WASHINGTON – The House voted 225 to 201 Thursday to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, with proponents arguing new domestic production will ease the nation’s energy crunch.

The measure, which marks the 12th time the House has voted in favor of opening the refuge to oil and gas development since 1995, has little concrete impact because its backers have failed to obtain the 60 Senate votes needed to surmount a filibuster.

Reps. Michael Michaud and Tom Allen, D-Maine, voted against the measure.

“Once again, the House has voted to put Americans to work producing more of our own energy,” said House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo, R-Calif., who wrote language to drill on the area that is home to caribou and other migrating species. “And, once again, liberals defied the common-sense principle of supply and demand by voting no. That’s a great way to keep prices on the rise.”

Twenty-seven Democrats voted in favor of Pombo’s bill, which proponents say would add 10.4 billion barrels to the nation’s oil reserves, while 30 Republicans voted against it.

House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., a key opponent, said that if the nation had adopted stricter fuel economy standards for vehicles when they were first proposed 11 years ago, that would have saved more oil than could be produced in the Arctic refuge. The country has had the same fuel economy standards in place for 30 years.

Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., who is also a Resources Committee member, called the “The American-Made Energy and Good Jobs Act” a shortsighted approach to address rising gasoline prices.

“This shows once again how bankrupt the majority is in finding new ideas to solve our energy crisis. Drilling in ANWR seems to be their solution for everything, when what we really need is a bold and comprehensive national energy policy for the 21st century.”

Environmentalists, who argue drilling will harm wildlife on Alaska’s North Slope, said they were confident moderate Republicans would join with many Democrats in the Senate to block the proposal just like they did in December.

“Although Representative Pombo doesn’t seem to understand that we can’t drill our way to energy independence or lower gas prices, the American people and the United States Senate know better,” said Tiernan Sittenfeld, legislative director for the League of Conservation Voters.