ASHCROFT, BOND STUFF CHRISTMAS BAGS, DISCUSS IMPEACHMENT

U.S. Sen. John Ashcroft may be in a charitable mood these days, but he still thinks President Clinton should resign.

Ashcroft and fellow Missourian and U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond stuffed Christmas bags for veterans at the Salvation Army building during a brief stop in Cape Girardeau Thursday afternoon.

The Salvation Army plans to deliver about 1,400 Christmas bags to area nursing homes, including 150 to the Missouri Veterans Home.

Ashcroft, a Republican who may run for president, has been sharply critical of Clinton's behavior stemming from the White House sex scandal.

He has repeatedly called on the president to resign.

But Ashcroft said he can still serve as an impartial juror should the House vote articles of impeachment and the send the matter to the Senate for trial.

Unlike Ashcroft, Bond hasn't called for the president's resignation.

If impeachment articles are presented to the Senate, senators must serve as unbiased jurors, Bond said.

"We ought not to be taking a major role in arguing about it," Bond said.

Bond said he hasn't offered any advice to the Democratic president. "I don't think the president will take my advice so I am not going to give it to him."

Both senators said any impeachment decision initially rests with the House. The House Judiciary Committee currently is wrestling with perjury and other allegations surrounding the sex scandal.

Bond and Ashcroft said the issue of impeachment may never reach the Senate.

Ashcroft said he hopes to decide whether to run for president and announce his decision before the new Congress convenes Jan. 6.

Ashcroft said he has visited 34 states over the past year in an effort to test the political waters as a possible presidential candidate. "We have had a good reception around the country," he said.

Ashcroft said the time for exploring that possibility is coming to an end. "We are winding up that thinking," he said.

Bond and Ashcroft visited Cape Girardeau to stress the importance of the Salvation Army and other charities during the holidays.

Bond has worked on the federal level to provide aid and support to the effort of the Salvation Army. He was the chief Senate sponsor of the Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, which makes it easier for restaurants and grocery stores to donate unused food to homeless shelters and food pantries.

Bond also has worked with the Salvation Army to provide transitional housing for the homeless.

Ashcroft authored the "Charitable Choice" provision in the 1996 welfare reform law. The provision allows private and faith-based organizations such as the Salvation Army to compete equally for federal dollars distributed by state governments for certain social services.

Bond said, "The federal government can only do so much. It is vitally important for all of us who have been so richly blessed to give our time and treasure to organizations like the Salvation in their good work to help the needy."