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C. A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2003R
Preceded by	Robert Ehrlich
Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Peter Hoekstra
Personal details
Born	(1946-01-31) January 31, 1946 (age 78) Baltimore, Maryland
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Kay Ruppersberger
Children	Cory Ruppersberger Jill Ruppersberger
Residence	Cockeysville, Maryland
Alma mater	University of Maryland, College Park, University of Baltimore
Occupation	attorney

Charles Albert "Dutch" Ruppersberger III (born January 31, 1946) is the U.S. Representative for Maryland's 2nd congressional district, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

The district covers parts of Baltimore County, Anne Arundel County, Harford County and Baltimore City, including Dundalk, Towson and Severn.

His 2nd Congressional District was fashioned in 2001 after the last census by Maryland Democrats, who enjoy the political upper hand in the Free State, and pays little heed to counties and communities. It was designed to dilute Republican votes by dispersing them among districts. … The Washington Post describes MD-2 as “curlicue territories strung together by impossibly delicate tendrils of land — is a crazy-quilt confection drawn for the express purpose of ousting the incumbent at the time, Rep. (and later Gov.) Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a Republican, and installing C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, a Democrat who still holds the job.”

Early life, education and career

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Ruppersberger attended Baltimore City College and the University of Maryland, College Park, where he played varsity lacrosse. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore School of Law.

In 1975, Ruppersberger was involved in a near-fatal car accident while investigating a drug trafficking case. He currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Visitors at the University of Maryland hospital where he was treated.

Ruppersberger began his career as a Baltimore County Assistant State's Attorney. He was soon promoted to the Chief of the State's Attorney Office Investigative Division, pursuing organized crime, political corruption, and drug trafficking. He was elected to the Baltimore County Council in 1985 and was twice chosen as council chairman.

In December 1994 and again in 1998, Ruppersberger was elected Baltimore County Executive.

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
  • Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
• Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (Ranking Member)

Party leadership

• Assistant Whip

Ruppersberger was the first Democratic freshman ever to be appointed to the House Select Committee on Intelligence.

Ruppersberger founded the "Operation Hero Miles" program, which encourages people to donate unused frequent flyer miles to U.S. armed forces personnel and families. As the ranking Democratic member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Ruppersberger is a member of the Gang of Eight, a group of the Congressional leaders whom the President is required to keep informed about national intelligence activities.

Philippines visit

On August 25, 2007, Ruppersberger joined Rep. Silvestre Reyes, chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Armed Services Committee, and four other members of Congress visited American troops deployed in the southern Philippines to overview the US-Philippines relationship. They drove to the base of the Joint Special Operation Task Force Philippines (JSOTFP), a US-led body, which trains Filipino soldiers against terror, in Barangay Upper Calarian.

Political campaigns

Barred from a third term as County Executive, Ruppersberger opted to run for Congress in 2002 after 2nd District Congressman Bob Ehrlich made what turned out to be a successful run for governor. The Maryland General Assembly significantly altered the 2nd by shifting most of its share of Harford County to the 1st and 6th Districts. In its place, the legislature added a heavily Democratic portion of Baltimore City that had previously been in the 1st District. This turned the 2nd from a swing district into a strongly Democratic district. It was an open secret that the district was drawn for Ruppersberger; local media called the new district "the Dutch district." He defeated Republican opponent Helen Delich Bentley, who had represented the 2nd district from 1985 to 1995, with 55 percent of the vote. Ruppersberger has never faced another contest even that close, and has been reelected four times.

Electoral history

Personal life

Ruppersberger married in 1971 and has two grown children, Cory and Jill.

References

• Official Congressional biography of Ruppersberger

• United States Congress. "Dutch Ruppersberger (id: R000576)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Congressional Quarterly Voting and Elections Collection.
• Maryland Archives, Baltimore County elections, 1998

1. Maryland Democrats redraw the congressional district map - (Editorial Board Opinion) By Editorial, Published: August 20 (http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/maryland-democrats-redraw-the-congressional-district-map/2011/08/16/gIQATbwfSJ_story.html )
2. "Ruppersberger Receives Medal For 'Operation Hero Miles'". WBAL-TV. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
3. Inquirer.net, US congressmen visit troops in Mindanao

External links

• Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger official U.S. House site
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Profile at SourceWatch

Template:Persondata

• 1946 births
• Baltimore County Executives
• Living people
• Members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland
• American Methodists
• University of Baltimore School of Law alumni
• Maryland Terrapins men's lacrosse players
• Baltimore City College alumni
• Maryland Democrats