KASSEBAUM HEADING BACK TO KANSAS

Three-term Senator Nancy Kassebaum became the tenth member of the Senate, and the second Republican, to announce that she will not seek re-election in 1996. "Kassebaum's departure is another indication there is not as much room in the Republican party for moderates as there once was," says senior correspondent Jeffrey Birnbaum. "She will be remembered as one of the most thoughtful members of an institution that a lot people doubt gives much serious thought to anything these days. In partisan terms, it is likely she will be replaced by a Republican, so it won't be a net loss for the GOP. But she will be missed." Kassebaum, who is chairman of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, joins fellow GOP senator Hank Brown and Democrats Bill Bradley, James Exon, Howell Helflin, Bennett Johnston, Sam Nunn, Claiborne Pell, David Pryor and Paul Simon in leaving the Senate after the 1996 elections. Kassebaum, 63, says she intends to devote herself to her family and adds that she is not interested in coming back to Washington in any capacity.