Alaska leaders claim victory with refuge drilling provision.

JUNEAU, ALASKA >> Alaska political leaders on Wednesday hailed as historic the passage of federal legislation that will allow for oil and gas drilling in a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The state’s Republican congressional delegation sees it as a win decades in the making, one they say will provide a boost for this oil-reliant state. Environmental groups see it as a big mistake and say the fight isn’t over.

The drilling provision was part of a larger package — a major restructuring of U.S. tax policy — that also repeals a requirement that Americans carry health insurance or face a penalty.

U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Rep. Don Young, who has served in the U.S. House since 1973, were among the lawmakers invited by President Donald Trump to speak at an event Wednesday marking the bill’s passage.

Young said persistence paid off.

Earlier, Sullivan told reporters that elections have consequences. He said both the Senate’s Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, and the Republican White House were supportive of the effort to allow for drilling in the refuge, in northeast part of the state.

Murkowski, who became chair of the Senate energy committee after the GOP in 2014 regained Senate control, said drilling can occur in a way that balances development with care for the environment.

That’s already happening on Alaska’s oil-rich North Slope, she said.

There have been significant technological advances since the push to allow for drilling began decades ago, she said. Murkowski and Sullivan said critics used “tired,” outdated talking points when citing concerns about potential impacts.

Jamie Williams, president of The Wilderness Society, called the vote “one of the most anti-environment votes in the history of Congress.”