US Congress repeals Biden-era limits on oil and gas in Alaska refuge

Congressional lawmakers on Thursday voted to repeal a Biden-era policy that limited the amount of land in an Alaska wildlife refuge that could be leased for oil and gas development.

The U.S. Senate voted 49-45 to approve a resolution that revokes the Interior Department’s 2024 rule governing energy development on the 1.56-million-acre Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

One Republican senator, Susan Collins of Maine, voted with Democrats against the resolution.

The Interior Department said in October that it would move to restore leasing to the full Coastal Plain as part of President Donald Trump’s promise to boost domestic energy development.

Drilling in the pristine region has long been a source of friction between Alaska lawmakers and tribal corporations, who prioritize jobs and revenue, and conservationists who want to preserve the local ecosystem.

(Reporting by Richard Cowan in Washington and Nichola Groom in Los Angeles; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)