SENATE PUTS BRAKES ON REGULATORY REFORM

In arebuff to their colleagues in the hard-charging House, all 100 senators rejected a powerful, one-year freeze on virtually all federal regulations and passed their own moderate bill instead. In lieu of the one-year moratorium House members voted for -- part of the "Contract With America" -- the Senate version would give Congress the power to block regulations on a case-by-case basis, then scuttle rules it doesn't like by majority vote within 45 days. The message was clear: slow down. "This is a classic example of the pattern we've seen this entire session," says TIME congressional correspondent Karen Tumulty. "The House is the hot cup of coffee, and theSenate is the saucer that cools it."