Clinton Challenges Parties To Stop Taking ‘Soft Money’ Dnc Also Announces It Won’t Accept Gifts From Foreigners

With Democrats at the center of the scandal over illicit campaign contributions, President Clinton on Tuesday endorsed a series of restrictions on fund raising and said his party would stop accepting millions in “soft money” donations if Republicans also do so.

Clinton also urged Congress to pass a proposed campaign finance law co-sponsored by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., a measure that failed in the last session of Congress.

During a speech to the Democratic National Committee, Clinton was highly critical of Republican fund-raising practices, prompting McCain to later say that the president would have to temper his words if he really wants results.

In announcing new policies for fund raising, the DNC said it would no longer accept contributions from any individual who is not a U.S. citizen, any contribution from a U.S. subsidiary of a foreign company or any foreign-owned corporation or any contribution from any one donor of more than $100,000 in a calendar year.

In an effort to blunt criticism of how controversial guests such as a major Chinese arms dealer gained access to a White House gathering and how convicted drug dealers were allowed to donate to the party, the DNC said it had formed a Compliance Division to review all contributions.

The system would check all donors’ citizenship and possible foreign ownership issues and would review all donations in excess of $5,000. The party also announced a new screening procedure for guests at party-sponsored events at the White House that might be attended by the president, vice president or their wives.

“Soft money” refers to contributions, often hundreds of thousands of dollars, that wealthy individuals and organizations make to political parties that circumvent limits on donations directly to candidates.

Though soft money is supposed to be used only for party-building activities, it has increasingly been seen as a ready source of funds to help specific candidates.

Vice President Al Gore, whose prospective presidential campaign in the year 2000 could be affected by the current DNC fund-raising controversy, said that party activists should not “avoid unpleasant truths; both parties have been sullied.”

Critics have charged that Clinton and the Democratic Party, in effect, sold the office of the presidency in exchange for massive campaign donations, sometimes from prohibited foreign sources. Many of those donations and the issue of how to reform the campaign finance system are expected to be the subject of Senate hearings that could begin as early as February.

Clinton spoke to the winter meeting of the Democratic National Committee, during which party leaders ratified Clinton’s choice of Colorado Gov. Roy Romer to become the party’s general chairman and Massachusetts executive Steve Grossman as national chairman. Romer is expected to serve as the voice of the party on television and in speeches, while Grossman will oversee day-to-day operations.