While U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk claims he was the lead legislative backer of a bill signed into law this year that requires the president to crack down on companies doing business with Iran, U.S. Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) -- the bill's chief sponsor --  says Kirk is guilty of "exaggeration" when he says the "Kirk bill" became the "Berman bill" so it could pass the Democratic Congress. While the Democrat admits that Kirk "was a committed person on this idea," he tells the Sun-Times that "we didn't even look at his legislation at the time."

Kirk's campaign, meanwhile, raised $3.12 million during the last quarter that ended in September. The Republican reports that he has $4.4 million on hand headed into the campaign's final weeks.