Senate backs drilling But outcome in House remains 'hard to tell'

By the barest of margins, the Senate approved legislation late today that would allow energy companies to hunt for crude in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. But whether drilling supporters now can rustle up the votes they were lacking in the House just three months ago remains unclear. "It's kind of hard to tell yet," said Lee Fuller, vice president of government relations for the Independent Petroleum Association of America. In what has become a running battle in the halls of Congress, the Senate voted 51-49 Thursday to approve a budget bill that would end a 26-year moratorium and clear the way for oil and gas companies to explore in the northern Alaska refuge....