LAWMAKER PRAISES GOP SUCCESSES

JACKSON -- The Republican majority in Congress has made great strides this session, said U.S. Rep Kenny Hulshof, but it is too soon for party members to start resting on their laurels.

Hulshof, the Republican representing Missouri's 9th District, spoke Thursday night to the Southeast Missouri Area Pachyderm Club in Jackson. Formerly a resident of Southeast Missouri, Hulshof was elected to Congress in 1996, defeating longtime Democratic incumbent Harold Volkmer.

"What an extraordinary year it's been, looking back on what we've accomplished," he said.

Those accomplishments include hanging on to the party's majority in Congress, the balanced-budget bill, Medicare reform, welfare reform, income tax relief, a streamlined procedure for FDA approval of new drugs, and the IRS restructuring bill now awaiting Senate approval, Hulshof said.

The balanced-budget bill wasn't quite what the Republican leadership wanted, he said. "And if we had occupied the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, we would have seen a lot less spending," said Hulshof.

However, he said, Republican lawmakers and President Clinton put aside partisanship to sign the final version into law.

"We've still got a lot of work to do," he said. "There are a lot of challenges ahead of us."

At the state level, Republicans won a surprise House seat in the Columbia area, which is good news for the party at all levels, Hulshof said.

But the GOP needs to keep building on that momentum at the state and local level if it wants to maintain its leadership at the national level, he said.

Missouri is one of six states in which Democrats control the House, Senate and governor's mansion, he said.

Changing that control is going to be critical after the census in 2000, when it comes time for the governor to redraw the boundaries for the state's congressional districts based on population.

"I can tell you, with a stroke of a pen I could find myself in Ike Skelton's district and having to run against him or in Jim Tallent's district and having to run against Jim Tallent, if he's not in the governor's mansion," Hulshof said.

And it's time to expect the Democratic party to start recharging for the competition.

"The thing that we need to worry about or fear is the other side has gotten their wakeup call," he said. "The other thing is, we've got to get energized."

Republicans gained or held onto several state governorships around the country. But in New Jersey, incumbent Christine Whitman faced a tighter race than expected.

"She forgot her base," Hulshof said. "She forgot who elected her. And that conservative base wasn't there for her."

Republican leadership's also has undergone a shake-up at the national level, he said, although Speaker Newt Gingrich is "alive and well" after an aborted coup attempt by House Republicans.

"Now, though, without a Contract for America, first of all we only have about a 10-seat majority, so that makes for some interesting politics," he said. "And we really are a very diverse party."

Some GOP lawmakers are staunch supporters of labor and the environmental lobby, he said, in contrast to traditional party philosophy.

"When you have such a slim majority, sometimes it's difficult to ram things through that you think should be enacted into law," he said.

Hulshof said he expects Gingrich to remain speaker "at least through this Congress."

And, he said, he thinks Bill Paxton, one of the coup leaders, still has a "strong future" in the party's leadership.

Hulshof was elected class president by Republican freshmen in the 105th Congress. He is a member of the Ways and Means Committee and the subcommittees on Oversight and Social Security.

In the coming months, Americans can expect to see Congress take up several issues, he said, including:

-- Continued emphasis on campaign fund-raising reform.

The Senate's hearings have ended, Hulshof said, "but we're going to carry the ball down the field from where Sen. (Fred) Thompson left it."

-- Social Security reform. The subcommittee on which Hulshof serves has held eight hearings so far, and heard testimony "from a whole host of different people" on how best to overhaul the massive federal program.

So far, the options under consideration to keep the program out of the financial straits that once threatened Medicare include keeping benefits at current levels, but increasing payroll taxes to support the program; allowing individuals to self-invest Medicare benefits; or allowing the government to invest Medicare funds in negotiable instruments instead of the non-negotiable instruments now allowed.

"We're at least beginning to talk about it," Hulshof said.

-- Continued welfare reform. "We still have some debate to come on welfare, and it's a touchy subject," he said.