Washington, D.C. – After the U.S. Senate passed Republican leadership’s tax bill, which includes a rider to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski released the following statement:

“This bill is a tax scam designed to benefit Big Corporations and Big Oil, raise taxes on the middle class, turn one of the last truly untouched places on Earth into an oilfield, and cause millions of people to lose their health insurance. It’s loaded with poison pill riders, from attacking health care our families rely on to tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve so Senator Murkowski can use budget gimmicks to drill for oil in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

“This fight is far from over. People across the country are calling their representatives in Congress and demanding that they stand up for them, not the richest one percent. We’re rallying opposition to drilling in the Arctic Refuge – which is even more unpopular than the tax bill itself. This week, twelve House Republicans spoke out against the Arctic Refuge rider. Now we turn back to the House, where Arctic Refuge drilling is yet another obstacle that should stop this terrible tax plan in its tracks.”