WASHINGTON — Two years ago, after his decades-old crusade to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling had failed again, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) made a vow to his colleagues: He'd be back.
He made good on the pledge, and on Monday the drilling measure loomed as perhaps the most divisive issue facing Congress as it moved to adjourn for the year.
Stevens has attached the drilling measure to the military spending bill and has given his colleagues a tough choice -- accept it or hold up funding for an American military at war. It is not clear how the showdown will be resolved. But the dispute has provided a vivid demonstration of Washington power politics in its rawest form.
At center stage is an 82-year-old master of the art, who combines the guile of a seasoned infighter, the clout of seniority and the fiercest determination to impose his will on the system. In Congress, that's usually enough to win. But in this case, Stevens finds himself fighting formidable forces on multiple fronts -- environmental advocates, some fellow pro-military lawmakers and many members of Congress who are desperate to go home.
The defense bill -- with the drilling provision -- cleared the House early Monday. But hours later, environmentalists and their Senate allies showed no signs of backing off a fight.
"I speak for Californians in saying, 'Don't do this, Sen. Stevens,' " Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said. "We know you're powerful.... We know you feel passionately. But we feel passionately too."
Opening the Arctic refuge to energy exploration has long been a goal of President Bush's. But it is among a handful of administration-backed measures facing an uncertain fate in the Senate.
A House-approved bill calling for $40 billion in spending cuts to programs such as Medicare and Medicaid faces resistance in the Senate from Democrats and some moderate Republicans. Extension of the Patriot Act has stalled in the Senate because of concern from some members of both parties about its effect on civil liberties; the anti-terrorism law will expire at the end of the year without congressional action.
But Stevens grabbed the limelight with his maneuvering to advance his favorite initiative, a testament to his determination on the issue.
"He strikes me as a good person to have on your side," said Robert L. Bixby of the Concord Coalition, a budget watchdog group. "Too bad he isn't a budget hawk. I would love to unleash his combination of cunning, tenacity and zeal on the deficit."
