Wes Hickman (202-224-5972) or Kevin Bishop (864-250-1417)

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today made the following statement on Senate passage of an amendment opening the door for energy exploration at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The U.S. Senate adopted the measure after years of debate. “ANWR is about the size of the state of South Carolina. The drilling footprint is about 2,000 acres, the size of a large airport. “New technologies in drilling and the need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil are among the reasons I support limited exploration in ANWR. I believe time will prove us right in voting to open ANWR to exploration.” #####