Stumble at the Start for House Campaign Probe

For more than two months, the U.S. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee has occupied center stage with its probe of campaign fund-raising abuses during the 1996 elections. Now it must share the spotlight with separate and parallel hearings by the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee. And, alas, the duplicative House probe promises to shed more heat than light on the need for campaign finance reform.

In a disturbing sign, the House committee, under sometimes volatile Chairman Dan Burton (R-Ind.), got off to a rocky start even before the hearings formally convened.

Burton had planned to open the House show today with remarks by members of the 45-representative panel. Then on Thursday, he was to call the first three witnesses, including Manlin Foung, the sister of controversial Democratic Party fund-raiser Charlie Trie. The idea was to show how money was funneled through straw contributors to hide its real source.

At the eleventh hour, however, lawyers for Foung and the others demanded immunity from prosecution before they would agree to testify. Apparently the prospective witnesses did not have lawyers on hand when they were interviewed by House investigators. So rather than hearing witnesses on Thursday, the committee will meet to discuss the immunity request. The opening statements were postponed indefinitely.

This is not a propitious beginning for the House probe, which has been characterized all along as more politically charged than the Senate investigation. One Democrat on the committee hinted that his colleagues might try to block the immunity request unless Burton became more cooperative.

Fortunately, in the midst of all this, pressure continues to build for passage of the comprehensive campaign finance reform bill sponsored by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Russell D. Feingold (D-Wis.). All 48 Senate Democrats have signed a letter supporting the bill. The authors now need to line up enough Republicans to overcome any attempt to kill the measure by filibuster.

Though incomplete, the Senate hearings already have clearly illustrated the need for reform. The McCain-Feingold bill would effectively halt the major abuses. Senate Republicans should promptly end their holdout against reform or the public will be forced to conclude--hearings or no hearings--that they really don’t want to change the corrupting system that got them to Washington and keeps them there.