CQ has a good summary of the ethics reform bill that passed the Senate last night. It seems Sen. DeMint was able to add a key sweetener at the last minute:

The Senate also adopted an amendment by Jim DeMint, R-S.C., that would strengthen a provision in the bill allowing the Senate to surgically strike provisions from conference reports if they were not included in either the House or Senate version of the bill. The sweeping new power would equip senators with a point of order that, if sustained, would delete the offending provision and send the legislation back to the House for a vote. DeMint’s amendment would apply the tool to earmarks, which parliamentarians had said would not be affected by the original language. Last week, DeMint frustrated Reid — delivering his first loss on the floor as majority leader — with an amendment that would subject most earmarks to disclosure rules. The original requirement excluded earmarks contained in the reports accompanying bills and conference agreements and those, such as purchases of defense systems, that would pass through private entities before benefiting the federal government.

At this point it becomes crucial to keep the appropriators from stripping out the earmark provisions in conference. Without them, there’s not a whole lot in this bill to like.