SENATE TIGHTENS LOBBYING RULES

In a rare display of bipartisanship, Senators voted 98-0 to put an annual $100 ceiling on the value of gifts they can accept from lobbyists. There go all those posh tennis, golf and ski trips on lobbyists' tabs. It was a tough pill to swallow. Current rules allow unlimited gifts valued below $100 apiece; financial disclosure of gifts in the $100-$250 range, and permission from the ethics committee for more expensive gifts. "I don't know of an issue that arouses more emotion," among Senators, said GOP Senator John McCain at a press conference. It's not a question of improper influence, but "a recognition by everyone in this body that we are expected to live as any other American." But apparently many Americans think the real issue is corruption. "More than half the American people surveyed think that decisions in Washington are made by special interests," Michigan Democrat Carl Levin,the bill's chief sponsor, said in a floor statement. Will the House follow suit? Although typically more populist than the Senate, the House won't consider lobbying reform until next year.