Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. letter to E. C., January 9, 1997

Congress of the ®niteb States S)ouse ot S^epresentatibee ®Haeljington, DC 20515-2002 January 9, 1997 Dear Thank you for contacting me regarding your concerns about Congressman Don Young, chairman of the House Resources Committee. Congressman Young was ranking minority member on the House Natural Resources Committee when the GOP gained control of Congress in 1994. Congressman Young ascended to the chairmanship of the committee at the beginning of the 104th Congress because of his seniority and with the approval of the House Republican leadership. As a single member of Congress, I am not in a position to personally block or prevent Congressman Young from retaining his chairmanship. You will be pleased to know that I share your concern for environmental issues. In the five most important environmental votes to come before the 104th Congress, I supported the position endorsed by most environmental groups. For example, in one of my toughest votes since coming to Congress, I opposed H. R. 961— a Clean Water Act reauthorization bill strongly supported by the Republican leadership — because I believed it would harm the Chesapeake Bay. Additionally, I voted (on three separate occasions) to delete from an appropriations bill seventeen legislative provisions unilaterally restricting EPA’s ability to enforce environmental laws and regulations. I also supported a bipartisan Safe Drinking Water Act enacted by Congress in August. I will continue to give each bill affecting environmental and natural resources this same degree of thorough, individual, and multi-dimensional scrutiny during the 105th Congress. Thank you for contacting me regarding this issue. Please contact me again if I may be of additional assistance. Sincerely, Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Member of Congress