After weeks of lying dormant, legislation designed to slash the filing fees paidto the Securities and Exchange Commission could be back on track in Congress.Separate efforts in the House of Representatives and the Senate are leading somecongressional observers to think there is at least a slim chance that a billcould reach President Bush's desk by year-end.

On the House side, Rep. Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.) has begun drafting legislationthat would be part of a broader package to stimulate the economy in the wake ofthe World Trade Center attack. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.)crafted a letter recently that commits him to bringing the measure to the Senatefloor by the end of the year.

Congress is largely behind the measure, which earlier this year passed bothhouses in slightly different forms. Before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, bothversions were slated to move into conference, where differences would be ironedout. After being put on hold temporarily, several legislators in recent weekshave renewed their interest in reducing SEC fees, particularly as it becameevident that the economic downturn worsened following the attacks.