[JURIST] AP is reporting that the US Senate has rejected a proposal to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) [official website] to oil drilling. The proposal [JURIST report] was included as part of the 2006 military spending bill [bill summary].

12:55 PM ET – Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid argued [Leahy Senate floor log] on the Senate floor Wednesday that the version of the defense appropriations bill including provisions allowing ANWR oil drilling and limiting legal liability for vaccine manufacturers [NYT report] violated Senate rules because the provisions were not germane to the spending bill. Reid urged Senators to vote against invoking cloture [Senate backgrounder] and said that if there was a no vote on cloture, the language on these provisions would be removed. The Senate then voted 56-44 against invoking cloture on the Defense Appropriations Conference Report.