WASHINGTON – The Senate voted Tuesday to open 8.3 million acres of federal waters in the central Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling, setting up a confrontation with the House, which wants even more drilling in waters now off-limits.

Supporters said the measure would be a major step toward producing more domestic energy and forcing down natural gas prices that have soared in recent years.

The Senate approved the measure 71-25. Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine voted against the measure, while Sen. Susan Collins, also a Republican, supported the move. The bill now must be reconciled with much broader drilling legislation passed by the House in June. Those negotiations are likely to begin in September.

“This bill will substantially reduce our reliance on foreign oil and gas. … It brings more American energy to American consumers,” declared Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.

Likewise, Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., called the legislation “welcome news for the people of the United States” – for homeowners facing high heating bills as well as for manufacturers and chemical companies that have seen natural gas costs soar.