Juneau - By a vote of 15 to 1, Senator Tom Wagoner's Joint Senate Resolution urging Congress to open the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration and production moved out of the Senate today.

"This year it looks like all the stars are in alignment, both in Alaska and Washington, D.C., " stated Senator Wagoner. "The difference this year is that the opening of the coastal plain of ANWR to exploration and production is supported by a majority of members of both houses of Congress and President Bush."

Senator Wagoner indicated that the resolution was a result of his concern, and that of fellow members of the Senate that production on the North Slope has been declining since 1988 and is currently at one half the production of that peak year. "Development of the Coastal Plain will help provide stability to our national energy demands while at the same time increasing Alaska's revenue stream," Wagoner stated.

"I believe that this resolution will receive the same prompt attention in the House that it received on our side since this issue is important not only to Alaska, but to the entire country," Wagoner concluded.

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