Friend — this is moving quickly, and it's big — really big.

Yesterday, by a vote of 248-180, the House passed H.R. 205, which would ban drilling off the Gulf coast of Florida. The House also passed H.R. 1941, which would ban drilling in the Atlantic and the Pacific, 238-189. These were big wins, thanks to you and our leaders in the House.

Both bills saw contentious fights with pro-drilling lawmakers attempting to jam amendment after amendment into the legislation in a futile attempt to bring them down. These wins are a major rebuke to the Trump administration, who have thrown all their weight behind these drilling operations.

Friend — we need your help again. This morning, we expect a vote on H.R. 1146, which would restore longstanding protections for the Arctic Refuge and repeal the 2017 Republican-pushed tax law provision that mandated the sale of oil and gas leases in the cultural and biological heart of the Refuge, the coastal plain.

The best thing you can do to help right now is make an emergency donation in the leadup to this vote. We're asking every LCV member to step up today.

This bill is critically important to keeping the Arctic Refuge a pristine environment. Can you help? A donor has offered to triple match every dollar, $2-for-$1 — so even a gift of $5 will be stretched to have the impact of $15 »

The pro-drilling Alaska delegation in the House and Senate vehemently opposes H.R. 1146 and are working furiously to tank it. The last thing they want is for the bill to be approved in the House and then move to the Senate — where there is increasing support for anti-drilling measures.

The League of Conservation Voters has a long history of getting pro-environment bills passed, but we've only been successful when our members get involved in the fight. So far we've activated more than 49,000 members over these bills, but we need tens of thousands more to contact their Member of Congress.

At a time when we are battling a host of attacks by the Trump administration — from rollbacks of clean car standards to his ridiculous attack on energy-efficient light bulbs — we're stretched thin. We need you in these fights!

Make no mistake — the Alaska delegation — and long-time drilling advocate Rep. Don Young — are pushing hard to bring down this bill. Not to mention Trump administration cronies-turned-industry lobbyists like Joe Balash — who left his administration post leading the effort to ignore indigenous rights and hand the Arctic Refuge to oil companies to go work for a foreign oil company looking to drill in Alaska. And pro-drilling lawmakers are attempting to attach amendment after amendment to keep the bill from final passage.

Time is short and this fight is happening RIGHT NOW. We are getting reports from our allies on the Hill that pro-drilling lawmakers are aggressively working to find a way to stop the bill. We can't let that happen. Keeping the Arctic Refuge safe from Big Oil is a fight we are willing to go all-in on. Can you help too?

Please, please, please don't sit on the sidelines in this fight. The next few hours are critical. Make a gift to LCV right now and it will have THREE TIMES the impact. Just $5 can make a difference.

Keep an eye on your email and social media. We'll update you as we know more. And thank you for being there for LCV and our environment.

Sincerely,

Matthew Davis
Legislative Director
League of Conservation Voters