WASHINGTON – The Senate on Tuesday rejected a Republican energy plan that promised to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration, an option that was part of an overall package to increase domestic energy development.

Instead, the Senate voted 97-1 to suspend oil deposits in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve while prices at the pump continue to climb.

Congress hopes that diverting fuel from the reserves to the open market will increase supply and therefore ease prices at the pump.

But that’s not enough, warned Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who has taken the place of her fellow Alaska Republican, Sen. Ted Stevens, as the leading advocate in the Senate for drilling in ANWR.

Congress needs to focus on legislation that encourages conservation and the development of alternative energy, Murkowski said.

But it could take many years for such alternatives to quench the nation’s thirst for oil. Until then, there’s also a need to develop domestic sources of fossil fuels, Murkowski said.

“Increasing our production is part of a comprehensive energy policy,” Murkowski said. “We cannot have an energy policy that is based on “No.”‘

The amendment to halt strategic deposits, attached to an unrelated flood insurance bill, had near-unanimous support in the Senate.

It was the only major energy-related proposal supported by both parties in their respective price relief plans unveiled earlier this month.

President Bush has said he doesn’t support the proposal and has called for continuing to add to the strategic reserves. However, he won’t veto it, said White House spokeswoman Jeanie Mamo.