LEGISLATOR IS ON THE MOVE

U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof doesn't know about weekends in Washington. He's never there.

The Columbia Republican, who grew up in Southeast Missouri, lives in a small apartment while working on Capitol Hill during the week.

He returns to northern's Missouri's 9th Congressional District on weekends to see his wife, Renee, and keep in contact with the constituents in the sprawling district.

His wife works for a marketing firm. "She is a professional and I am proud of her career," he said.

Hulshof defeated 20-year incumbent Democrat Harold Volkmer last November. Hulshof is only the second Republican this century to serve in Congress from the 9th District.

"One of the complaints about former congressman Volkmer was the perception that he was not accessible. He made his home in Washington, D.C.," said Hulshof.

The freshman congressman doesn't want to make the same mistake.

He has tried hard to be accessible. "Being back every weekend helps that," he said during a car-phone interview last Friday as he was traveling across the district.

"Part of the job of being a representative is to help educate the folks back home on what is happening in Washington."

Hulshof knows the Democrats will be gunning for his job in 1998.

Within hours after Hulshof's November election victory, state Sen. Ken Jacob, D-Columbia, talked of running for the congressional seat.

Organized labor also has taken aim at Hulshof.

Earlier this month, the 14-million-member AFL-CIO labor federation ran radio and television ads in 19 congressional districts across the nation. Hulshof's district was one of those targeted.

Organized labor spent about $700,000 on the ads. Hulshof and the other targeted congressmen are viewed by labor officials as out of step with working families.

Hulshof voted for legislation to allow employees to take comp time instead of overtime if they choose. Organized labor opposed the bill.

But Hulshof said he was told by two union representatives that many union workers favor the legislation.

Hulshof said he isn't worried about possible opponents in the next election. "I have had adversaries nipping at my heels ever since I was an assistant prosecutor in Cape Girardeau County.

"If a person spends their life looking over their shoulder, the only thing they will get is a pain in the neck," he said.

Hulshof grew up on a farm near Charleston. His parents, Paul and Geri Hulshof, still farm there.

Hulshof graduated from Kelly High School at Benton in 1976.

He attended the University of Missouri, where he majored in agricultural economics. He graduated in 1980 with honors, a semester after his friend and roommate died of Hodgkin's disease.

He went to law school at the University of Mississippi, graduating in 1983.

Hulshof accepted a job as assistant public defender in Cape Girardeau County, allowing him to commute from the family farm and pay off student loans.

After three years, Hulshof switched sides and became an assistant prosecutor.

In 1989, he took a job as a special prosecutor with the Missouri attorney general's office.

During his years there, he successfully prosecuted 29 murder cases.

Hulshof first ran against Volkmer in 1994 after replacing another GOP candidate who dropped out. Despite his last-minute entry, Hulshof lost by less than 12,000 votes.

Hulshof abandoned his legal career when he decided to run again in the 1996 election.

Although he has only been in office for three months, Hulshof already has drawn attention as an up-and-coming congressman.

He is president of the 32-member freshman class of House Republicans. That group includes Southeast Missouri's 8th District Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau.

Hulshof serves on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, an assignment that is no small feat for a freshman lawmaker.

He wants Congress to repeal the federal estate tax. He said the tax is an unfair burden on family farmers and small-business owners who want to pass their farms and businesses on to their children.

Hulshof said the 9th and 8th congressional districts are similar in many ways. Both are conservative districts that lean Democratic at the county level, he said.

Hulshof always has brought enthusiasm to the job, even in his courtroom days in Cape Girardeau County.

The freshman lawmaker still has that enthusiasm. He said he enjoys serving in Congress.

"It has been a tremendous three months," he said.