WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives voted Thursday to proceed with an impeachment inquiry against President Clinton.

The vote, largely along party lines, marked only the third time in the nation's history that the House has voted for impeachment hearings.

The last presidential impeachment inquiry was authorized in 1974 when Democrats controlled the House and Richard Nixon was in the White House.

Thursday's vote was 258 to 176, with 31 of the 206 House Democrats voting for the GOP-sponsored resolution that calls for an open-ended Watergate style inquiry.

Reps. Ike Skelton and Pat Danner of Missouri were among the 31 Democrats who voted for the impeachment measure.

"This is the saddest vote I've ever cast," said Skelton, a 22-year veteran of the House. "I went over it in detail, and it drove me to the conclusion that there should be a formal inquiry. People know I do my homework and I am independent in my thinking."

Danner said had known how she would vote "for a while," after attending several seminars on impeachment and the Constitution, reading the reports and evidence and viewing Clinton's taped testimony.

"I have known all along that I felt we really had to have a committee look into this," she said. "I voted for the first alternative, because I would like to know that it's going to be brought to completion as soon as is practical, but when that failed, I still felt that we needed to have a committee look into this subject."

Many of the Democrats who voted for the GOP measure said they wanted to see a full investigation and weren't making a judgment about whether the president should be removed from office.

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson voted for the resolution. It directs the Judiciary Committee to investigate if sufficient grounds exist for the House to impeach Clinton.

The action follows the independent counsel's investigation into the sex scandal involving Clinton and a White House intern.

Clinton has been accused of lying under oath to a grand jury in an effort to keep the affair secret.

"It is a sad day," Emerson said following the vote.

"I think when you are in Congress, you hope some day to have an important constitutional issue on which to vote," she said. "But sadly, this is not the one I would have wished to have, nor probably any of my colleagues."

Most House Democrats had argued to limit the investigation to the Monica Lewinsky affair and finish it by year's end.

The controversy "has hurt our nation and it has hurt our children," House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt said. "We must not compound the hurt."

But the GOP-controlled House rejected a Democratic alternative that would have limited the scope, set a Dec. 31 deadline and asked the Judiciary Committee to first consider the historical standards for impeachment before deciding Clinton's fate.

The Democratic measure was defeated on a mostly party-line vote of 236 to 198.

Emerson said she voted to proceed with an impeachment inquiry because the allegations against the president need to be fully investigated.

"We need to dispose of those in the interest of our country," she said.

Emerson said opponents are missing the boat when they define the issue as nothing more than a sex scandal.

"This has nothing to do with sex," she said. "This has to do with the rule of law. When you take an oath of office, you stand by it.'

"Lying to a grand jury undermines the Constitution," Emerson said.

The Cape Girardeau Republican said the House could complete its investigation by year's end if the matter doesn't become bogged down in partisan politics.

Reps. Lane Evans of Western Illinois and William Lipinski of Chicago were also among Democrats to vote in favor of the GOP proposal.

"They're sick of it all," Evans said of his constituents. "I think they want a fair process, and I think that's what I voted for today.

Said Lipinski: "The president's relationship with Monica Lewinsky was shameful, humiliating and immoral, and his lying to the American people was deplorable and reprehensible."

The House Judiciary Committee plans to begin its impeachment inquiry after the Nov. 3 elections, Emerson said.

The impeachment inquiry will occur in a largely empty House in November and December since Congress won't be in session, she said.

Congress normally would adjourn in October. But this year, the House will be in recess because of the impeachment proceedings and could be called back into session before year's end, Emerson said.

The term of the 105th Congress officially ends on Jan. 3, 1999. At that time, the term of the 106th Congress would begin.

If the impeachment inquiry hasn't been completed, the new Congress would have to decide whether to continue the process, Emerson said.

If the Judiciary Committee approves a bill of impeachment, the full House would have to decide whether to send that bill of impeachment to the Senate for trial.

A majority vote is needed to send any impeachment bill to the Senate.

After a trial on the Senate floor, the Senate would vote on each article of impeachment. A two-thirds vote is required to remove a president from office.

Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press.

HOW THEY VOTED

The House Thursday voted 258-176 to launch an impeachment inquiry of President Clinton. Voting yes were 31 Democrats and 227 Republicans. Voting no were 175 Democrats, 0 Republicans and 1 independent.

Here is how the Missouri and Illinois delegations voted:

MISSOURI

Republicans - Blunt, Y; Emerson, Y; Hulshof, Y; Talent, Y.

Democrats - Clay, N; Danner, Y; Gephardt, N; McCarthy, N; Skelton, Y.

ILLINOIS

Republicans - Crane, Y; Ewing, Y; Fawell, Y; Hastert, Y; Hyde, Y; LaHood, Y; Manzullo, Y; Porter, Y; Shimkus, Y; Weller, Y.

Democrats - Blagojevich, N; Costello, N; Davis, N; Evans, Y; Gutierrez, N; Jackson, N; Lipinski, Y; Poshard, N; Rush, N; Yates, N.

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