The U.S. Senate approved lobbying-reform legislation this afternoon that would require more public disclosure about earmarks. But the bill would not cut back on the number of those directed appropriations, which critics call pork-barrel spending, that senators could request or obtain.

Under the legislation, S. 2349, Senate bills must be accompanied by a list of all earmarks they contain, the identities of all senators who proposed the earmarks, and explanations of the earmarks’ “essential governmental purpose.” Earmarks are noncompetitively awarded appropriations that members of Congress obtain for favored constituents, including many colleges. Some critics have described the projects as frivolous, a view that prompted the bill’s requirement that their purpose be described.

The bill contains other provisions to regulate efforts by lobbyists to influence members of Congress to help the lobbyists’ clients, following recent lobbying scandals (The Chronicle, February 2).

A longer report on the legislation will appear tomorrow on this Web site.