The Honorable Thomas J. Bliley, Jr.
Chairman
Committee on Commerce
2125 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Joe Barton
Chairman
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
2125 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Tom and Joe:

We have been informed that the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee is planning to hold a hearing in or near Mr. Bilbray's district in San Diego, California on Wednesday, October 9, 1996. We understand that this hearing has been called ostensibly to discuss cross-border pollution.

We object to this hearing. To the best of our knowledge, the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee has never held a field hearing less than four weeks before a national election. Moreover, Mr. Bilbray is not even a member of the Subcommittee. And the political nature of the exercise is even more glaring here where the Member is facing an uphill race and seeking rehabilitation of his sorry environmental record.

If the two of you wish to make contributions to Mr. Bilbray's campaign, there are certainly legal ways for you to do so. But the Nation's taxpayers should not be pressed into Mr. Bilbray's service. The planned hearing will undoubtedly be in large measure a campaign infomercial for Mr. Bilbray, not an appropriate use of public funds. For that reason, we ask that the hearing be cancelled. Should the hearing go forward, with all of its attendant expenses, the Democratic Members and staff will not contribute to this wasteful spending by participating in this political event.

Sincerely,

JOHN D. DINGELL
RANKING MEMBER
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE

RON KLINK
RANKING MEMBER
SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS

cc: The Honorable Brian P. Bilbray

Back to What's New!
Back to the Public Record Home Page