House Republicans voted among themselves Thursday to forgo earmark requests for a year — a move designed to trump a more limited curb on member-directed spending adopted by Democrats a day ago.

The Republican Conference’s support of a one-year moratorium on GOP earmark requests goes beyond the ban House Democrats imposed on earmarks directed to for-profit entities in fiscal 2011 spending bills.

Republican leaders said the ban — which the conference approved by voice vote — would apply not only to appropriations bills but also to authorizing and tax measures.

But none of those moves is likely to end or even alter the earmarking process in a major way, because Senate Democratic and Republican appropriators do not want to curb the practice.

"Today House Republicans took an important step toward showing the American people we’re serious about reform by adopting an immediate, unilateral ban on all earmarks," House Minority Leader John A. Boehner , R-Ohio, said in a statement. "But the more difficult battle lies ahead, and that's stopping the spending spree in Washington that is saddling our children and grandchildren with trillions of dollars in debt."

A version of this story first appeared in CQ Today.