Emerson expects to keep her position on House Appropriations Committee

By RUDI KELLER

Southeast Missourian

Working with a Democratic majority for the first time will diminish U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson's overall influence in Congress but could also help pass some of her most-cherished legislative initiatives.

Emerson expects to hold her seat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee and retain two of her three subcommittee assignments. The two she expects to keep will give her a continued say in spending for agriculture programs as well as water and energy projects.

According to the Internet site Congress.org, Emerson ranked 80th in influence in the Republican-controlled Congress. With the Democratic takeover, the Web site estimated she will fall 67 spots, which would still keep her near the top third of all members.

"I don't see a lot of change, particularly from a legislative standpoint," Emerson said.

Emerson continues to advocate in favor of allowing prescription drugs to be reimported from Canada to control prices and to add a federal power to directly negotiate prescription prices for the Medicare Part D program. While those initiatives have been stymied under the Republican leadership, she now sees a good chance of passage.

"That would definitely be a plus to bring some downward pressure and save money for the taxpayers," Emerson said of the Medicare changes. "And with drug reimportation we certainly want to develop a parallel trading system to help everybody."

Members will return Monday to Washington to work on unfinished business, including most bills appropriating funds for the current fiscal year. Emerson said passing the budget bills will be the most important matters before the Congress and doesn't expect any last-minute pushes to force through legislation that has stalled up to now.

"We won't get any of that done," she said, referring to issues such as the estate tax or other measures dear to President Bush.

Some tax items need work quickly, she said, including extensions for the research and development credit, the child tax credit and the tuition credit.

Another must for the lame-duck session, Emerson said, is to block a scheduled cut in Medicare reimbursements for doctors. "We cannot afford to have any doctors cut off from Medicare access," she said.

Next year's congressional agenda will include a major rewriting of farm programs. Emerson sees no difficulty in assuring continued federal support for all the major crops in the 8th District, including corn, soybeans, cotton and rice, among the likely leadership of the House Agriculture Committee.

But the Senate panel responsible for writing the bill will be led by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who Emerson said is likely to seek limits on the total payments any single farming operation can receive.

"Tom Harkin is not as sympathetic or doesn't understand as well Southern farming and mid-South farming with cotton and rice in Missouri," she said.

But the reality of the Senate, split 51-49 in favor of the Democrats, means that any farm legislation that is passed must be acceptable to all farm-state senators.

"Republicans are going to end up controlling the Senate as the Democrats have controlled the Senate before the election," Emerson said. "One senator can hold up everything."

The only change in Missouri's congressional delegation will be the replacement of Sen. Jim Talent by State Auditor Claire McCaskill. Emerson said she hopes that the "seamless relationship" she enjoys with fellow Republicans Talent and U.S. Sen. Kit Bond can be replicated with McCaskill.

"I fully expect Claire McCaskill will be working with us on issues like River Campus funding and roads and bridges," she said.

Emerson also dismissed any discussion of her future, despite rumors of a possible resignation published on the Internet blogsite FiredUpMissouri.com. "I have no idea where that comes from," she said. "That all starts in Jefferson City, and it happened after the last election."

While she hasn't made plans for 2008, Emerson said she "fully plans to do my job here for the next two years to the best of my ability."

rkeller@semissourian.com

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