AM Edition

April 18, 2001

LENGTH: 223 words

HEADLINE: CAMPAIGNS: Legal Foundation Confronts Cantwell

BODY:
   Sen. Maria Cantwell's, D-Wash., campaign finance troubles escalated Tuesday as a conservative legal foundation filed a
complaint charging that the freshman Democrat from Washington violated federal election laws, reports The Industry Standard.

Cantwell borrowed more than $3 million in her effort to unseat incumbent Sen. Slade Gorton.   On Tuesday, the National Legal and Policy Center charged in a complaint with the Federal Election Commission that Cantwell committed three violations of federal law related to the stock-backed loan and a separate line of credit backed by her home.

The group said the line of credit was backed by insufficient collateral, that the interest rates on the loan and line of credit were below market rates and that the terms of the transaction were not disclosed during the campaign.

Jennifer Crider, a spokeswoman for Cantwell, noted that the failure to disclose terms of the loan was due to "an inadvertent mistake" that was corrected as soon as it was noticed. In related news, Cantwell defended the need for full funding of programs that promote research and development in a speech Monday, reports Wired News. Cantwell cautioned that while some tax reform would be beneficial, it should not come at the expense of funding programs within the National Science Foundation.

LOAD-DATE: April 18, 2001