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

DATE: FRIDAY, May 26, 1995                   TAG: 9505260087
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

FOUNDATION HELPS DOLE

The head of the Better America Foundation said the group is not directly assisting Dole's presidential campaign. But he acknowledged the group solicits Dole's ideas, shares its work with him and meets regularly with his Senate staff to ``see where the foundation can help.''

``Yes, there might be some things we do that Dole talks about in the campaign,'' said executive director Jim Whittinghill, who served on Dole's Senate staff for eight years before moving to the foundation. ``At some point, it's hard to separate.''

Under federal tax laws, the foundation cannot advocate the election of a particular candidate.

The affiliation between the foundation and Dole allows the GOP presidential hopeful to receive indirect support - access to poll results and issue studies - without having to limit contributions and identify donors, which he would have to do if the money were contributed directly to his campaign.

Among its polling efforts, the foundation asked voting-age Americans to rank issues in order of importance to them. Such polls are often done by political candidates.

Many of the foundation's top employees previously worked on Dole's Senate staff or for his political-action committee, and at least one now works for the Kansas Republican's presidential campaign.

The aide, Royal Roth, had been deputy finance director of Campaign America, the political action committee started by Dole. In January of this year, Roth's role as the foundation's finance director was announced. And in March, he turned up on the payroll of Dole's presidential exploratory committee.

Roth did not immediately return a telephone message left for him Thursday.

``What you have is the very real possibility that there can be conflicts of interest,'' said Josh Goldstein, director of the Center for Responsive Politics. ``This is going to undermine the idea of full disclosure of campaign funding.''

Dole created the foundation in February 1993. Its purpose, as stated in the articles of incorporation: ``to promote and advocate values and principles espoused by the Republican Party.''

Internal Revenue Service records show the foundation started raising money slowly but had big plans. In 1993, Better America reported raising $235,000, but told the IRS it expected to raise $2.75 million in 1994.

With the help of a stylish brochure that included drawings of Dole, Ronald Reagan, George Washington and Richard Nixon, the foundation eclipsed its goal and raised more than $4 million.

Keywords:
POLITICS