I noted in the morning newspaper that the Senate Energy and National Resources Committee voted 13 to 9 to approve granting two oil leases in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Since the House has repeatedly approved doing so, and the President is sure to approve,this is a first step toward making the U. S. less dependent on oil from the mid-east. While not the total answer, it's at least a start. The newspaper article stated that "experts project that geologists believe that 10.4 billion barrels of oil likely lie beneith the tundra in the northeastern corner of Alaska."

DougR