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Friday, Feb. 15, 2002

The bill, similar to one passed by the Senate last spring, bans or limits unregulated contributions to political parties. Of major concern to advocates of freedom of speech, it would also limit political advertisements before an election, thus further empowering incumbents and the media. Federal Election Commission Chairman David Mason has noted the legislation is unconstitutional and unenforceable.

"The Senate passed a reform bill 10 months ago," claimed Senate plurality leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. "The president now says he'll sign this bill. Today, we say to the House leaders: Don't obstruct reform any longer. Send the Senate your bill. Do it today. Let us finish our work, and get this bill to the president for his signature.

"I'm going to seek consent to go to this bill the minute we receive it," he warned. "We know there are still some in the Senate who think they may still have a chance to keep this bill from becoming law. And we say to them, look what happened in the House: Opponents in the House used every conceivable argument and excuse – every imaginable ploy to stop this. They failed, and so will you."

The main Senate opponent of the unconstitutional measure, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he would study the House-passed bill before deciding on a strategy. "Either way, he seemed resigned to passage, telling reporters he would be the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit to be filed if the bill became law," the Associated Press reported.

The bill, sponsored by liberal Reps. Chris Shays, R-Conn., and Marty Meehan, D-Mass., passed the House early Thursday despite opposition by the GOP leadership. But with the recent revelations of political fundraising by now-collapsed energy trader Enron Corp., it became harder for many lawmakers to avoid voting for the bill.

"The two are totally unrelated," said a senior House Republican aide. "But with the public thinking 'Enron, politics, money,' it's hard to lobby against a 'reform' bill. Most people don't take the time to learn a complicated issue like this, so some members were forced to vote for it out of fear they'd lose in November."

There was no mention of the far less publicized failure of telecom giant Global Crossing, which contributed mostly to Democrats.

Daschle acknowledged that despite last spring's victory for "reformers" with the passage of a very similar bill, a filibuster could be coming.

"We're going to seek a time agreement to go to the bill right away, and if it looks like we're going to face a filibuster, we're going to find the time and find a way to break that filibuster," Daschle said. "This is the year we're finally going to pass campaign finance reform."

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said, "If I were a Republican up for re-election in the Senate, I'd ask myself, `Do you want to be part of a continuing filibuster?'"

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer would not say whether President Bush would sign the legislation. "The president will wait to be declarative until he sees what the final bill is."

Copyright 2002 by United Press International. All rights reserved.

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