Dayton Daily News: DeWine Bucks GOP on Bill

Arctic oil drilling was stumbling block in $453 billion Defense spending measure

By Jessica Wehrman

Sen. Mike DeWine on Wednesday helped stall a $453 billion defense spending bill because it included a provision that would allow oil drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, also known as ANWR.

DeWine, R-Ohio, voted against ending debate on the bill. The 56-44 vote fell short of the 60 votes necessary to cut off debate.

Two other Republicans - Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island and Majority Leader Bill Frist - also voted against ending debate, but Frist did so for procedural reasons and only after it was clear the measure would fail. Senate rules would have prevented him from resubmitting the bill had he voted yes. Hours later, however, the Senate stripped the Alaska drilling language from the defense legislation, then unanimously passed the bill and sent it to the House, which was scheduled to reconvene this afternoon.

The House earlier had passed the defense spending bill with the Alaska drilling provision in it.

It was the second time in a matter of hours that DeWine bucked his party on tight votes as the Senate prepared to recess for the year.

Earlier Wednesday, he was one of five Republicans to oppose a budget-trimming bill that he said “will hurt poor children.” DeWine criticized the bill for cuts to Medicaid, foster care and child support. That bill passed 51-50, with Vice President Dick Cheney cutting short an overseas trip to break the tie.

DeWine said he supported the overall defense spending bill - which includes $66 million for Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and Miami Valley projects - but opposed the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge provision.

That measure had been attached to the bill by Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, a Republican, who said it would “add a new revenue stream” that could, in part, help pay for rebuilding New Orleans. He also tied the need for oil to national security.

DeWine, who has consistently voted against drilling in ANWR because of “environmental concerns for that pristine place,” said he does not believe drilling in the refuge would help solve the nation’s energy problem.

Instead, he said, the nation needs to look at alternative sources of energy.

“Whether you drill in ANWR or whether you don’t drill in ANWR, there isn’t enough oil, period,” he said. The United States would still be dependent on Saudi Arabian oil even if it drills in the refuge, he said. He also believes the ANWR provision should not have been attached to a spending bill.

“It’s rather bizarre,” he said. “It shouldn’t be in the bill.”

DeWine, who is up for re-election in 2006, garnered headlines and earned some conservative ire this year for joining the moderate “Gang of 14,” which sought compromise in a Senate standoff over judicial nominees.

Karl Frisch, a spokesman for Democrat Paul Hackett, one of two Democrats vying to oppose DeWine next year, said Hackett also would’ve voted against the budget reconciliation bill and against ending debate on the defense bill. But Frisch said DeWine’s votes didn’t make him a hero to Hackett. “We’re not giving kudos to Senator DeWine for doing the right thing,” Frisch said. “He voted for the Republican leadership that twisted arms to get this thing through. He’s part of the problem.” Jennifer Duffy, who analyzes Senate races for the Cook Political Report, said the votes might help DeWine in the general election. “It probably causes further problems with conservatives, but serves him well in the general election,” she said. “I think that it’s two more votes that make it hard for Democrats to label him a rubber stamp.”

December 22, 2005 | Filed Under Hackett, News Mentions 

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