Despite its relatively easy passage in the Senate, the Republican-sponsored McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act faces opposition from both parties in the House.

Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-Illinois) has stated that the Senate-passed version of the bill has "constitutional flaws" in the area of First Amendment's free-speech guarantees that could cause it to be struck down by the Supreme Court.

Indeed, federal courts have struck down state campaign finance reform laws on First Amendment grounds.

On the other side of the House, Minority Leader Dick Gephardt (D-Missouri) opposes the bill's ban of unlimited soft-money donations while increasing the limit on donations from individuals -- so called "hard-money."

Should the House make amendments to the bill, the differences between the House- and Senate-passed versions will have to be worked out by a conference committee.

President Bush has indicated that he opposes the bill's total ban on soft-money contributions, but left the door open for its ultimate approval when he told a White House new conference, "This is a bill in progress. It is a bill that continues to change, and I'll take a look at it when it makes my desk."

President Bush has indicated he opposes the bill's total ban on soft-money contributions. However, he has not flatly stated that he would veto the bill when and if it reaches his desk.

"This is a bill in progress. It is a bill that continues to change, and I'll take a look at it when it makes my desk," stated the president at his White House news conference of Thursday, March 29.