Congress
Gejdenson won a seat in the United States House of Representatives in November 1980. During his tenure,there was strong disagreement whether or not Gejdenson was a strong advocate for the submarine manufacturer and submarine base located in his congressional district. Twice Gejdenson was offered a seat on the Armed Services Committee,but declined it. Gejdenson's supporters claimed the congressman didn't need to be on the committee to be effective.
Gejdenson served as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the House Interior Committee (now House Resources Committee). In that capacity,he conducted oversight over the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Beginning in 1989,Gejdenson assumed the Chairmanship of the Subcommittee on International Economic Policy and Trade of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (now International Relations Committee).
Gejdenson focused his subcommittee's work on promoting American exports and streamlining export controls to facilitate high-tech exports. In 1999,Gejdenson became the ranking Democratic member of the full International Relations Committee,where he was a key player in writing legislation cracking down on international human trafficking and to authorize the activities of the State Department.
During his tenure,Gejdenson had a number of very close campaigns for re-election,only crossing the 60 percent mark three times. In 1992,state Senator Edward Munster held Gejdenson to 50 percent of the vote. In 1994,as the Democrats lost control of the House of Representatives,a Gejdenson–Munster rematch produced only a 21-vote victory for Gejdenson. [1] Munster formally challenged the results,which were upheld by the Republican-controlled House Government Reform and Oversight Committee by a vote of 2-1. [2] Munster challenged Gejdenson a third time in 1996,this time coming up six percentage points short.
