Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Senate today approved S. 1932 – the Deficit Reduction Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 2005 – by a vote of 52 - 47 . The budget reconciliation package includes legislation to develop an oil and gas leasing program in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This title will bring an estimated $2.5 billion into the U.S. Treasury over the next five years and bring 10 billion barrels of oil to the lower 48 states over the next several years.

Chairman Domenici’s statement:

“At last. We should have done this 10 years ago but thank goodness we are doing it now. Developing our Arctic oil resources in an environmentally responsible fashion is the most proactive thing America has done in years to address our growing reliance on foreign oil. 

“With this vote, America is not only stepping up to the plate to solve our energy problems, we are also creating hundreds of thousands of jobs – good jobs. We have complained for years about the loss of top-paying American jobs. We have complained for years about rising energy costs. Now at last, we are doing something about both. I congratulate my colleagues for their common sense and their commitment to solving America’s challenges.”