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WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a direct challenge to President Bush, Congress voted Tuesday to temporarily halt the shipment of thousands of barrels of oil a day into the government's emergency reserve.
Both Democrats and Republicans said such shipments make no sense when oil is costing more than $120 a barrel and could better be used to add supplies to a tight market and possibly lower prices.
With Republicans joining Democrats, the Senate voted 97-1,and the House of Representatives voted 385 to 25, to suspend the shipments - averaging about 70,000 barrels a day - until the end of the year.
In the Senate, only Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., voted against the measure.
The Senate measure was added to legislation on flood insurance that it also passed Tuesday.
Bush has been steadfast in continuing shipments of oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a system of underground salt domes on the Gulf Coast, arguing that the stockpile should be filled to its maximum capacity of 727 million barrels. It currently is 97% full at 701 million barrels, equal to two months of oil imports.
Supply shock insulation: The reserve was created in the 1970s as a precaution against major interruptions of oil supplies.
Senators said the stockpile is big enough to meet any emergency.
"We are buying the most expensive crude oil in the history of the world and storing it," said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. "When American consumers are burning at the stake by high energy prices, the government ought not be carrying the wood."
Dorgan acknowledged it was "a small step forward" as Congress grapples with ways to respond to soaring fuel prices that have pushed gasoline prices to nearly $4 a gallon after a winter of record heating bills.
It's uncertain how much effect - if any - putting 70,000 barrels a day of crude onto the U.S. market that uses more than 21 million barrels a day would have. Dorgan said it could send a signal and curb market speculation.
"It could have a chance of reducing the price a small amount," said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., who joined the chorus against continuing the shipments. "But make no bones about it, this is no big energy policy. This is one little thing we can do."
Calls for domestic oil production: Earlier, the Senate rejected a broader Republican energy plan that called for opening an Alaska wildlife refuge and some offshore waters to oil development. Supporters of the measure couldn't get the needed 60 votes to overcome a Democratic-led filibuster threat.
Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said more domestic oil production is needed to keep prices in check and to reduce U.S. dependence on oil imports. "We cannot repeal the law of supply and demand....We need to increase supply in order to lower gas prices," said McConnell.
But opponents said areas such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and coastal waters that have been off limits to drilling for 25 years ought to remain that out of bounds to oil companies. The GOP measure, defeated Tuesday by a vote of 56-42, would have allowed coastal states to get a waiver to the offshore drilling ban.
"We can't drill our way to lower prices," said Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill.
The president has given no indication that he will move to halt shipments to the oil reserve, short of a congressional directive.
"Our position hasn't changed," said White House press secretary Dana Perino earlier this week. She said the president believes the emergency reserve needs to be increased "in order to protect ourselves against oil shocks" and that the oil being put in - a tenth of 1% of global production - "would have a negligible impact on gas prices" if put into the market.

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