Emerson speaks at First Friday coffee on latest congressional action - or lack of it

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson took on federal contracting practicies, the actions of her colleagues in Congress and even fellow Republicans during a talk Friday to area business leaders.

Emerson gave an update on congressional action -- or inaction -- during her address at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's monthly First Friday coffee. Her chief concerns included a budget plan that exceeds spending caps, the failed attempt to overhaul immigration policy and the rapidly rising cost of health care in the public and private sectors.

The change in Congressional leadership from Republican to Democratic control is new to Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, who spent her first 10 years in office as part of a GOP majority. The key to being successful in the changed environment, she said, is to work with colleagues of both parties for results, Emerson said.

The immigration bill, voted down twice in the U.S. Senate, failed in part because it should follow, not precede, a tough new border security policy, Emerson said.

"We can't pass a bill dealing with the illegal immigrants already here until we pass a bill on border security," she said.

Emerson in the past has suggested rounding up illegal immigrants and sending them home and amending the U.S. Constitution to bypass illegal immigrants when counting residents to allocate Congressional representation. Beefing up border security should be emphasized, but Emerson noted that very few of the 700 miles of new border fencing have been erected. The trouble is federal contracting that seeks to award the job to a single construction company rather than splitting the work into sections and hiring numerous contractors, she said.

After addressing border security, she said, Congress can move to immigration policy. "We need to do it in a comprehensive and thoughtful way and that is probably asking too much of your Congress," she said. "That is cynical, but it becomes too emotional."

Democrats are pushing budget resolutions that exceed spending limits, Emerson said, noting that she voted against the budget resolution recently passed.

One of the most daunting questions facing lawmakers is what to do about rising health-care costs, which Emerson said are "going to bust our budget."

Emerson noted that there are 80 million baby boomers headed toward retirement in coming years and 40 million people without health insurance. Federal spending on Medicare and Medicaid is accelerating rapidly. So are insurance costs for businesses and local governments.

When the uninsured seek treatment they can't pay for, that results in costs being shifted to government, private consumers and insurance companies, Emerson said. "It is starting to break the health-care system," she said.

Emerson said several Democratic presidential candidates are proposing comprehensive change, but chided her own party for lagging in the debate. "I have yet to see anything plausible coming out of the Republican side," she said.

Emerson has a long-standing reputation as a moderate on health-insurance issues, bucking the GOP leadership over issues such as drug reimportation from Canada and supporting government negotiation of drug prices for Medicare recipients instead of leaving the pricing to discussions between insurance and pharmaceutical companies.

The hot presidential contest in both parties isn't making it easier to make sound policy choices, Emerson said. With a half-dozen or more candidates in both parties vying for public attention and making promises about how they would run the country, politics is intruding too heavily into legislative deliberations.

"Usually we have this whole year to be doing legislation and not politics, but it has become a political year already," Emerson said. "In the climate we are in, it is tough to do anything."

Following her talk, Emerson was presented the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Spirit of Enterprise award, a recognition given to members of Congress who supported the chamber's position on legislation at least 70 percent of the time.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611 extension 126