House Panel for Election Reform Dies
Negotiations between House Republicans and Democrats to form a joint committee on election reform have stalled.
“Despite many weeks of meetings and negotiations, we regret that we have been unable to reach agreement,” Republican House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert and Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt said in a joint statement Wednesday.
The two said they would instead ask regular House committees to study the issue.
The failed negotiations highlight the charged atmosphere that still exists over the November elections. President Bush was declared the winner only after five weeks of court hearings and start-and-stop recounts in Florida.
The bipartisan committee would have been assigned to make recommendations to avoid a repeat.
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