Washington Wrap

Dotty Lynch, Douglas Kiker, Steve Chaggaris, Clothilde Ewing, Nicola Corless, Smita Kalokhe and Joanna Schubert of The CBS News Political Unit have the latest from the nation's capital.

Although Knowles left office only six months ago, he says he's ready to make a comeback. He hopes to unseat Murkowski, who was appointed by her father, Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski, to fill his Senate seat. In a letter to supporters, Knowles said a formal campaign kickoff would take place later this year. Democrats have been wooing Knowles to run for the seat. On Tuesday, Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle called Knowles, "one of the best candidates so far to announce his candidacy in the country. Well, we'll do anything that Gov. Knowles requests of us."

Hoeffel also made it official Tuesday. According to Morning Call, Hoeffel justified his bid saying, "He [Specter] has veered to the right and stayed there, and that's where I think he lost touch with Pennsylvania." Although Hoeffel will make an official announcement later this year, his campaign has already begun setting the agenda for the election by promising to improve fiscal policies, health care and public schools.

Daschle has also started gearing up for his own reelection bid in 2004. Daschle, who is seeking a fourth Senate term, will launch 60-second ads this week in South Dakota publicizing his work for the ethanol industry. According to the AP, South Dakota GOP Chairman Randy Frederick and Republican businessman Neal Tapio have called for Daschle to stop the ads, claiming they are excessively lengthening the election. "If Daschle was in touch with South Dakotans, he would know they are exhausted from the constant barrage of television ads that ran during 2002," said Tapio.

Katherine Harris Lives: One of Florida's top radio jocks told listeners on Tuesday that Rep. Katherine Harris, R-Fla., had died in a plane crash the previous day, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Radio talk show host Neil Rogers announced on WQAM Miami on Tuesday that "Katherine Harris is dead!"

"I've got the news story right here, it's on the Internet. A plane crash. Yes!" Rogers said.

He went on to say that Harris had been killed near Toronto, "while in clandestine rendezvous with Florida Gov. Jeb Bush," according to United Press International.

However, while Rogers was reporting her premature death, Harris was on the floor of the House of Representatives being broadcast live on CSPAN.

Rogers reportedly got the story from the Web site, www.tomflocco.com, which posted a retraction early yesterday saying, "We were misinformed on this matter, as an unidentified staffer in Harris' office told us this morning that the Florida legislator was in her office."

According to Roll Call, the story provoked a lighthearted reaction from Harris' colleagues in the House. "If she's dead, she's quite a Lazarus," said House Administration Chairman Bob Ney, R-Ohio, who verified that he had seen Harris and joked with her about the report on Tuesday.

Protecting Their Own: Without much fanfare Tuesday, the House passed a bill that would guarantee federal workers – including members of Congress – their current prescription drug benefits, which are much more generous than the benefit in the Medicare bill passed last month.

Even though the legislation passed by voice vote with no opposition, Democrats complained that this proves the prescription drug benefit in the Medicare bill is inadequate.

"The Republican Medicare bill is so bad … that today Congress is exempting itself from that plan so that members of Congress can continue to enjoy good health coverage, not the inferior plan that President Bush and Republicans are foisting on Congress," said Rep. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. Brown also pointed out that the president cited the federal retiree plan as a model when unveiling his Medicare plan. "If it's good enough for the Congress, it's good enough for the senior citizens of America," Mr. Bush said in January.

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., went even further: "The hypocrisy of claiming that Medicare beneficiaries deserve what the federal employees health program has, and then give a prescription drug benefit that the Republicans pushed through which is so inferior, it is breathtaking," Waxman said on the House floor Tuesday.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., defended the legislation, calling it "good protection for our retired federal employees."

The House and Senate will soon begin working out the differences in the Medicare bills each passed two weeks ago. The bills were required to stay within a $400 billion limit set by budget writers and part of the solution to fit under that cap was to make seniors pay more for their prescription drug benefit - more than federal retirees do under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.

Did It Take 21 Advisers To Come Up With This? After two days of staff meetings in Nantucket, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., made a shocking announcement. Although all the details haven't been finalized, Kerry confirmed his plans to make a public declaration of his presidential candidacy in September or October, possibly set against the Constitution in Boston Harbor, according to the Boston Globe. Although Kerry officially became a candidate in December when he filed a statement of candidacy with the FEC, he'll try to make an official splash this fall.

Kerry's team also plans to raise his profile a notch in the fall in other ways by releasing a number of high-profile endorsements. Some, like former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros, spilled the beans a bit early, but his support may get recycled as well

Gathered at the two-day strategy meeting in Nantucket were 21 top political aides from Kerry's old and new guard including three pollsters, three media consultants, Kerry's Senate chief of staff David McKean, campaign manager Jim Jordan, top money men Robert Farmer and Peter Maroney, Kerry's brother Cameron and wife Teresa's chief of staff Jeffrey Lewis. Despite the fact that she was entertaining houseguests, Mrs. Kerry also attended some of the meetings, according to the Boston Globe.

Other Democratic presidential campaigns also announced some ramping up. Despite having only $1.5 million in the bank, Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., said he'd open eight regional headquarters in Iowa and would bring his entire family, including 10 grandchildren, to Iowa this summer.

And Graham no longer has the NASCAR franchise to himself. The Hill says rival Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., has sponsored a stock car in an Iowa race.

Graham's campaign-sponsored Ford truck won its first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race last weekend in Kansas.

Three Big Ones For Dennis: Rep. Dennis Kucinich's progressive presidential campaign says it's "gaining steam" in a Wednesday press release that announced three new endorsements: Granny D, an activist in her 90s; Tom Hayden, an author and civil rights activist; and Arun Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi's grandson. Last week, Kucinich, D-Ohio, announced that country singer Willie Nelson was on board.

Dorris Haddock, Granny D for short, is a legendary activist from New Hampshire who walked 3,200 miles in 1999 from California to Washington, D.C. Four pairs of shoes and one hospital visit later, she said she found people in trailers, small towns and farms who were looking for someone who could understand their problems. Now she thinks she's found their man. "I promised to look for someone who would understand them… To those people I met on my walk across America: 'Now keep your promise to me and come out and vote for him,'" she writes.

Hayden, another renowned activist, refers to Kucinich as the candidate with the "best history." Hayden is a leading figure in the peace movement and the push for global justice. A fellow peace activist, Arun Gandhi, also supports Kucinich. Gandhi heads the M.K. Gandhi Institute of Nonviolence in Tennessee, where he continues his grandfather's mission.

These folks, plus Ben Cohen of Ben and Jerry's fame, may certify Kucinich as the Biggest Chill on the block.

Quote of the Day: "The truth is a relative term." --California Rep. Darrell Issa, admitting that he was arrested for auto theft but saying he was cleared and it was 30 years ago. (Taxpayers Against the Governor's Recall)