President Bush may be losing ground when it comes to Mexican trucks, but not when it comes to his energy plan.

After intense debate, the U.S. House this morning voted 240-189 in favor of the bill, which includes allowing oil companies to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
Supporters of the Bush initiative say the area is one of the greatest and most untapped resources to lessen the United States' continued dependence on foreign oil. Critics of the plan say drilling in the area will not only damage the area's delicate ecosystem, they say there is not enough evidence there are enough reserves to make a difference and that even if there is, it will be years before drilling in the area has any real impact on U.S. oil imports.
Lawmakers turned back a plan that supporters say would have gone further to lessen oil consumption. They voted 269-160 against an amendment that would have required the same fuel efficiency standards for light trucks and sport utility vehicles as for cars — 27.5 mpg, beginning in 2007.
Among the many groups pushing the bill was the Teamsters Union, which has been highly critical of other Bush proposals. They say the legislation will result in the creation of more than 700,000 new jobs in the petroleum industry.
General President James Hoffa said, “This is a major victory for the millions of workers whose occupations depend upon energy. Congress demonstrated that they have learned what working Americans knew all along — responsible energy production and environmental protection can peacefully coexist."
While they have yet to issue a statement on the House vote, the American Trucking Associations, when the Bush proposal was unveiled earlier this year, congratulated the administration for tackling such a thorny issue.