EMERSON OPPOSES U.S. INVOLVEMENT IN KOSOVO

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson opposes sending American troops to Kosovo.

Emerson said Tuesday that President Clinton shouldn't send U.S. ground troops to the troubled region.

Emerson was on the losing side of a recent House vote that clears the way for the president to take military action against the Serbs. The Cape Girardeau Republican said she would prefer to see European troops deployed as part of any NATO action.

A second round of peace talks in France failed last week after Serbs refused to an accord that gives Albanian Kosovars substantial autonomy. The plan also calls for sending up to 4,000 Americans to Kosovo as part of a 28,000-member NATO peace-keeping force.

Clinton has warned the Serbs that they could face NATO air strikes. But Emerson worries about any U.S. military involvement in that region. "Personally, we cannot be the world's peacekeeper," Emerson told reporters in a telephone conference call.

She said the Clinton administration has no strategy or exit plan regarding Kosovo. U.S. involvement would be expensive, said Emerson. "We are looking at an appropriation of billions of extra dollars."

Emerson said the United States is short on Army and Navy recruits. "We don't have enough money to build a national missile defense. We can't be the world's policeman and also provide security for the people who live here," she said.

On another issue, Emerson said a recent bipartisan retreat in Pennsylvania could pay dividends. About 200 members of Congress attended the gathering. Participants decided to set up a bipartisan management committee to report to House Republican and Democratic leaders. Emerson will serve on the eight-member committee.

"We would act as a sounding board for complaints about scheduling and other things that both parties have problems with," Emerson said.

The House leadership is focused so much on legislative issues that internal issues such as the House schedule of business and committee ratios don't always get considered.