(MONEY Magazine) – "I never thought I would urge Bill Clinton to do any thing but retire," wrote Miles W. Haupt of Poulsbo, Wash. "But please add my name to your list of people requesting a presidential veto of the small investor rip-off bill you wrote about in September." Haupt is just one of more than 400 Money readers who have joined us in urging the President to veto the litigation reform legislation steaming through Congress. This misguided law would, in fact, help white-collar criminals get away with cheating investors. As I write this on Sept. 1, we are receiving 60 letters of support a day; we've gotten a grand total of six in opposition.

The tone of the letters runs from dismay to disgust. The largest number argue that the legislation would undermine confidence in the securities markets. For example, Lester K. Smith of De Kalb, Ill. wrote: "For many years the government has said that Americans do not save and invest enough. Now they want to take away most of the legal safeguards which allow us to save and invest without fear of being cheated." Anastasia R. Touzet of Flora, Miss. concluded: "Are we going back to having to buy gold and silver coins and burying them in the backyard? Is this the America everybody wants? I don't."

Others focused on the special interests that helped draft the bills, with Elizabeth J. Granfield of New Canaan, Conn., for one, mocking the "for sale sign on the congressional lawn." Bill Follek echoed that theme on the Internet: "Congress is trying to flat-out legalize white-collar crime; that's what this Congress means by reform."

But the angriest responses by far came from Republicans denouncing their own party for pushing these bills. "I am a 64-year-old lifelong Republican," wrote John A. Cline of Virginia Beach, "but I'm fed up with the party's assault on the public. These acts will backfire. I very well may vote for a third person or even for 'what's his name' who's in there now." Another lifelong Republican, 78-year-old George W. Humm of New Richmond, Ohio, who spent 45 years in the securities business and now arbitrates brokerage disputes, said he was appalled and only hoped Clinton "has the guts to veto this monstrous bill."

Also, Thomas Denzler of New York City pointed out that "tort reform is not necessarily a bad idea" and then quickly added: "But in the area of securities, it is a stupid and venal idea. Shame on Robert Dole and Newt Gingrich." And Donald J. Scott of Henderson, Nev. summed up the tenor of the outcry in one sentence: "The Contract with America is going down the drain."

The legislation that swept through Congress this summer by overwhelming margins (325-99 and 69-30) would do four things:

Allow executives to deliberately lie about their firm's prospects.

Stop investors from suing hired guns who assist fraudulent firms, including accountants, lawyers, brokers and bankers.

Give investors just three years to sue, even if the fraud isn't discovered until after that statute of limitations expires.

Make investors who lose a case potentially liable for the winner's entire legal fees.

As we noted in last month's column, lawmakers originally intended to curb frivolous securities suits. But those good intentions got picked clean by powerful lobbyists, led by major accounting firms, who came swooping down on the bills like hungry crows. The accounting firms and their pals want to protect their wallets after being forced to pay billions in fines and settlements in recent years for their part in various scams--from the savings and loan scandals to the notorious MiniScribe swindle.

Operating through various political action committees and other corporate fund-raising efforts, the major accounting firms and their lobbyists contributed well over $3.3 million to legislators' campaigns--50% more than they gave in '92. In February, for instance, one so-called grass-roots operation sent out software that let members customize letters to selected lawmakers in "a minute or two." In all, a quite sophisticated and effective campaign.

The two bills--HR 1058 and S 240--are now headed for a conference committee to iron out minor conflicts. So at this point, the only way this legislation will get stopped is if the President vetoes it when it hits his desk, perhaps as early as this month. (For more on other ill-advised securities reforms, see "How Washington Could Tip the Scales Against Investors" on page 122.)

You can still make your voice heard. Send your thoughts to us; we will relay them to the President and key lawmakers. Write: Protect Our Rights, Money, Room 32-38, Time & Life Building, Rockefeller Center, New York, N.Y. 10020; send E-mail to: letters@moneymag.com.

FRANK LALLI, Managing Editor