21.   Not that the so-called gift ban has cramped many power diners.

22.   Only Hillary Clinton, in her first days as a senator, could engender a debate about whether the Senate should tighten up the gift ban.

23.   Sen. William Cohen, R-Maine, for example, is a principal sponsor of the gift ban targeted by Dole and company.

24.   The conference committee may be making more progress, however, on a gift ban contained in a separate bill on lobbyist disclosure.

25.   The fate of the gift ban was less clear.

26.   The gift ban is considered popular with voters, who regularly express frustration with the influence of special interests groups on Congress.

27.   The newly enacted gift ban caused CBS to determine that its usual free feed of NCAA tournament games to the in-house Congressional TV system would be outside the law.

28.   The Senate dealt with the gift ban and lobby reporting issues earlier in two separate bills.

29.   The showdown on the gift ban got pushed off Tuesday when Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, R-Kan., cut off debate to take up Bosnia.

30.   The Senate approved the gift ban as a rules change, which goes into effect next January.