Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. letter to Newt Gingrich, November 15, 1996

Congress of tlir Untteb States fycuse of &cpresentatibcs 22laSl)ington, ЭС 20515-2002 November 15, 1996 The Honorable Newt Gingrich Speaker of the House of Representatives H232, U. S. Capitol Washington, D. C. 205 1 5 Dear Speaker Gingrich: The purpose of this letter is to request an appointment to the House Commerce Committee. Over the past two years, I have had the privilege of working with you on a number of important issues. As you recall, your personal intervention preserved Baltimore’s status as a “home port area” of the U. S. Navy — an issue important to a large ship repair contractor in my district. I believe that I have established a reputation as a hard-working, thoughtful legislator consistently supportive of leadership. Moreover, I have remained steadfast in my loyalty to you. My appointment to the Commerce Committee would be an asset to leadership and the party. I make this request for two reasons. First, I am a seasoned legislator familiar with many of the issues handled by the committee. Prior to my election to Congress, I served eight years in the Maryland House of Delegates, where I earned a reputation as a solid fiscal conservative, a consensus builder, and a foe of unnecessary regulations. Additionally, I practiced corporate law at the Baltimore firm of Ober, Kaler, Grimes, & Shriver for 12 years. During that time, I acquired an expertise in securities and hazardous waste litigation. As a member of the Banking Committee, I have developed knowledge of financial issues and, for unrelated reasons, knowledge of telecommunications and health care industry issues. This expertise will serve me well as a member of the Commerce Committee. Second, this assignment would bolster me politically in Maryland, one of the most liberal jurisdictions in the nation. From the moment I took office in 1994, Governor Parris N. Glendening; Senators Barbara Mikulski and Paul Sarbanes; and Congressman Steny Hoyer actively worked to defeat me. The candidate they fielded had strong ties to organized labor; she raised more union РАС money than any challenger in the country. Despite my victory, the liberal Democratic elite in Maryland will continue to work against me in the future. Serving on the Commerce Committee will allow me to access the kind of fundraising base I need to effectively deter future challenges.