1.   Although the official comment period on the disclosure bill has ended, the SEC said it was still accepting letters on the issue.

2.   As usual, the politicians and Sunday talk-show pundits had assured one another that the disclosure bill had no chance this year.

3.   But at the same time, budget cuts may make the disclosure bill an empty promise.

4.   Gov. George W. Bush of Texas issued a statement applauding passage of the disclosure bill.

5.   He plans to sign the disclosure bill, which has been passed by both houses of the Legislature, in Montpelier, the state capital, on Thursday.

6.   His disclosure bill is co-sponsored by Rep. Michael Oxley, R-Ohio, and Rep. Thomas Manton, D-N.Y.

7.   McConnell, a self-described expert on the Constitution, lectured his colleagues on the purported violations of the document in the slush-fund disclosure bill.

8.   Senators Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Gordon Smith of Oregon, both Republicans, have proposed their own broad-based political advocacy disclosure bill.

9.   Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was one of a handful of senators to vote against the disclosure bill.

10.   The legal battle here is being followed nationally, particulalry in states where similar disclosure bills are pending.