Press Release
February 17, 2010
Contact: Kate Geller, (202) 454-4573 or [email protected]
Jenesse Miller, (510) 844-0235 or [email protected]
California League of Conservation Voters Announces State Delegation’s Scores from League of Conservation Voters’ 2010 National Environmental Scorecard
***Full Scorecard available from the national League of Conservation Voters (LCV) at www.lcv.org/scorecard***
February 17, 2011 (Oakland, Calif. ) – Today, the California League of Conservation Voters joined the national League of Conservation Voters in releasing the 2010National Environmental Scorecard, revealing scores for the California delegation in the second session of the 111th Congress. The 2010 Scorecard was released amidst the greatest attack on the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget in 30 years and current assaults on the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and wildlife protections in Congress.
“We applaud those members of the California delegation—like Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein and 15 members of the House—who earned perfect scores in 2010 by fighting to protect public health and the environment and reduce our nation’s dangerous dependence on oil,” said CLCV CEO Warner Chabot. “Our partners at the national League have also exposed Congressman Darrell Issa and his fellow members of the House who demonstrate through their dismal scores that they’re willing to put corporate polluters and other special interests ahead of the health and well-being of Californians.”
The 2010 Scorecard includes 6 Senate and 9 House votes on issues ranging from clean energy to public health protections to wildlife conservation. Given the disastrous impact of the resolution offered by Senator Murkowski (R-AK), LCV double scored the vote on her bill, which would have blocked the Environmental Protection Agency from moving forward with commonsense steps to reduce dangerous carbon pollution.
Additionally, LCV took the unusual step of scoring co-sponsorship of Dirty Air Act legislation in the House. These steps bring the Senate total to 7 votes and the House total to 10 votes. In California, 15 House members and both Senators Boxer and Feinstein earned a perfect 100 percent score in 2010, while 15 House members earned an abysmal 0 percent.
Among those who voted against the environment each and every time was Congressman Darrell Issa, who recently sent letters to over 150 trade associations and companies asking them for suggestions of which Obama administration regulations he should target as chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Environmental regulations and specifically the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emerged as a major target of these groups, and therefore, of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. On February 10, the committee spent several hours hearing testimony slamming EPA rules protecting the environment.
“Unfortunately, the most important votes of 2010 are the ones that didn’t happen: the Senate failed to even begin debate on a comprehensive clean energy and climate bill and also failed to respond to the greatest environmental disaster in our nation’s history — the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico,” said LCV President Gene Karpinski. “The 2010 National Environmental Scorecard clearly illustrates that there is much work to be done, and LCV will be there at every step of the way in 2011 and beyond, working to protect the environment and public health while transitioning our nation to a clean energy economy.”
For 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. The full 2010National Environmental Scorecard can be found at www.lcv.org/scorecard
CLCV’s 2010 California Environmental Scorecard, which was released last week and scores the governor and members of the state Assembly and Senate, can be found at http://www.ecovote.org/scorecard.
ABOUT CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL VOTERS
California Environmental Voters (formerly the California League of Conservation Voters) believes the climate crisis is here and this moment requires transformative change. California has the policy solutions to stop climate change but lacks the political will to do it at the rate and scale that’s necessary. EnviroVoters exists to build the political power to solve the climate crisis, advance justice, and create a roadmap for global action. We organize voters, elect and train candidates, and hold lawmakers accountable for bold policy change. We won’t stop until we have resilient, healthy, thriving communities, and a democracy and economy that is just and sustainable for all. Join us at www.envirovoters.org and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. See more press releases.
