Politics
Florio made his political career in opposition to the allegedly corrupt Democratic Party machine that prevailed in those days in Camden County, that was headed by Angelo Errichetti. His opposition to this pervasive corruption around him has been suggested as the cause for Florio's comparatively (for a politician) go-it-alone attitude, which would later help to undermine his popularity as Governor.
In 1970, Florio was elected to the first of two terms he would serve in the New Jersey General Assembly, from 1970 to 1974. In 1974, Florio was elected to the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey's 1st congressional district, and served from January 3, 1975 until January 16, 1990.
In Congress, he was best known as the author of the Superfund legislation to clean up the most polluted sites in the country. He was also cosponsor of the Exon-Florio Amendment, which created the Treasury Department's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and effectively removed Congress from the approval process on foreign takeovers of US industrial concerns. This legislation was a factor in the Dubai Ports World controversy in 2006.
Read more about this topic: James Florio
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