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Full House to consider Udall bill to ban drilling .
A bill to keep oil-and-gas drilling out of Valle Vidal, a 102,000-acre national forest area in Northern New Mexico, has cleared a key committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. The measure, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., could now be considered by the full House. ``This is a huge step forward in the process to protect one of New Mexico's most precious gems,'' Udall said in a statement. ``Thanks to the strong voices and support of numerous New Mexicans, the U.S. House of Representatives is one step closer to protecting what the Pueblo Indians and Spanish founders referred to as `The Valley of Life.' ''
