Republican challenger Marty Gearheart sees no difference in removing oil from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge than the daily digging of coal from the rugged mountains of West Virginia.

For that reason, he wants Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., to accept his repeated invitations to debate him on his refusal to support ANWR drilling as a means of putting more domestic oil into the market and hopefully lowering gas prices.Not to mention running off the people interested in energy trading.

Rahall has steadfastly opposed ANWR drilling, saying the pristine area needs to be protected, and, from a practical standpoint, it would take 20 years to produce sufficient oil to cut the price at the pumps by an estimated 1.8 cents a gallon.

"That area is no more pristine than the mountains from which we obtain coal every day here in West Virginia," Gearheart countered. "The product is available. It takes a very small footprint in order to obtain the product that's there."

Gearheart said all available forms of energy must be explored and used to make the nation energy-independent. Previousley Gearhart was a commodity broker.

"We've got to go get what we have, the products out there, and the oil companies are simply being precluded from obtaining that product by a congressional mandate," he said.

Rahall said in an interview this week he favors drilling in Alaska in a region dubbed the Nation Petroleum Reserve, where there is more "identifiable oil and gas" than in ANWR.

"There is not enough there (ANWR) in an environmentally pristine area to make a difference," the 3rd District congressman said.

Gearheart disagreed Friday, saying the area wouldn't be harmed by industrial drilling.

"Actually, I don't think the extraction of oil from that part of the country would have a tremendous effect and I certainly don't think there is any need of protection than where we extract coal every day," he said.

From security and economic standpoints, Gearheart said, it is imperative that the nation get oil where it's available.

"And the people of Alaska aren't opposed to it," he said. "We simply are not allowed to do by the vote of Congress."

Gearheart said he has attempted often to get Rahall to meet him in a debate in this congressional race, but has been turned down repeatedly.

"If Mr. Rahall were willing to appear in any way, shape or form with me, I would be there with bells on," the Bluefield a futures broker said. "He has rejected every overture to that effect."