After a hard fought campaign during the spring and summer of 2002, Dutch Ruppersberger was elected to the United States Congress.

On January 7, 2003 Mr. Ruppersberger took his place in the 108th Congress becoming just the second Baltimore County Executive to ever serve on Capitol Hill.

During his 17 years as an elected official, Mr. Ruppersberger has made the priorities of Maryland's working families his own, relentlessly fighting for issues that affect the lives of all the state's citizens: education, the environment, public safety and job creation.

Under his leadership, Baltimore County was named as one the nation's four best-managed counties by Governing Magazine in 2001 and is still today only one of 19 counties that has received a triple-A bond rating from all three of the country's bond rating agencies.

Mr. Ruppersberger began his first term as County Executive in December 1994 and was elected again in 1998. Prior to serving as County Executive, he served nine years on the Baltimore County Council and was twice elected as council chairman.

The future Congressman began his career in public service as a Baltimore County Assistant State's Attorney. Once there, it didn't take long for a promotion to Chief of the State's Attorney Office Investigative Division, pursuing organized crime, political corruption, and drug trafficking.

Rep. Ruppersberger's political career began after a near-fatal car accident in 1975 while investigating a drug trafficking case. With luck and the dedication of doctors at the University of Maryland's Shock Trauma center, he survived. After recovering, the young State's Attorney decided to run for public office to help others and to repay Shock Trauma for saving his life. Today, he remains an active supporter of the hospital, serving as Vice Chairman of the hospital's Board of Visitors.

Once elected to the House of Representatives, Congressman Ruppersberger used those same leadership skills to help steer the direction of the freshman class. He was asked to second the nomination of the Nancy Pelosi who would become Democratic Minority Leader and was quickly appointed to the Democratic Steering Committee as freshman class representative.

The Congressman has since parlayed the skills he learned as a prosecutor into a seat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence where he helps to oversee the nation's activities related to one of his top priorities, Homeland Security.

Rep. Ruppersberger also serves on the House Committee on Government Reform. This committee is the main investigative committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. It has jurisdiction to investigate any federal program and any matter with federal policy implications.

A native of Baltimore City, Rep. Ruppersberger spent his summers as a lifeguard in Ocean City. He attended Baltimore City College and the University of Maryland at College Park, where he played varsity lacrosse. He earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Baltimore Law School.

The Congressman has been married for 34 years to his high school sweetheart, the former Kay Murphy. Together they have two grown children, Corey and Jill.

Rep. C. A. Ruppersberger's Official Website

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There is only enough breathing equipment for one-third of the firefighters on shift. (Council on Foreign Relations)