Supporters of drilling narrowly turned back a bid by Senator John Kerry to kill the measure with a 51 to 49 vote that had the effect of the Senate ruling in favour of exploration. Kerry used the issue to court the environmental vote during the recent US presidential election as the Democrat candidate.
Republican leaders included the drilling provision in the Senate budget resolution, allowing it to pass with the support of a simple majority of the 100 members instead of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.
However,
