Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. letter to the editor of the Baltimore Sun, September 21, 2000

ROBERT L. EHRLICH, JR. 2o District, Maryland 315 Cannon House Office Builoing COMMERCE COMMITTEE ASSISTANT DEPUTY MAJORITY WHIP Congress of tf)t fHniteb States Mfauec of ЗЯЕргЕвЕШаШЕй MtaWmton, B£ 20515-2002 September 21, 2000 Letters to the Editor Baltimore Sun 501 N. Charles Street P.O. Box 1377 Baltimore, MD 21278 Dear Editor: I applaud the Sun for its September 20 editorial, “Unionizing a costly bridge.” Dundalk. MD 21222 The Woodrow Wilson Bridge, which links Maryland to Virginia over the Potomac River, is in dire need of repair. Maryland, Virginia, and the federal government agreed upon a new bridge design and the sharing of its $2 billion cost. The federal government has already set aside $900 million, and both states have agreed to pay $200 million a piece. With a funding shortfall of $600 million, we all need assurances that the project will stay on-time and on-budget. Like you, I expect the work to be put out to competitive bid. The Governor’s plans to restrict competition to union-only companies would exclude 85% of Maryland contractors, including most minority contractors. It would prevent a fair and open bidding process and leave the Woodrow Wilson Bridge susceptible to delays and cost overruns. I trust he will not put political paybacks ahead of taxpayers and, more importantly, the safety of Maryland drivers. Шт Robert L. Ehrlich, j Congressman from Maryland’s Second Congressional District