But several years later, when the bill came up for passage, Senator Clinton voted for it.
He embraced another Democrat central to its passage, Senator Cory Booker, Democrat of New Jersey and one of only three African-American senators.
As the House climate measure was moving toward seemingly inevitable passage, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, attached an amendment with virtually identical language to a small-business bill now before the Senate.
"This tactic is a diversion from our goal and is simply not the way to ensure their passage," Senator Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat and chairman of the Finance Committee, said.
But with Mr. McCain and Mr. Feingold appearing within reach of the 60 votes needed to cut off a filibuster and push their bill to passage, Senator Trent Lott, the majority leader, agreed to schedule a full debate.
Without enough votes to stop the bill's passage, Democratic senators apparently concluded that leaving the building would stop the vote from taking place.
Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev). still hopes to hold a vote on final passage before senators adjourn for the holidays, however, and on Thursday he told them to plan on working this weekend.
Bills and budget changes introduced this late in a session usually have little chance of passage, but Senators Specter and Shelby said in interviews that Congress and the nation were so interested in the tire issue that legislative action was possible and even probable.
At the time of the amendment's passage, three Senators, including Trumbull, the author of the Civil Rights Act, as well as President Andrew Johnson, asserted that both the Civil Rights Act and the Fourteenth Amendment would confer citizenship on such children at birth; however, Senator Edgar Cowan of Pennsylvania had a definitively contrary opinion.
The chances of passage for Senator Squadron's bill remain uncertain.
