Ehrlich on Washington column, June 28, 1998

MEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland 1407 York Road, Suite 304 Lutherville, Maryland 21093 3 1 5 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 EHRLICH ON WASHINGTON Week of June 28, 1 998 By Congressman Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. MARYPIRG DISTORTS ENVIRONMENTAL RECORD This summer, the Maryland Public Interest Research Group (MaryPIRG) is distributing voter “scorecards” assessing the environmental voting records of Maryland’s congressional delegation. Unfortunately, this scorecard is a highly biased, misleading, and extremely partisan document. Its purpose is not to inform, but rather to distort the environmental records of myself and that of other mainstream legislators. When voting on environmental matters, I seek to ensure that every new federal regulation is absolutely necessary and truly worth the price of implementation. I have supported, during my years in Congress, significant legislation to protect safe drinking water and preserve funding for an important environmental clean-up project at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Harford County. Additionally, I opposed a Republican-sponsored “clean water” bill because it would have weakened laws important to the Chesapeake Bay. The mainstream environmental groups I work with in Maryland, such as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, also adopt this reasonable approach. To radical, left-wing groups like MaryPIRG, however, the only acceptable solutions to perceived environmental problems are those which expand the scope and reach of the federal government, heaping additional regulatory burdens on businesses and individuals. Moreover, people who dare to disagree with them on one or more substantive issues are quickly labeled as “the enemy.” In other words, legislators who vote their conscience and refuse to march in lock