By Helen Dewar Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, April 18, 2002; 1:25 PM
The Democratic-controlled Senate voted today to block drilling for oil and gas in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in a major defeat for President Bush and the centerpiece of his plan to increase domestic energy production.
The showdown in the more than two-decade-long struggle over drilling in the refuge – a victory for the Senate's narrow Democratic majority as well as environmental advocates who lobbied exhaustively against the proposal – came in two back-to-back votes to end a Democratic-led filibuster against the proposal.
In the closer of the two votes, which was 54-46, the proposal fell 14 votes short of the 60 needed to end the Democrats' blocking tactics and force passage, frustrating Republicans' hopes of including the controversial proposal in energy legislation that the Senate has been considering for more than two months.
Drilling supporters had hoped for at least 51 votes in order to be able to claim that a majority of the Senate favored the initiative, which could have strengthened their hand for future fights over the issue.
All but five Democrats voted against the drilling proposal, while all but eight Republicans supported it.
Full Story: <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8655-2002Apr18.html>
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