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MARCH 21, 2001

By a 70-30 vote, the Senate on Tuesday amended the campaign finance bill by co-sponsored by John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) to eliminate contribution limits for candidates who run against self-financed millionaires.

In the 2000 election year, five candidates spent more than $60 million on their Senate races including Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), who was endorsed by a number of tribes in the state. A former executive for Real Networks, Inc., an Internet company, Cantwell spent only her own money on the campaign. Due to stock market woes, however, she is now worth considerably less and owes money to debtors.

The amendment, sponsored by Senator Pete Dominici (R-N.M.) raises current limits of $1,000 per person per campaign to to $3,000 and then to $6,000, depending on certain spending limits tied to a state's voting age population.

Get the Story:
'Millionaires' Amendment Added To Campaign Finance Legislation (The Washington Post 3/21)

Get the McCain-Feingold Bill:
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide bipartisancampaign reform (Draft of S.27)

Relevant Links:
Open Secrets, the Center for Responsible Politics - http://www.opensecrets.org

Related Stories:
Campaign finance debate begins (3/20)
Senate gears up for historic debate (3/19)