No Holding Back in Ohio Contest to Write New Law
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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Northeastern Ohio residents who think “there ought to be a law” have a congressman willing to listen.
Rep. Dennis E. Eckart says he has received nearly 2,000 letters since he announced a contest among his constituents for the best suggestions for new federal laws.
Suggestions so far range from lengthening the term of office for the President to taking away the President’s power to spend money on covert arms deals with foreign governments, an outgrowth of the Iran-Contra investigation, the Democrat said.
Eckart announced his contest in a December newsletter to constituents in Ohio’s 11th District, in the northeast corner of the state.
“The office is overwhelmed . . . . We’re getting hundreds of responses in, from little kids . . . right up to adults with sophisticated ideas,” he said.
Contest rules specify that suggestions be written in 100 words or less and “relate to a federal issue that I can do something about.”
Initially, Eckart said, he planned to name two winners: one among adult writers and the other among teen-agers and children. But he is considering increasing the number of winners because of the volume of entries. Each winner will receive a $50 U.S. Savings Bond.
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