senate have already publicly declared their opposition to opening ANWR, but we ask them to support our call for a fair process—meaning an opportunity to have an up or down vote on the ANWR amendment."
Hoffa was joined at the press conference by supporters of ANWR exploration, including Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-AK), Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX), Sen. John Breaux (D-LA) and Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)
"This is a bipartisan issue," Hoffa added. "Senators in both parties support ANWR exploration because they have listened to the facts—ANWR can be explored cleanly and safely while lessening our oil dependence on the Middle East."
Click here to view a video clip from the event.
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