Norvell William Emerson (January 1, 1938 – June 22, 1996) was an American politician. He served as a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

from 1981 until his death from lung cancer in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

in 1996. He was succeeded in the House by his widow, Jo Ann Emerson. Emerson was a Republican.

Early life

Emerson was raised in

Jefferson County, Missouri Jefferson County is located in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. It is a part of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 226,739, making it the sixth-most populous county in Missouri. Its ...

and attended public schools in nearby Hillsboro. He served as a House Page and graduated from Westminster College in

Fulton, Missouri Fulton is the largest city in and the county seat of Callaway County, Missouri, Callaway County, Missouri, United States. Located about northeast of Jefferson City, Missouri, Jefferson City and the Missouri River and east of Columbia, Missouri, ...

in 1959. Emerson attended law school at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

and the

University of Baltimore The University of Baltimore (UBalt, UB) is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is part of the University System of Maryland. UBalt consists of four colleges in applied arts and sciences, Robert G. Merrick School of Bu ...

, graduating with his LL.B from Baltimore in 1964. He was also a captain in the

United States Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...

from 1964 to 1992.

Career

He was serving as a congressional page serving on the floor during the 1954 United States Capitol shooting incident involving Puerto Rican terrorists. While in law school, Emerson served as a Congressional aide to U.S. Representative Robert Ellsworth, and after graduation he served on the staff of U.S. Senator

Charles Mathias Charles McCurdy Mathias Jr. (July 24, 1922 – January 25, 2010) was an American politician and attorney from the U.S. state of Maryland. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served in both chambers of the Unit ...

. Throughout the 1970s he worked in governmental affairs for several companies, and formed his own consulting group in 1979. In 1980, he was elected to Congress and was re-elected seven times. Emerson served on the House Committee on Rules.

Personal life

In 1988, after an intervention with his family and friends, Emerson acknowledged his

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

and spent a month at the

Betty Ford Center The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is an addiction treatment and advocacy organization that was created in 2014 with the merger of the Minnesota-based Hazelden Foundation and the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California, in the United State ...

. He later helped create the House Employee Assistance Program which provides legislative and administrative support services for the House, later expanded to the Senate, and helps alcoholics find treatment. Emerson died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

in 1996. He was succeeded by his widow, Jo Ann Emerson.

Legacy

The Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge, which crosses the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

at Cape Girardeau, is named after him, as is Emerson Hall, the main assembly room in the House Page School in the Jefferson Building of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

and Emerson Hall, an upperclass residence hall at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, his alma mater. The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act of 1996 was named after the congressman, who fought for the proposal but died of cancer before it was passed. This act encourages the donation of food and grocery products to nonprofit organizations for distribution to needy individuals by protecting donors from liability when donating to a nonprofit organization, so long as the product is donated in "good faith," even if it later causes harm to the needy recipient. The national Food Security Wheat Reserve (1980–1996), later expanded to the Food Security Commodity Reserve (1996–1998), was renamed the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust (1998–) in his memory.

References

External links