McCain introduces campaign finance legislation

Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., the leading Democratic supporter of the legislation, said, "This is not a challenge to our new president."

The measure would outlaw large, unregulated "soft money" donations from corporations, unions and individuals.

Similar bills have died in the Senate in recent years at the hands of filibusters supported by the GOP leadership.

McCain, Feingold and others told a news conference they were on the verge of having the strength to avoid that fate this year, if it came to that.

The drive for passage has gained support after the 2000 elections and McCain, R-Ariz., who challenged Bush in the presidential primaries, returned from the fall campaign determined to press for passage of his signature issue.

Officials said they would use a new organization, "Americans for Reform," to lobby in Washington and outside the capital.

As part of the effort, these officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said McCain and Feingold will attend a town hall meeting in Little Rock, Ark., on Jan. 29, sponsored by the group.

The selection of Arkansas as the site for the first such session appears designed to bring pressure on Sen. Tim Hutchinson, a first-term Republican whose term expires at the next election.

Officials said television commercials may also be employed to build support.

In addition to the soft money ban, the bill unveiled by McCain, Feingold, six other senators and two House members, would bar labor unions and corporations from financing certain types of political commercials in the final weeks of a campaign. The provision is designed to crack down on so-called "issue ads" -- attack ads that have proliferated in recent years, ostensibly financed by independent groups.

The measure would also offer protections to non-union workers who don't want their agency fees -- payments in lieu of dues -- spent on campaign activities.

Bush and other Republicans have insisted that to be acceptable any campaign finance legislation must go further and require unions to gain permission from their own members before spending their dues on politics.

The issue is likely to emerge as a key sticking point in deliberations on the bill. McCain suggested Monday that he is open to a compromise that treats union members and corporate stockholders equally, but will not support the so-called "paycheck protection" provision by itself.

At the White House, spokesman Ari Fleisher said Bush's "first priority is and will be education, of course." But the spokesman added that the president has no objection to McCain seeking a vote on his bill.

He said the two men would meet at the White House on Wednesday, and added, "There are some differences between our approach and Senator McCain's approach, but that is the business of legislating."

Support for the legislation is growing, in part by virtue of Democratic gains in last November's election. In addition, Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., now supports the measure, and congressional aides said they privately have additional GOP senators willing to side with them.

<