HEALTH REASONS FORCE U.S. REP. BEILL EMERSON TO FILE BY MAIL

U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson's battle against lung cancer won't keep him out of the 8th District congressional race. But it did prompt him to file for re-election by mail rather than in person.

Emerson mailed his filing form Wednesday to the Missouri secretary of state's office in Jefferson City.

Emerson is in the middle of six weeks of radiation treatment that requires daily monitoring and has restricted his travel.

In a letter to Missouri Secretary of State Bekki Cook, Emerson's doctor said the congressman is "physically unable to travel."

Filing by mail is legal in Missouri if a candidate is unable to appear in person because of a physical disability. The filing paperwork must be accompanied by a doctor's sworn statement.

Emerson is the only candidate to have filed by mail for political office in Missouri this year.

Filing for Missouri's Aug. 6 party primaries ends at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

"Although my cancer treatments have restricted me from returning home as often as I would like, I want folks to know that I feel good and my doctor tells me that I am indeed making steady medical progress," Emerson said in a written statement.

Despite suffering from cancer, Emerson hasn't missed a single vote this year. In 1995, he was present for 98 percent of the House votes.

Emerson was working Wednesday in Washington on a legislative conference committee crafting a compromise farm bill.

The Cape Girardeau Republican is seeking his ninth term.

He faces a Republican primary challenge from Bollinger County resident Richard Kline.

Perennial candidate Thad Bullock of Cape Girardeau is the only Democratic candidate for the congressional seat. But Joe Driskill, director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development, may seek the Democratic nomination.

Driskill said he will make a decision in the next few days. Driskill grew up in Doniphan in Ripley County in Southeast Missouri. He later moved to Poplar Bluff. Driskill was elected to the Missouri House in 1982 and served in that capacity until he was hired as economic development director in 1993.

In filing, Emerson said he was proud to work with the conservative majority in Congress toward balancing the federal budget and reducing the nation's deficit.

"Americans across the land should be allowed to keep more of what they earn in their own pockets and better decide how to spend those dollars at home rather than sending them to Washington," he said.

"We are on the right track to win this important fight to change the size and scope of government," he said.