The federal tax overhaul Congress passed earlier this month amassed a lot of attention and what it would do as far as tax breaks and increases. But a provision was slipped into the large piece of legislation that has many environmental advocates concerned.
The tax bill included a provision that lifted the ban on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which is home to rare species such as muskoxen, artic wolves and caribou.
Collin O’Mara with the National Wildlife Federation says there’s popular support for protecting ANWR, and he fears Congress will start chipping away at environmental concerns through provisions in bigger bills.
“They can only pass, under the cover of darkness, hidden into other bills because as a standalone thing if there’s any public awareness they would never pass.”
O’Mara says this could include funding cuts for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which was proposed earlier this year but fought down by Ohio’s Senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman.
Copyright 2017 The Statehouse News Bureau
