FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 23, 2017
Contact: Lauren Hierl, Vermont Conservation Voters, lhierl@vermontconservationvoters.org
Vermont Conservation Voters Announces Federal Delegation Scores from LCV’s 2016 National Environmental Scorecard
Vermont delegation once again among the greenest in the country, beating back ongoing assaults on safeguards for air, water, climate, and public health
Montpelier, Vermont – Vermont Conservation Voters today unveiled scores for Vermont’s delegation as part of the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) 2016 National Environmental Scorecard released this morning. The Scorecard includes 17 Senate votes and 38 House votes, setting a new record for the most votes scored in the House. This reflects that, under Speaker Paul Ryan, the U.S. House remains the most anti-environmental Congress in history. The Scorecard is available at scorecard.lcv.org.
“Once again, too many members of Congress were complicit in extreme attacks on many of our cornerstone environmental laws that protect our air, water, wildlife and public lands, and public health,” said Lauren Hierl, Political Director for Vermont Conservation Voters. “Fortunately, Vermont’s Congressional delegation consistently opposed these polluter-driven attacks, fighting for the health of Vermonters, our environment, and our future.”
“In light of the ongoing environmental assault taking placing in Washington, Vermont is fortunate to have such strong congressional leadership. Senator Leahy received a perfect environmental score of 100 percent and Congressman Welch received a 97 percent,” Hierl stated.
While Senator Sanders missed a number of votes this year due to his run for President, he maintains a lifetime environmental voting record of 91 percent. According to Hierl, “While on the campaign trail Senator Sanders’ demonstrated his strong leadership on environmental and climate issues as he repeatedly called attention to the urgent need for action on climate change and our right to a clean, healthy environment at events across the country.”
The 2016 Scorecard scores votes cast during the second session of the 114th Congress. While the Republican-led House set a new record for attacks on our natural resources, the votes fell along partisan lines. The average House Republican score for 2016 was five percent, while the average House Democrat score was ninety-four percent.
“The 2016 Scorecard is being released at a time when our air, water and land are under assault from both the Trump administration and the Republican-led Congress. While the attacks highlighted in the 2016 Scorecard were largely prevented from becoming law thanks to opposition in the Senate and President Obama’s veto pen, polluters now have an ally in the White House who can be expected to sign anti-environmental legislation and undo progress made during the Obama Administration on safeguarding our environment,” Hierl explained.
For example, both houses of Congress have already passed a resolution eliminating the Stream Protection Rule, and the House has passed a similar measure voiding the Bureau of Land Management’s Methane and Waste Reduction Rule—both of which are the subject of votes in the 2016 Scorecard.
“We’re grateful for the environmental leadership of Congressman Welch and Senators Leahy and Sanders. Their continued service to the country and the state of Vermont is critical as we face a Trump administration and Republican-led congress that is aggressively working to dismantle protections for our air, water, climate and public health,” added Hierl.
“In the final year of the Obama administration, the Republican leadership in Congress continued its relentless assault on both bedrock environmental protections and recent progress even as we experienced the hottest year on record – for the third year in a row – and world leaders came together on Earth Day to sign the historic climate agreement reached in Paris,” said LCV President Gene Karpinski. “Fortunately, President Obama and our allies in Congress beat back the vast majority of these attacks and stood up for the health of our families, communities of color on the frontlines of climate change, and the international consensus to take action on climate.”
For over 40 years, the National Environmental Scorecard issued by LCV has been the nationally accepted yardstick used to rate members of Congress on environmental, public health, and energy issues. For more information, visit http://scorecard.lcv.org.
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