Yet another bill to allow oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is moving through the U.S. House of Representatives, but history would suggest it's doomed to fail.

So why does Alaska's Congressman Don Young keep trying?

"I'm not only eternally optimistic; if you don't keep trying you're never going to get anything done," Young told Alaska Dispatch Wednesday.

His attempts to open ANWR's coastal plain to drilling so far have amounted to nothing.

During his nearly four decades in office, the House has passed 11 of his ANWR drilling bills, Young said. All but one died in the Senate. The only one that made it through Congress died ignominiously on President Bill Clinton's desk.

"Everyone says, 'What do you keep doing this for? The Senate's not going to pass it,'" Young said. 

If that happens, he'll try again next year.

The ANWR legislation is part of a trio of energy bills passing the House National Resources Committee on Wednesday. Those bills would help pay for a $260 billion transportation bill, part of a GOP strategy designed to highlight job-creation and the sputtering economy as elections loom.

The other two bills are designed to increase shale-oil and offshore oil production -- including sharing 37.5 percent of federal revenues with coastal states such as Alaska.   

Three Democrats supported the ANWR measure in the committee.

"We got a nice vote on it -- 29-13. I even got some D's," Young said, referring to the Democrats.

U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, said the bill has a better chance of passing the Senate these days because new technology in recent years has increased domestic oil and gas production and created jobs in places such as North Dakota and the Northeast.

"Suddenly, there's a lot of interest from Democrats that were not pro oil-and-gas because they honestly didn't have these resources. Now we're at least finding there's an interest in discussing these issues with them. Five years ago it was, 'Close the door,' and never talk to them again," he said.

Begich said he's anxious to see the ANWR bill in the Senate, where "we'll try to work that into a broader energy package," and get it passed.

Supporters say the drilling would happen on a less-than 3 percent slice of the refuge. With new drilling technology, a single well could cover an area the size of Washington, D.C., limiting environmental impact, Young said.   

What about the environmentalists prone to help stop the bill? They'll be back, Young said. 

"It's the Holy Grail for the environmental community, but it's a silly thing to hang their hat on," Young said. "They've raised millions of dollars on this and put out all this propaganda, wolves sleeping with caribou and all this other crap. Frankly it's dishonest, but that's their right and they can do it."

Contact Alex DeMarban at alex(at)alaskadispatch.com