For the US House

FOUR members of the state's all-Democratic delegation to the US House of Representatives have opponents on the November ballot. All four incumbents have compiled worthy records.

Since 1991, John W. Olver has represented the sprawling 1st Congressional District and used his position on the Appropriations Committee to steer grants to the district. Some earmarks are more justifiable than others, but they have helped stabilize the region's economy. Olver's Republican opponent favors drastic tax cuts, including a drop in the corporate rate and repeal of the alternative minimum tax. The Bush tax cuts have left the country with a weakened economy and a record-breaking deficit, so this approach is clearly no panacea. A reliable supporter of health, energy, and education, Olver deserves reelection.

Both praise and aspersions have poured down in recent weeks on 4th District incumbent Barney Frank. The powerful and iconoclastic chair of the House Financial Services Committee showed his toughness in standing up to ludicrous charges that he was somehow central in the nation's recent economic meltdown. It was Frank, in fact, who led the passage of a House bill last year to reform the secondary mortgage market. It bogged down in the Senate. In characteristic fashion, Frank was also a leading voice for protecting low-income families in the debate over bailout legislation. His expertise is needed now more than ever.

In the 6th District, John F. Tierney has come into his own as an advocate for what are sometimes called kitchen-table issues: education, healthcare, pensions, and jobs. In this past term he took a lead role in reauthorizing the higher education act, increasing Pell grants; he set up workforce training programs for green jobs; and extended health and education benefits for veterans. He initially voted against the $700 billion bailout as too much of a blank check, but was wise enough to vote for an improved version when the crisis intensified. He has earned another term.

In the 7th District, longtime Representative Edward J. Markey now looks prescient: If his attempts in the 1990s to regulate derivatives had succeeded, the recent bloodbath on Wall Street might have been avoided. As it stands, Markey has a long record of accomplishment. As chairman of the House's new Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, he spearheaded a successful effort last year to raise fuel economy standards for vehicles. And he pushed through legislation to require drug and medical device companies to make public all clinical studies of their products. Markey, too, deserves another term.