House Shelves Alaska Drilling in Budget Fight

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 - House Republican leaders were forced to jettison a plan for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska on Wednesday night to save a sweeping spending bill, a concession that came one day after the party suffered significant election loses.

Given President Bush's dismal poll numbers, a string of misconduct accusations against party leaders, unease about gas prices and the war in Iraq, other Republicans said it was surprising the party did not fare worse on Tuesday. Many said they were thankful they were not on the ballot. "The standing right now is about as low as it gets," said Representative Michael N. Castle, Republican of Delaware.

In dropping the drilling plan and a second provision, on coastal exploration, the leadership was trying to win over moderates in the party to enhance the chances of winning initial approval on Thursday of more than $50 billion in spending cuts demanded by House conservatives. But the decision is likely to meet objections from the Senate, where senior lawmakers are insisting on the drilling plan, a priority for President Bush.

The last-ditch effort by the leadership to avoid an embarrassing legislative defeat was the latest symptom of party unrest arising from instability in the leadership and anxiety about the 2006 elections. Those concerns were heightened by election results on Tuesday that Democrats and some Republicans said exposed the party's vulnerabilities and threatened its policy agenda.

"There is a clear message from the election results all over the country," said Representative Sherwood Boehlert, Republican of New York, an influential moderate. "The American people, by and large as a body politic, are looking for a more centrist approach."


from The New York Times