EMERSON STRONG ADVOCATE OF CONGRESSIONAL REFORM

Congress is preparing to assess how it operates with an eye toward getting its own house in order.

It's a goal strongly favored by U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau.

"I am a very strong advocate of the need for Congress to reform the manner in which it does business," he said in a telephone interview from his Washington office Monday.

Plans call for a bipartisan House-Senate task force to study operations of Congress and recommend reforms.

A few of the suggestions already on the table are to reduce the size of congressional staffs, eliminate a number of committees and rearrange the weekly business schedule, Emerson said.

"On the surface, many of these ideas have merit, but they are worth checking out in detail," he said. "That's what this proposed task force will do: Examine all aspects of the operations of Congress and make recommendations."

The House approved the plan last week on a 412-4 vote, and the Senate is expected to vote next month.

"There is a lot procedurally and structurally that needs to be done," said Emerson, who voted for establishing the Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress.

"About 40 percent of what's wrong with the Congress can be attributed to the way that we are structured. The other 60 percent of what is wrong with Congress is that the liberals are in control and it would be better if the conservatives were in control," he said.

"I think it would be very refreshing to have a conservative majority for a change."

Structurally, he said, committee meetings often conflict with House sessions.

"So we spend half our days running back and forth across the street. It is a stop-start process that can be maddening at times," he added.

"The other thing is we have too many committees," said Emerson.

In the election following the Watergate scandal, a number of liberal Democrats were elected, he explained. They created twice as many subcommittees as had previously existed, he pointed out.

"Now when you've got a committee or subcommittee, you've got to have a staff."

There are 13 standing committees and five select committees in the House. But there has been a proliferation of subcommittees.

"We probably need the standing committees that we have, but like on agriculture, we probably don't need nine subcommittees," observed Emerson.

"We're spread too thin and we need to get rid of some of the subcommittees," he said.

The House, he said, has about twice as much committee staff as it needs.

"We've got a lot of bright young Harvard grads down here who are looking for solutions to problems that have yet to be defined," he noted.

But Emerson said House members need staffs to handle constituent concerns.

"I may have 18 people helping me to do work for 567,000 constituents. I don't think that is out of line because of the volume of mail we deal with and the kinds of problems we have to try to help solve."

Emerson said his office receives about 2,500 pieces of mail a week, including 300 to 500 individual letters.

Emerson said he recognizes that many in the public hold Congress in low esteem. "A lot of it is very well deserved," he said.

"Frankly, in explaining the problems of Congress, it doesn't lend itself to a 30-second sound bite.

"For most problems, there is a complex background that has to do usually more than anything else with the way things have evolved for years."

Part of the structural problem is due to the Democratic leadership in the House, he said.

"They have controlled the House for 38 years," said Emerson. "I don't think they are malicious. I just think we need change from time to time in the leadership at the top.

"I don't think Congress exercises its oversight function very well at all," he pointed out.

He said Congress doesn't inquire often or deeply enough into how laws on the books are working.

"We need to be reforming what we've got before we lay on new layers.

"Congress is usually in session in the neighborhood of 10 or 11 months out of the year. If we were better organized, we would really need to only be in session six or seven months out of the year and a lot of money could be saved in the process," maintained Emerson.

He said he believes the potential is there to improve Congress.

"I think there is as much frustration about Congress in Congress as there is about Congress out of Congress."

The task force would be comprised of seven Republicans and seven Democrats from the House and a like number from the Senate.

"Some of the problems in the structure of how we work are related to conflicts between the House and Senate so it is appropriate that this should be a joint House-Senate committee."

Emerson said he believes the task force could be in a position to recommend some procedural changes as early as January.

"I hope we can perceive in the spirit of bipartisan cooperation and do what is right," Emerson said.