After nearly two decades of efforts to open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, advocates appear closer to getting their way than ever before. On the eve of a key Senate vote, both sides were scrambling to gain a last-minute advantage. Republican leaders are seeking authority to open the area to oil companies as part of the budget resolution for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. But they are being opposed by Democrats and some moderate Republicans, who fear that the drilling will damage an environmentally sensitive area. Although the Republicans picked up strength in the last...