Ehrlich on Washington column, November 9, 1997

( EHRLICH ON WASHINGTON By Congressman Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. 1407 York Road, Suite 304 Lutherville, Maryland 21093 NEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland Washington, D.C. 20515 Week of November 9, 1997 315 Cannon House Office Building 1 MARYPIRG DOES NOT REPRESENT THE PUBLIC INTEREST When I was first elected to Congress, I promised to cast votes based on my principles, my conscience, and my very best judgement. Political attempts to intimidate or bully me into casting votes that 1 believe are wrong for the citizens of the Second Congressional District will never succeed under any circumstances. There is one radical, left-wing group in Maryland that has yet to get the message: the so-called “Maryland Public Interest Research Group” (MaryPIRG). Passing itself off as a nonpartisan, pro- environmental organization acting in the public’s interest, MaryPIRG has, in fact, consistently demonstrated that its policies are anti-job, anti-worker, and anti-economic growth. With an army of well-intentioned teenagers and students, it preys upon people’s fears, raising money by waging a door-to- door campaign of misinformation. Through media stunts and pressure tactics, the folks at MaryPIRG are trying to accomplish two goals. First, they are attempting to scare the public by using simplistic, subjective, and loaded language to “educate” the public about complicated pieces of legislation pending before Congress. Second, they are trying (unsuccessfully) to coerce elected officials like me into voting in a way which conforms lock- step to their own rigid, narrow, and extreme definition of what an environmentalist should be. For example, recently MaryPIRG attacked me for cosponsoring a bill (H. R. 1984, cosponsored by about 200 Republicans and Democrats) which would delay implementation of costly new clean air standards for smog and soot for four years until the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency has demonstrated their medical necessity. In a crudely written press release, they accused me of “siding with