In what is probably the first positive outcome of the Enron scandal, the U.S. Senate has passed a final version of the "campaign finance"; bill. The Senate passed the landmark bill on Wednesday by a 60-40 margin. The same version of the bill passed the House of Representatives by a 240-189 margin last month. Recognizing the popularity of the bill, President Bush has indicated his willingness to sign the bill into law.
The bill will drastically reduce the amount of money that individuals, corporations, unions, and interest groups may supply to national political parties. It will also limit television advertising just prior to federal elections, along with other provisions. Skeptics insist that big business and wealthy contributors will find various ways to circumvent the new law; opponents of the legislation are predicting and hoping that an immediate legal challenge to the bill will eventually nullify it. The bill will not take effect until after the November elections, and an immediate legal challenge is expected to take the bill straight to the Supreme Court for an expedited hearing possibly as early as sometime next year.
While the bill is far from complete, and its legal status is in doubt, it is difficult to find fault with any legislation that works to reign-in the corrosive and corrupting influence of big money on our national elections. Passage of the bill was stalled in the wake of the September 11 tragedy, but was renewed by the Enron fiasco - one of the worst examples of cash-and-carry corruption in recent memory.