The often virulent debate over the use of Federal soft money contributions--dollars legally allowed for political party-building purposes but also used in issue-oriented advertising that sometimes benefits a single candidate--is about re-emerge as a major political issue.

In April, the US Senate passed the controversial McCain-Feingold bill and sent it to the US House of Representatives for ratification. The bill proposes new legal limits on soft money contributions, raises the threshold for individual contributions and recommends certain prohibitions on issue-oriented campaign advertisements.

"The part of the bill that will determine whether businesses and labor unions continue to do as much issue advertising as before is the provision that prohibits outside advertising that mentions the candidate within 60 days of the general election," Steven Weiss, a spokesman for the Washington, DC-based Center for Responsive Politics Inc., a watchdog group, tells GlobeSt.com. "It's a very controversial provision. It would be challenged in court."

It is uncertain exactly how much opposition exists in the House, though much of the Republican leadership is openly opposed to much of the wording in the bill sponsored by Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Russell Feingold (D-WI).

Opponents argue the measure would unfairly penalize the rights of businesses under the First Amendment and possibly create new barriers to legislative access on critical regulatory issues that affect their operations. Proponents argue businesses proportionately receive too much access now as the amount of a contribution increases.

"It's truly unknown as to what the chances for passage are," Weiss says. "Both sides have been emboldened by what happened in the Senate, though pro-reformers have the momentum."