Another piece of legislation in the campaign finance debate, sponsored by a group of House freshman, would restrict soft-money donations.

The fate of McCain-Feingold rests more on the matter of restricting political donations by labor unions and other political action committees.

Under pressure to curb the influence of special interests in elections, President Clinton intends to propose restricting donations to political parties, White House officials said today.

One bill that Mr. Gingrich might let pass, for instance, would restrict donations to national party organizations but let them flow into state parties.

The bill does not call for public money but, like the Democratic measure, it would prohibit contributions from political action committees and restrict donations from outside candidates' home states.

Often, this is motivated by a desire to restrict the political speech and donations of corporations, lobby groups, lobbyists, and political parties.

Efforts to restrict such donations are under way around the country.

For nearly two decades complaints about the influence of big money on the political process have produced laws to restrict large donations to election campaigns.

(Apple has also been criticized in the past for restricting charitable donations from within iPhone apps.)