WASHINGTON -- The Senate voted overwhelmingly to preserve thousands of earmarks in a $410 billion spending bill yesterday, brushing aside Sen. John McCain's assertion that President Barack Obama and Congress are merely conducting business as usual in a time of economic hardship.

McCain's attempt to strip out an estimated 8,500 earmarks failed on a vote of 63-32. The Arizona senator's proposal also would have cut roughly $32 billion from the measure and kept spending at last year's levels in several federal agencies.

Last year's Republican presidential nominee said he and Obama pledged during the campaign to "stop business as usual in Washington," and he quoted the president as having said he would go line by line to make sure money was spent wisely.

The White House has said that Obama intends to sign the legislation, casting it as leftover business from 2008. Spokesman Robert Gibbs said Monday that the White House will issue guidelines covering earmarks for future bills.

McCain's proposal drew the support of 30 Republicans and two Democrats, and the outcome reflected the value of earmarks to lawmakers.

The maneuvering came on legislation to assure continued funding for several federal agencies past March 6. At $410 billion, the bill represents an 8 percent increase over last year's spending, more than double the rate of inflation.

Republicans failed in two other attempts yesterday to reduce spending in the bill.

Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said McCain's call to maintain last year's spending levels "doesn't account for inflation." As an example, he said some programs would have to be cut if federal workers were to receive a pay raise.

The House passed the bill last week, and Democratic leaders are working to clear it without changes so Obama can sign it by Friday.

Although Republican opposition in the House focused more on the bill's overall spending, McCain and Senate allies targeted 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; $6.6 million for termite research in New Orleans; $2.1 million for the Center for Grape Genetics in New York," McCain said.

He also noted that the bill includes 14 earmarks requested by lawmakers for projects sought by PMA Group, a lobbying company at the center of a federal corruption probe.

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said he would seek to have them removed.

Taxpayers for Common Sense, a watchdog group, estimates that the bill con-tains 8,570 disclosed ear-marks worth $7.7 billion. House Democrats declined to provide an estimate of the number of pet projects in the bill and put their cost at $3.8 billion.

Democrats also say the value of earmarks is 5 percent lower than the last time Congress approved spending bills for an entire year.

The earmark issue has been a thorny one for Obama, who successfully urged lawmakers to pass an economic-stimulus bill without them. He deferred to lawmakers on the spending bill, but his aides have worked to make it appear that he is merely acquiescing to what lawmakers and the White House had been prepared to do at the end of the Bush administration.