Senate Rejects Opening Alaska's ANWR to Oil Drilling

enate Democrats Wednesday blocked oil drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which Republicans had sought to add to a defense-spending bill, news services reported.

ANWR, in Alaska's northeastern coast, and may hold 10 billion barrels of oil, Reuters reported. It has been the focus of bitter wrangling in Congress for more than two decades.

The vote was a defeat for Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), one of the Senate's most powerful members, who had given senators a choice to support the Alaska drilling measure, or risk the political fallout of voting against money for military troops and for victims of Hurricane Katrina, the Associated Press reported.

In the 56-44 vote, GOP leaders fell four votes short of getting the required 60 votes to avoid a threatened filibuster of the defense measure over the oil drilling issue, AP reported.

Alexandria, VA - The American Trucking Associations today expressed disappointment in the U.S. Senate's 56-44 vote to uphold a filibuster of the defense spending measure that authorizes Arctic National Wildlife Refuge leasing.

With 60 votes needed to override the filibuster, drilling proponents fell four votes short of invoking cloture as Congress aims to wrap up the legislative session before the holiday recess.

American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves, who said in late October that ATA backs opening ANWR as part of a comprehensive national energy plan, expressed disappointment at the Senate move Wednesday.

"The U.S. must be given opportunities to improve our energy situation," he said in a statement. "Without them, the trucking industry will continue to suffer, and the economic effects of rising fuel prices will only worsen."

"ATA strongly supports efforts that will increase national energy self-sufficiency and reduce vulnerability to future energy disruptions," Graves said in a statement.

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