Last year's Republican presidential candidate said both he and Obama pledged during the campaign to "stop business as usual in Washington."
The White House has said that Obama intends to sign the legislation, casting it as leftover business from last year and pledging new guidelines covering earmarks for future bills.
McCain's proposal drew the support of 30 Republicans and two Democrats, Evan Bayh and Claire McCaskill. Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, who also broke from the party on the stimulus package, were among the eight Republicans who voted against McCain.
While polls routinely show these pet projects to be unpopular, local governments and constituents often covet them. The earmarks include dozens of Massachusetts projects sought by the Bay State delegation.
The legislation assures funding for several federal agencies past Friday until the end of the fiscal year on Sept 30. The House passed the bill last week, and Democratic leaders are working to clear it without changes so the president can sign it by Friday.
While Republican opposition in the House focused more on the bill's overall spending, McCain and allies turned the Senate spotlight squarely on earmarks.
"How does anyone justify some of these earmarks: $1.7 million for pig odor research in Iowa; $2 million 'for the promotion of astronomy' in Hawaii," he said.
