Last night, the Environment and Public Works Committee debated over Title VII of the Republican-sponsored FREEDOM Act, a section of the bill which would allow for highly-debated resource exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Senator Kit Bond of Missouri was a strong proponent of the section, saying that drilling in the region is "common sense" because "prices are high because there is not enough supply to meet demand".
The committee brought in Mr. Okpik of the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation to testify about any benefits of drilling in ANWR. The prominent member of the Inuit Nation in Alaska gave an emotional testimony, telling the committee, "we don't just refer to this territory as "Nunavut", meaning "our land" - we refer to it as "Nunatsiavut" meaning "our beautiful land". He continued to tell members of the EPW Committee reasons why his people to be allowed to drill in the land.
Finally, the provision was eliminated due to a democratic majority in the committee. The FREEDOM Act, which both sides claim will make the United States "a greener country", was ultimately reported out of the committee and will be voted on tomorrow night.
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