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Thursday, Jan. 25, 2001

McCain, R-Ariz., emerged from the White House meeting saying he was "hopeful" about working with Bush on timing of Senate action of his campaign finance legislation. McCain wants a Senate vote by March, a timetable that could clash with Bush's agenda for the near term of his administration.

"We believe that we can fit it in," McCain said.

He said he was in discussions with Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., on when the Senate will take up the initiative, McCain's signature issue. McCain said he was making "progress" with Lott and that "in the next couple days we'll know."

McCain has threatened to snarl Bush's legislative proposals if his bill is sidelined by Lott.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the president thought the meeting was "a very good session." But he indicated no movement by either Bush or McCain on aspects of the package where the two disagree.

McCain on Monday reintroduced with Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold a bill that would ban "soft money" contributions to national political party organizations, restrict issue ads that support a specific candidate and codify a U.S. Supreme Court decision that union members should be notified if their dues are being used for political actions.

According to the Federal Election Commission, the Republican and Democratic parties raised $1.2 billion in hard and soft dollars for the election cycle beginning Jan. 1, 1999, through Nov. 27, 2000, a 30 percent increase over the fund-raising totals for the last presidential election cycle in 1996. In a Jan. 12 announcement, the FEC declared, "The largest percentage increases for both parties continue to be in nonfederal, or 'soft money.' "

The FEC reported, "Republicans raised $244.4 million [in soft money], an increase of 73% over the same period in 1995-96, the last presidential cycle, while Democrats raised $243 million, a 99% increase."

Feingold said Monday, "The extraordinary spending in the 2000 election gives moneyed interests more influence on the Congress and the president than ever before."

But opponents of McCain's bill say the increase in spending simply represented an increase in people voicing their political views, an act protected by the constitution's First Amendment.

Tamara Somerville, staff director of the Senate Rules Committee, said, "Our position is that there are too many regulations now."

Bush has said he opposes McCain's bill but supports banning soft money contributions by unions and corporations, and supports allowing union members to opt out of their organizations' political contributions.

During the campaign, Bush advocated a broader plan that would have included a ban on lobbyists contributing to members of Congress during the congressional session, and a system for instant disclosure of contributions on the Internet.

McCain and his supporters believe that with changes in the Senate membership last November, they have enough votes to pass McCain-Feingold in the Senate, but perhaps not enough to override if Bush decided to veto the bill.

Fleischer said Wednesday, "We're just not in the business of issuing veto threats this early in the administration," which is one of the reasons McCain supporters believe they need to get a vote on the bill early in the congressional session.

Fred Wertheimer, president of the campaign finance "reform" advocacy organization Democracy 21, said Wednesday it was better to move the bill early, "when campaign finance abuses are fresh in the public's mind." In addition, he said, if a bill moves before other major issues have percolated to the surface, "you don't have a lot of competing issues in the public and the press."

Copyright 2001 by United Press International. All rights reserved.

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Sen. John McCain
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