The Senate is directing President George W. Bush to temporarily halt the shipment of thousands of barrels of oil a day to the government's emergency reserve.

Both Democrats and Republicans said such shipments make no sense when oil is costing more than $125 a barrel and could better be used to add supplies to a tight market and possibly lower prices. Senators voted 97-1 Tuesday to suspend the shipments until the end of the year.

The House is set to vote on a similar directive later Tuesday.

Bush has been steadfast in continuing shipments of oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Video footage showed both Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama on the Senate floor to take part in the vote.

Bush has said the 70,000 barrels of oil being diverted to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is such a small amount that it does not affect energy markets. Many senators disagreed.

Oil prices had been up more than $2.25 per barrel in trading Tuesday and dropped almost a dollar shortly after the vote was announced.