DANFORTH DEFENDS CHINA'S TRADE STATUS

Denying favored-nation trade status to China will not force China to alter its actions, U.S. Sen. John Danforth said Tuesday.

"If we discontinue trade with China, it will not accomplish the results those who want to stop it believe that it will," said Danforth.

He said that China, as a member of the United Nations Security Council, supported the United States in passing resolutions that put sanctions against Iraq. Denying continued favored-nation status likely would result in less support in the future, he said.

Danforth contended that denying the status would produce non-desired consequences and would deny American producers the opportunity to sell products to China that they are now able to sell.

Danforth discussed China and a variety of other issues during a 30-minute media availability at the Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport Tuesday afternoon.

The senator said a decision last week to grant fast-track authority to the president was a "great day for our country;" he predicted cutbacks in National Guard forces proposed by Defense Secretary Dick Cheney would not be made but plans for base closings would be followed; and he expressed doubts that a new highway bill would pass Congress this year because it may take longer to get support for a fairer formula for distributing federal gas tax funds.

Danforth said extending fast-track procedures, as Congress did last week, will make it easier to negotiate trade agreements and improve the opportunity to sell American goods abroad. This authority will also allow for a change in rules to improve fairness, he said.

For example, the senator said that Mexico's tariff on automobiles are six times the United States' charges. Fast track provides an opportunity to change that, he said.

He said the authority should open up European markets to American agricultural products.

Danforth is one of 51 senators who has signed a letter to Cheney opposing cutbacks in National Guard forces, which would include a reduction of 2,300 Guard members affecting 19 communities in Missouri, including Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

"We can't understand how it is cost effective to cut the National Guard," said Danforth.

On the other hand, the senator said he anticipates all military bases Cheney has proposed cutting, including Eaker Air Force Base in Blytheville, Ark., will be closed. Danforth said he likes the new system of having a commission make the final decision on closings, with Congress having to accept or reject all of the recommendations. Otherwise, it would be almost impossible to close a base, he said.

"This is a tough time for the military and defense industry because we are spending less on the military," said Danforth. "When military spending goes down, clearly we will have to make cuts."

In discussing the new federal highway bill, Danforth said he is working with U.S. Sen. Christopher Bond of Missouri and others to improve the formula so that Missouri is no longer paying more in federal gas tax money than it is receiving. Missouri receives only 85 cents of every dollar it pays under the present plan.

Danforth said there are 36 senators representing states like Missouri who are supporting efforts for a new formula. He said they need at least five more senators on their side to avoid having enough votes to break the filibuster they might have to wage in the Senate to delay action until a compromise can be reached.

"Our position is not strengthened by working in haste," said Danforth when asked whether a new highway bill could be approved this session.

Danforth stressed that one of the best things Missouri has going for it is Bond. He said Bond "is a master at getting to important and complex issues with very few cards to play and doing very well. He has really become a leader in seeking a fairer bill."

Danforth said Bond was effective in the debate over the Clean Air bill last year, getting compromises that saved Missouri billions of dollars.

In addressing the federal budget deficit, Danforth said he believes health care issues will have to be addressed before the deficit can be brought under control. He said Medicaid and Medicare are the two fastest-growing parts of the federal budget. Health care represented 11.6 percent of the gross national product last year and is 12.2 percent of the GNP this year.

"It will be very hard to balance the budget without having health care issues dealt with," Danforth said.

Policy decisions about health care are a long way off because there is no clear consensus forming on what should be done, he said. The ultimate question, Danforth said, is, "is there any limit to what we should spend on health care in this country?" Answering that question involves ethical issues that no one appears ready to face up to yet, he suggested.

He said although he supports a balanced-budget amendment to the constitution, hard questions like controlling health care costs cannot be solved by simply passing a law to balance the budget.

Danforth said he anticipates the Senate eventually will approve a bill to regulate cable television companies. The bill passed the Commerce Committee by a large margin two weeks ago.

Danforth said he receives many complaints about cable costs rising and service declining, and it does not make sense for cable television to be an unregulated monopoly.

The senator said he had not heard about a Supreme Court ruling earlier in the day letting stand a federal appeals court ruling that Oliver North may have been denied a fair trial. Danforth said he had no reaction to the court's decision.