STUDENTS QUESTION EMERSON ON ISSUES BEFORE GOVERNMENT

U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson, R-Mo., was grilled Wednesday about some tough issues -- including the president's health-care plan, taxes, the Brady gun-control bill, NAFTA, and the environment.

The interrogators were about 200 students at Trinity Lutheran School in Cape Girardeau, where Emerson spoke at an all-school assembly.

The Cape Girardeau congressman gave the students about an hour-long civics lesson while encouraging them to work hard at school.

"The better educated you are, the better able you'll be to enjoy life to its fullest," Emerson said. "Remember to work hard and learn well, and remember also: Don't do drugs.

"It can kill you, and if it doesn't destroy you, drugs will certainly destroy your quality of life."

Emerson fielded questions from the youngsters, who asked how the congressman voted on several topical issues.

He told the students that President Clinton's proposal to provide universal, government-funded health care is "probably as complex a subject as I will have dealt with in my 13 years in Congress."

Emerson said any plan for national health care will affect one-seventh of the nation's economy.

"We had better be certain that what we do is done right and that we don't cause more harm," he said. "A proposal has been made, but the big battle is just beginning.

"I can't tell you yet whether I think it will work or not, because I haven't fully digested it yet. There also are a lot of other proposals on the table in addition to the Clinton proposal."

One boy asked Emerson why his dad has to pay half his income in taxes.

"I want you to tell your dad I didn't vote for that," said Emerson. "I think people are overtaxed."

Emerson said the budget package signed into law this year was the biggest tax increase in history, but the real problem is the number of programs government funds.

"You've got to have the money to pay for what the government does," he said. "I think we should have less government and reduce what government does and reduce the burden on taxpayers.

Regarding the recently passed Brady Bill, which mandates a five-day waiting period for the purchase of handguns, Emerson said he favors a computerized "instant background check" on gun purchasers.

"I voted against the Brady Bill," he said. "The only people who really are going to have much of a burden under the Brady Bill will be law-abiding citizens who hunt, collect guns and shoot."

Emerson said the only way to attack crime is for law enforcement to go after criminals. He said he favors mandatory prison sentences for people who commit crimes using a firearm.

Ashley McElreath, 12, said she agreed with Emerson's views on gun control.

"I think he answered all the questions really well," McElreath said. "Sometime in my class we get in arguments about gun control and other laws, and I like what he said about the Brady Bill."

Emerson said one recent measure he does support is the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA.

In response to a question about the agreement, the congressman said he believes NAFTA will "create more jobs in Canada, Mexico and the United States."

Another student asked what Emerson thought about the environment and "pollution in rivers."

The congressman said laws enacted to clean the environment have worked well, but he cautioned against environmental extremism.

"We all want a good, wholesome, clean environment," he said. "But we also want economic growth and development.

"Some people say never cut trees. But trees are a renewable resource, and tree-cutting is a $2 billion industry every year in Missouri."

Emerson said there are 50 percent more trees in the state today than there were 50 years ago because of good forest management.

"I think we should be good stewards of the land and our resources, but we should also use them well and productively to benefit everyone," he said.

The seven-term incumbent congressman was named earlier this year as a possible candidate to fill the retiring John Danforth's U.S. Senate seat. But Emerson said last month that he won't file for that seat. He said Wednesday he's undecided on whether he'll seek an eighth term in the House of Representatives when his term expires next year.