ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 17, 1997 TAG: 9704170069
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
Proposal for fixed spending
WASHINGTON - A group of House Democrats have put together a bill they say gets to the core of the problem over financing political campaigns.
It includes a mandatory $700,000 spending limit for House campaigns and a cap on independent expenditures at $25,000.
The Supreme Court ruled in 1974 that mandatory spending limits violate rights to free speech, but Rep. Scotty Baesler, D-Ky., and others criticized that decision at a news conference Wednesday. He said the bill would give the justices a chance to reconsider their ruling.
The conservative Democrats expect to introduce their plan today, but Baesler conceded it might be ``dead on arrival.'' A broad coalition of groups, including such traditional Democratic allies as labor unions and the American Civil Liberties Union, have lined up behind Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., a longtime opponent of campaign finance reform.
-ASSOCIATED PRESS
Measure to amend Fair Credit Reporting Act
WASHINGTON - Snaring a Social Security number off the Internet has become as easy as reading the morning paper on line. But legislation introduced Wednesday in the Senate may change all that.
The measure, drafted by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to make it illegal for credit bureaus to disseminate Social Security numbers, unlisted telephone numbers, birth dates and mothers' maiden names.
It also would change the Social Security Act and Driver's Protection Act of 1994 to bar the commercial use of Social Security numbers.
-THE WASHINGTON POST
House approves bill that benefits homeowners
WASHINGTON - The House overwhelmingly approved a bill Wednesday that would save many homeowners hundreds of dollars a year by requiring insurers to cancel unnecessary mortgage insurance.
Described by Rep. John LaFalce, R-N.Y., as ``the most significant consumer bill that will be brought up in Congress this year,'' the bill would require mortgage insurers to automatically end the insurance once the home buyer's equity in the house reached 25 percent.
In addition, the bill makes it easier for home buyers to request that the insurance be terminated after their equity reaches 20 percent. A few mortgage lenders already do this.
Similar legislation is pending in the Senate, where it is expected to face a rougher road than in the House. If it passes the Senate, President Clinton is expected to sign it.
-KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
Senators propose bill emphasizing child safety
WASHINGTON - Hoping to keep children out of abusive homes, senators want to change a 1980 law to put less emphasis on togetherness and more on child safety.
``While the goal of reunifying children with their biological families is laudable, we should not be encouraging states to return abused or neglected children to homes that are clearly unsafe,'' Sen. John Chafee, R-R.I., said Wednesday.
The bill, sponsored by Chafee and Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., would also encourage adoption and speed up the process of permanently placing children in foster care.
To get children out of abusive homes, the senators want to revise current law to state that it is unreasonable to reunify families if children's safety and health are threatened.
Currently, judges, social workers and others are required to make reasonable efforts to keep families together. Too often, that has resulted in children being returned to homes where they've been starved, beaten or killed, critics say.
-ASSOCIATED PRESS
LENGTH: Medium: 76 linesby CNB