Washington briefs

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 23, 2001

Key senator softens on finance reform bill

A key Republican senator who had long been a fierce opponent of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill offered the first hint of a compromise Thursday, saying he was open to a ban on unregulated political contributions known as soft money in return for increased limits on regulated donations.

The comments by Sen. Don Nickles of Oklahoma, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, were the first signs of a crack in the party's leadership, which until now has been solidly opposed to any restriction on soft money donations.

As the Senate continued its freewheeling two-week debate on the bill sponsored by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Russell D. Feingold, D-Wis., the real action appeared to be going on in Senate hallways and behind closed doors. Congressional officials said that Nickles decided to go public with his willingness to compromise after a cordial behind-the-scenes meeting Thursday with McCain and Feingold.

Nickles told reporters Thursday that he would now be willing to "live with" a ban on soft money -- the unlimited contributions that corporations, unions and individuals can make to political parties -- if it was coupled with an increase in the limit on hard money donations for individual candidates.

McCain has said that it is inevitable that a final bill would increase the limits, which now cap contributions to a candidate from individuals at $1,000.

Nickles' suggestion of a compromise may reflect a growing sense among his Senate colleagues, Republicans and Democrats alike, that a ban on soft money would help -- or hinder -- them equally.

Also . . .

$409 SINKS: A Pentagon computer system designed to prevent embarrassments like a $640 toilet seat purchased in the past instead made automated blunders like spending $409 on a sink worth just $39.

Besides buying six of the high-priced sinks, the system bought screws for $2 that should have cost less than 50 cents and "dust protection plugs" for 25 cents that actually cost just pennies, according to a Pentagon inspector general report.

The Defense Department installed the system to automate purchases and stop possible fraud by human buyers. But the computer never checked more than one vendor to get the best price.

The report said contractors probably know how to cheat the system without getting caught. Auditors estimated that overpayments accounted for $1.2-million of the $14-million in automated purchases they reviewed from April 1999 through March 2000.

LANGUAGE HELP: A presidential order requiring federal agencies to be more helpful to Americans who don't speak English is under assault.

Seven months after agencies were told to make plans for interpreters and literature in multiple languages, President Bush and Congress are deciding whether to reverse the mandate of then-President Bill Clinton.

The debate revolves around the financial and societal cost of providing special services to the country's growing number of immigrants. One Republican lawmaker said if the mandate is allowed to stand, Americans could see dramatic changes, including traffic signs in several languages.

NO MORE ABA HELP: President Bush decided Thursday to discontinue a half-century tradition in which presidents have relied on the American Bar Association for advice on potential candidates for federal judgeships, concluding it's unfair to give "any single group such a preferential, quasi-official role."

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