Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 29, 1991                   TAG: 9103290151
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

STUDY: 165 HOUSE MEMBERS CAN POCKET CAMPAIGN FUNDS

Altogether, 165 House members - more than one-third - are eligible, under law, to convert a current total of $41 million in campaign surpluses to their personal use, provided they aren't in office for the next Congress, the Center for Public Integrity reported.

Those members could claim their campaign surpluses whether they retire, or get beat at the polls.

Rep. Stephen Solarz, D-N.Y., currently is eligible to convert nearly $1.4 million, but he has already announced he intends to stay on and has filed legal papers providing that his campaign surpluses be funneled to charities in the event of his death.

Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, D-Ill., could take more than $1 million. The Ways and Means Committee chairman hasn't made a decision about retirement or use of the money, according to his office.

The conversion benefit is only available through the current Congress.

Those able to take the money for personal use are House members who were in office before Jan. 8, 1980. They were serving when the House voted in 1979 to outlaw the personal conversion for new members, but exempted those then serving.

On Nov. 30, 1989, a new law prohibited all members from pocketing campaign funds after the 102nd Congress - giving the 165 another term to mull the question.

The Senate has not permitted any members to convert unspent campaign funds to personal use, but at least three did so when they left and no action was taken to stop them, the center said.