Candidates Return to Senate for Budget Votes

WASHINGTON — The three major presidential candidates returned to their day jobs yesterday for dozens of votes on amendments to the budget that could open up contrasts for the coming campaign.

Among the votes were proposals to revamp the estate tax and an expected bill to institute a one-year moratorium on earmarks — the pet projects accounting for billions of dollars in annual spending that are often criticized as pork.

Senators Clinton, Obama, and McCain voted to support the moratorium, but only Messrs. Obama and McCain have pledged to abide by it even if the measure fails, as expected. The amendment was defeated 60–29 late last night, near the end of a marathon session of voting that stretched through the afternoon and evening.

The debate over earmarks emerged in the Democratic primary yesterday as Mr. Obama released his requests for the years 2005 and 2006 and called on Mrs. Clinton to do the same. The Illinois senator, who had already released his requests from 2007, had initially rebuffed calls to list the earlier proposals, but he apparently saw an opportunity yesterday to score a point against Mrs. Clinton on the question of transparency.

Mrs. Clinton's Senate office responded late yesterday with a disclosure that fell far short of what Mr. Obama had demanded. Her office created a Web site that linked to previously released press statements detailing the funding projects that secured approval since 2001, but it does not list her total earmark requests, as Mr. Obama did.

While a spokesman said she would make public all requests she submits this year, the New York senator refused to swear off personal earmarks completely. "Senator Clinton will limit requests for earmarks this year to the most critical needs for New York and America," the spokesman, Philippe Reines, said, "such as providing health care for those suffering from the effects of 9/11, bolstering our national and homeland security, and providing our brave men and women in uniform with the resources they need to achieve their missions." He added that Mrs. Clinton is "proud of the investments in New York that she has secured as senator."

The issue could loom large in the general election, where the presumptive Republican nominee, Mr. McCain, has made banning earmarks and wasteful spending a top campaign plank. In a somewhat tongue-in-cheek statement yesterday, Mr. McCain said he was "encouraged by some of my Democratic colleagues' new-found enthusiasm for suspending this practice for a year." He added that he hoped "their recent commitments do not wane once they step off the campaign trail."

Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama, who were spotted speaking privately in the Senate chamber for several minutes yesterday afternoon, voted identically and along party lines on more than two dozens amendments through 7:30 p.m., with several more votes set for the evening. Mrs. Clinton voted differently than her New York colleague, Senator Schumer, on just one bill — a measure to reform the estate tax to exempt more small businesses and family farms and ranches; she voted for it, while he voted against it.

Mr. Obama was the target of a political stunt by a Republican of Colorado, Senator Allard, who forced a vote on a measure that would have raised taxes by $1.4 trillion to cover what he said was the cost of 111 spending proposals that the Illinois senator has offered during the presidential campaign. After briefly chiding Mr. Allard on the floor, Mr. Obama voted no, and the measure was rejected unanimously.

All of the amendments voted on yesterday were non-binding as part of an annual budget process in which the Democrats sorted out priorities in their $3 trillion proposal. Meaningful votes on appropriations are not expected to come before a new president takes office. Lawmakers, including Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton, endorsed measures to extend President Bush's tax cuts for middle- and lower-income Americans, but not for the top earners.