WASHINGTON - Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith was against the tax cut before he was for it.

At least that's how it appeared this week as Smith initially registered a “no” vote on a $70 billion tax cut approved by Congress, before changing his vote to “yes.”

Some liberal bloggers suggested that Smith may have been persuaded by last-minute lobbying from Senate Republican leaders.

But Smith's office said the explanation was more mundane. Like most Republicans, Smith supported the tax cuts all along, spokesman Chris Matthews said.

Smith pressed the red light indicating “no” to remind Senate leaders of his continued unhappiness over Congress' failure to renew a program that has pumped more than $2 billion into Oregon and other states hurt by logging cutbacks on federal lands, Matthews said.

“He was continuing to pressure leadership for some sort of deal on county payments,” Matthews said, referring to the nickname for the six-year-old law that has helped offset sharp declines in timber sales in Oregon and other Western states in the wake of federal forest policy that restricts logging to protect endangered species such as the spotted owl.

The law is set to expire Sept. 30. The Bush administration has proposed reauthorizing the law for five years, but would slash funding to zero by 2011. Smith, fellow Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden and other Western lawmakers have criticized the plan, saying rural counties depend on the payments.

Last week, Smith tried to amend an emergency spending bill to add $523 million for 41 states with federal forest land. The largest share would go to rural counties in Oregon.

The amendment was defeated, but Smith said he would seek other ways to fund the program. His public protest Thursday, which led a steady stream of Republican senators to approach Smith on the Senate floor, raised awareness of the problem and showed Smith's seriousness in addressing it, Matthews said.

Asked if Smith had received any specific assurances, Matthews said no.

“It's a work in progress,” he said. “It's a tough thing. It's a lot of money, but basically he's not letting up the pressure.”

Meanwhile, Wyden voted against the tax cut, in large part because it failed to provide funding for the timber program. In March, Wyden and fellow Democratic Sen. Max Baucus of Montana co-sponsored legislation that would fully fund the program by closing a tax loophole they said allows some government contractors to avoid tax obligations.

The plan would ensure that a portion of federal taxes are withheld from payments to government contractors. A recent study by the Government Accountability Office shows that a large number of federal contractors do' not pay their full share of federal taxes.

The tax bill approved this week includes the provision, but directs the money to offset an extension of capital gains and dividend tax cuts.

“I can't support raiding a scarce funding source to benefit the fortunate few when rural counties across Oregon and the nation need this money to keep their heads above water,” Wyden said. “Once again, Congress is proving to be a logic-free zone.”

Wyden said it was ironic that lawmakers redirected the money, after the Bush administration had challenged Congress to come up with an idea to fund the schools program as an alternative to a widely criticized plan to sell up to 300,000 acres of federal forest land.

“Apparently, the congressional leadership agrees we had a good funding idea,” Wyden said. “They liked it so much they used it for their own priorities.”