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By Helen Dewar The abrupt change in plans was announced by House Majority Leader Richard K. Armey (R-Tex.) as many members were leaving for the weekend. It surprised and enraged key figures trying to force a vote this year on legislation to overhaul campaign fund-raising laws. In an unusually sharp challenge to one of his leaders, Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), co-sponsor of the bipartisan bill, peppered Armey with questions about the decision until he was cut off by the presiding officer. Why was his bill excluded? Shays asked. "These are the decisions that have been made," Armey responded. "It's not an open process and it's certainly not fair," Shays said afterward. "To announce after members were leaving that there would be a debate before they return is somewhat disingenuous," he added. Many lawmakers will not return until late Monday from the funeral for Rep. Steven Schiff (R-N.M.). Shays, with Rep. Martin T. Meehan (D-Mass.), is co-sponsoring the House version of legislation that Senate Republicans killed by filibuster earlier this year, which would ban unregulated "soft money" donations to political parties, regulate some advocacy ads by outside groups and tighten disclosure requirements. Armey said four GOP-sponsored bills will be considered under a special procedure normally reserved for fast action on noncontroversial bills. It allows only 20 minutes of debate, bars amendments or substitutes and requires a two-thirds majority for approval. The first of the four would be the same leadership-drafted bill that was laid aside earlier this week when it appeared headed for defeat. It includes a provision to require written permission of members before labor unions could spend dues for political purposes, along with a soft-money ban for national parties, new curbs on contributions from noncitizens, an increase in contribution limits and tougher disclosure requirements. The other three measures would isolate specific provisions of the leaders' bill for separate votes, including those dealing with unions, foreign contributors and disclosure. The requirement for a two-thirds majority virtually assures that the GOP leaders' bill will fail. But the procedure enables GOP leaders to claim they have fulfilled their earlier promise for campaign finance votes this spring while keeping control of the process and assuring that the Shays-Meehan bill is not approved. It was fear of losing control and prompting approval of Shays-Meehan that led Armey and other leaders to decide Wednesday to pull their bill and defer votes on it until after a three-week recess next month. They reversed that decision yesterday shortly after a news conference by Shays, Meehan and others denouncing the postponment.
The Shays-Meehan forces predicted the latest leadership strategy would also backfire. "They're afraid [our] bill would pass," Meehan said. It's "just plain stupid," he added. "In the long run, it will mobilize supporters of campaign finance reform and help the cause."
© Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company
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