31.   Forbes has supported campaign finance reform, and is known for having an independent streak.

32.   Madrazo has denied charges of fraud, noting that independent elections monitors, new campaign financing laws and other recent reforms guaranteed a fair vote.

33.   This and other flaws make FEC campaign finance data unreliable, said researcher Nicole Harkin, who wrote the report.

34.   It was the third denial in a month of an outside investigation into whether Democrats have broken campaign finance laws.

35.   Other key pieces of legislation awaiting action in the short timeframe include a world trade agreement, campaign financing and pollution cleanup.

36.   Republican legislators said they would hold hearings to determine if the White House broke campaign financing laws since Attorney General Janet Reno declined to name a special prosecutor.