Senate keeps ANWR closed to drilling

The amendment would have amended a federal ban prohibiting offshore drilling along most coastal states

The US Senate has rejected a Republican-backed proposal to expand offshore oil and gas drilling.

Democrats said an expansion of offshore drilling would do nothing to reduce Americans' dependence on foreign oil.

"Drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge would result, when it's fully implemented 10 or 20 years from now, in one penny per gallon savings," said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington.

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Senate Tuesday rejected an attempt to expand offshore oil and gas drilling to allow the states to generate revenue.

The Republican-backed proposal would have allowed states to drill off their coasts and share revenues with the federal government, the (Newport News, Va.) Daily Press reported.

The amendment would have amended a federal ban prohibiting offshore drilling along most coastal states, the newspaper said.

The state proposal was packaged with other controversial measures, including drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The amendment was rejected on a mostly party-line vote of 42 to 56.

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., urged his colleagues to support the measure, noting that his home state of Louisiana has profited from offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

"We need to expand on that policy to dramatically increase our domestic energy production," he said.

But Democrats said an expansion of offshore drilling would do little to reduce Americans' dependence on foreign oil.

"We can't drill our way out of this problem," said Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill. "We can't drill our way to lower gas prices."