Democrats Predict Passage of Campaign Finance Bill Next Week

Washington, March 16 (Bloomberg) -- Senate Democrats say they'll pass campaign finance legislation next week over Republican efforts to block it.

``Senate Democrats have successfully fought efforts by the Republican Senate leadership to thwart consideration of campaign finance reforms, including a filibuster,'' Democratic Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota said in the party's weekly statement.

Democrats ``are on the verge of breaking this filibuster and we will stay in session around the clock next week to finally get the job done,'' he stated.

The bill bans the ``soft money'' that corporations, labor unions and wealthy individuals give to national political parties, a $500 million funding stream in the 2000 elections, or about a sixth of overall spending. The measure also bars companies and unions from buying televised ``issue ads'' that mention candidates within 60 days of an election, and it requires outside groups that run these ads to disclose their expenses.