Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. statement, June 18, 1996

с NEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland 1 407 York Road, Suite 304 Lutherville, Maryland 21093 RELEASE: June 18, 1996 315 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 CONTACT: Richard Cross 202-225-3061 STATEMENT BY CONGRESSMAN ROBERT L. EHRLICH, JR. REGARDING MARYPIRG “SCORECARD” “MaryPIRG’s 1996 congressional scorecard is an ideologically charged, ‘spin-oriented’ document. Rather than objectively assess the voting records of individual members of Congress, the scorecard subjectively mischaracterizes a handful of important bills voted upon by the 104th Congress. “For example, the scorecard refers to H. R. 956 as ‘product safety rollback’ legislation. This is a highly slanted and misleading portrayal of a complicated piece of legislation. “What H. R. 956-the Common Sense Legal Standards Reform Act -really does is limit the circumstances under which economically-crippling lawsuits can be brought against product manufacturers. Additionally, it limits punitive damage awards which may be levied against small businesses or individuals with a net worth of less than $500,000. By opposing H. R. 956, MaryPIRG has demonstrated that it is more interested in protecting the interests of the nation’s wealthiest trial lawyers than in safeguarding the public interest. “MaryPIRG praises my vote against the controversial Clean Water reauthorization bill as well as my three votes to delete from an appropriations bill 17 legislative provisions unilaterally restricting EPA’s ability to enforce environmental laws and regulations. I opposed these efforts because I believed they would harm Maryland’s greatest public resource-- the Chesapeake Bay.