"Riding a wave of concern over high energy prices triggered by Katrina" - and following a plan drawn up by the House Republican Study Committee [3] at the Heritage Foundation [4] - "congressional Republicans are rushing to ease environmental rules [5] on refineries and looking for ways to open new coastal waters to oil and gas development," as well as Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge [6]. The lawmakers say "the measures were needed to address the vulnerabilities exposed by hurricanes Katrina [7] and Rita [8] to the nation's energy system." Environmentalists and city and state officials counter that the Republicans are "exploiting the tragedy that has hit the Gulf region to pursue a slew of pro-industry measures [9] that Congress rejected earlier this year when it passed a broad energy bill." The measures would "dismantle environmental laws that are not barriers to rebuilding the affected Gulf states," said the head of the National League of Cities.