About

Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger ended up in public service by accident – literally. As a young prosecutor in Baltimore County in 1975, Dutch was in a serious car accident that nearly cost him his life. Thanks to the dedication of the doctors, nurses and technicians at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, Dutch survived. When Dutch asked Shock Trauma founder R. Adams Cowley what he could do to repay him, Cowley said, “Run for office so you can help us get the resources we need to continue saving lives.” That’s exactly what Dutch did.

He was elected to the Baltimore County Council in 1985 and again in 1989. Dutch served as Baltimore County Executive from 1994 until 2002. Under his leadership, Baltimore County was named one of the four best-managed counties in the country by Governing Magazine and Dutch created an unprecedented number of new jobs.

In 2002, Dutch was elected to Congress. He is currently serving his eighth term representing Maryland’s Second Congressional District, which includes communities in Baltimore City as well as Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford and Howard Counties. The Second District is home to some of Maryland’s largest employers and economic hubs including the Port of Baltimore, the National Security Agency, Fort Meade, Aberdeen Proving Ground and the Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay.

Dutch was the first Democratic freshman ever to be appointed to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and was honored to be named Ranking Member in 2011. As the senior-most member from the minority party Congressman Ruppersberger is on the elite “Gang of Eight,” privy to the nation’s most sensitive intelligence and military matters. Dutch is committed to ensuring our intelligence agents have the resources they need to keep us safe from all threats, especially terrorism and cyber attacks.

Congressman Ruppersberger is consistently named a “centrist” in National Journal’s annual Congressional ratings, describing him as the “ideological center” of the House of Representatives. He continues to work to bring lawmakers together to get things done on issues that matter most, like creating jobs, reducing government waste and protecting our nation.

Born in Baltimore City, Dutch spent his summers as a lifeguard in Ocean City, Maryland. He attended Baltimore City College and the University of Maryland at College Park, where he played lacrosse. Dutch also played lacrosse for TEAM USA. He earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Baltimore Law School.

The Congressman has been married for 47 years to his high school sweetheart, the former Kay Murphy. Together they have two grown children, Cory and Jill, and three grandchildren, Camden, Parker and Libby.

Never forgetting his roots, Dutch still serves as Vice Chairman of Shock Trauma’s Board of Visitors.