1.   Both issues are contentious and could sink the bill in Congress or draw a veto from President Clinton.

2.   In the closing moments of debate, Speaker Newt Gingrich struck a conciliatory note, saying Republicans might not insist on these proposals if they would sink the bill.

3.   Mrs. Kassebaum, Kennedy and the White House oppose such amendments, saying they could sink the bill.

4.   That could bring forth enough employer opposition to sink the bill, which already was foundering in the face of an intense lobbying effort by the insurance industry.

5.   House Republicans tried unsuccessfully to sink a bill that would make Maryland the first state in the nation to require built-in locks on handguns.

6.   The dramatic gesture of principle helped sink the bill, and abortion remains illegal.