"House and Senate Democratic leaders are nearing agreement on final details of the first comprehensive bill to tighten campaign finance rules since the post-Watergate reforms of 1974 and plan to push the long-delayed measure through Congress by the end of next month.</br></br>General outlines of the legislation are clear: It would set voluntary spending ceilings for congressional candidates, provide incentives for compliance and tighten controls over special-interest spending on federal campaigns.</br></br>Some narrower but important points have also been resolved. For example, there is language to shield EMILY's List, which has been highly successful in fund-raising for Democratic women, from a ban on ""bundling"" contributions by special interests that then forward them to candidates and reap the credit.</br></br>But critical details remain to be worked out. There is the possibility of a crash-landing in the Senate if the bill does not meet bottom-line demands of a half-dozen Republican moderates who hold the key to whether the GOP can mount a successful filibuster to block final passage.</br></br>Nearly a decade in the making, the legislation was blocked for several years in partisan deadlock. Congress finally passed a bill in 1992 but it was vetoed by President George Bush, and an attempt to override the veto failed."