EMERSON VOTES FOR TAX-CUT MEASURE

All of the Republican congressmen from Missouri and Illinois voted for a $792 billion tax-cut measure Thursday.

The two states' Democratic members voted against it.

The House passed the Financial Freedom Act by a vote of 223-208.

In all, 217 Republicans and six Democrats voted for the bill that President Bill Clinton has threatened to veto.

The Senate is slated to take up its own tax-cut bill as early as next week.

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, said the legislation secures Social Security and Medicare, pays down the national debt and reduces the tax burden.

"This bill dedicates a full two-thirds of the projected, 10-year, $3 trillion federal budget surplus solely to Social Security and Medicare," she said.

"That means one-third of this historical surplus stays at home in our own pockets instead of being taken by Washington for expanded government programs," Emerson said.

"During the first five years of the bill, for every one dollar in tax relief, $6 are paid to reduce our national debt.

"Paying down the debt is absolutely critical in securing a stronger and brighter future for our nation," Emerson said.

Emerson joined her Republican colleagues in voting against a Democratic plan that would have cut taxes by $250 billion over the next decade.

The two-term congresswoman said the GOP bill may not be perfect but is a first step in addressing the nation's finances.

"And the bottom line is that the money does not belong to Congress or the White House," she said. "It belongs to the American people. It's their money and no one else's."