Lott Ready to Float Finance Reform Bill

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said he would allow the Senate to take up legislation to change campaign finance laws, predicting the measure would come up for a vote as early as this week. The Mississippi Republican had been unwilling to resurrect the bill, which was abandoned earlier this year by the Senate after supporters failed to bring it before the full body. The legislation would rewrite campaign laws to ban much of the unregulated big money that now flows indirectly into campaigns as so-called soft money. Soft money is supposed to be earmarked for party-building activities and not for individual candidates. But Lott cast doubt on whether there were enough votes for the measure to pass. “I don’t believe that the consensus is there yet.”