In the House, Democrats on the Financial Services Committee failed in their attempt to do so during debate on the committee's accounting and financial-disclosure- overhaul legislation.

Supporters of the overhaul legislation also face a critical battle over whether it will be subject to an all-or-nothing review by the Supreme Court.

President Bush joined the debate over a campaign finance law today, issuing a broad set of principles that he said would serve as his framework for assessing overhaul legislation.

- Rep. Waxman stands with other House Democratic leaders prior to the July 14, 2009 press conference outlining sweeping health care overhaul legislation.

With so much momentum to overcome, lobbyists and corporate executives are not holding out much hope of substantially changing much in the accounting and corporate-governance overhaul legislation on Capitol Hill.

Some of the allies of the Republican backers of the overhaul legislation were growing impatient.

In the fall of 1998, the government enacted sweeping financial overhaul legislation aimed at setting the banking system - which had nearly collapsed within the preceding year - back on its feet.

"We're challenging all incumbents to change a system that insures incumbency," said Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican who is co-sponsoring the overhaul legislation.

The amendments adopted by the Senate toughened its main accounting and corporate-governance overhaul legislation, sponsored by Senator Paul S. Sarbanes, a Maryland Democrat.

The groups maintain that the overhaul legislation would hamper their ability to spread their political message.