2 Groups Point Out To IRS DeLay Charity Isn't

The groups, the Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21, both in Washington, said in a letter to the internal revenue commissioner, Mark W. Everson, that Mr. DeLay, the House majority leader, was using the charity, Celebrations for Children, to get around restrictions that ban federal officials from raising the large unlimited donations called soft money.

The groups said Mr. DeLay was seeking to use Celebrations for Children for the same activities he conducted at the Republican convention in 2000 in Philadelphia before the limits on soft money were in place, wining and dining Republican members of Congress, lobbyists and the biggest donors.