Current legislation before Congress, if passed, may make matters worse. According to Common Cause, a national organization that has been working to toughen campaign finance laws, the Senate Republican Leadership is planning to hold a series of hearings this spring on campaign finance reform. The Hagel bill, S. 1816, would, for the first time, codify the soft money loophole that corporations and their executives use to fund the national political parties. The legislation would also triple the current legal contribution limits. It etches into law a loophole which allows parties to spend money from corporations and unions on behalf of federal candidates.
Some people are.
Thus it came as no surprise to some that Lott's leadership would help to destroy the National Tobacco Policy and Youth Smoking Reduction Act. Of these, four out of five of them could be identified as having a business interest pending in specific legislation before Congress. About half of these donors received some sort of personal attention from Lott. For example, when the telecommunications bill was before Congress, Worldcom executives sponsored fund-raisers for Lott. Needless to say, Sen. Lott voted in favor.