N.C. League of Conservation Voters releases environmental scorecard

Press release from the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters:

Today, the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters (NCLCV) released the state delegation’s scores on the League of Conservation Voters’ 2018 National Environmental Scorecard. The Scorecard is the primary yardstick for evaluating the environmental records of every member of Congress. You can dig deeper into the North Carolina delegation’s scores here or see the full national scorecard at scorecard.lcv.org.

“As the Trump administration continues its assault on our most important environmental protections, Senators Burr and Tillis and most of our House delegation refuse to stand up for North Carolinians’ rights to clean air and clean water. And as climate change leaves many North Carolinians under water, and GenX, coal ash, and hog waste infest our drinking water, most of our members are doing nothing to protect our basic health and quality of life,” said NCLCV Executive Director Carrie Clark. “Instead of rubber-stamping a polluter agenda, we need our representatives in Congress to fight for us. Thankfully, we can count on Representatives Butterfield, Price, and Adams to push back against Trump’s regulatory rollbacks with their newfound power in the House. We’re more determined than ever before to hold members of Congress accountable for putting polluters ahead of our families.”

The 2018 Scorecard measures votes cast during the second session of the 115th Congress. In North Carolina, only three House members earned a score of 80 percent or greater, while nine House members and Senator Tillis earned an abysmal score of 10 percent or less. The average House score for the delegation was 24 percent, skewed heavily by the near perfect scores of the three Democrats. The full delegation’s 2018 and lifetime scores are:

MEMBER	2018	LIFETIME
Sen. Richard Burr	14	8
Sen. Thom Tillis	7	7
Rep. G.K. Butterfield	91	89
Rep. George Holding	3	1
Rep. Walter Jones	14	22
Rep. David Price	94	91
Rep. Virginia Foxx	3	3
Rep. Mark Walker	0	0
Rep. David Rouzer	3	1
Rep. Richard Hudson	0	1
Rep. Robert Pittenger	0	1
Rep. Patrick McHenry	9	3
Rep. Mark Meadows	0	1
Rep. Alma Adams	94	98
Rep. Ted Budd	3	1

Burr and Tillis both voted to confirm Andrew Wheeler as EPA Deputy Administrator. Following Scott Pruitt’s resignation, Wheeler’s nomination for EPA Administrator will be on the Senate floor soon. NCLCV will be watching to see if the senators have listened to North Carolinians who are concerned that the former fossil fuel lobbyist is working to pad his clients’ pockets instead of protecting the people. Wheeler is actively rolling back longstanding rules which safeguard the air we breathe and water we drink, and is slow-rolling efforts to set standards for the family of toxic chemicals which include GenX.

NCLCV will also closely follow an impending Senate vote on David Bernhardt’s nomination to lead the Department of the Interior. Bernhardt is a former oil lobbyist whose responsibilities include deciding whether North Carolina’s coast will be open for oil drilling. NCLCV and a majority of North Carolinians oppose drilling off our coast because it could destroy our valuable coastal tourism and fishing economies and our fragile ecosystem. So far, Tillis and Burr are both on record as favoring offshore drilling.

“After eight years of the most anti-environmental U.S. House ever and two years of relentless attacks on the environment from the Trump administration, the tectonic shift to a pro-environment majority in the people’s House comes not a moment too soon. We could not be more excited to work with the new pro-environment House majority to protect our air, water, lands, and wildlife, combat the climate crisis, and hold the Trump administration accountable,” said LCV Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld.

The 2018 Scorecard includes 35 House votes that span the chamber’s assaults on clean air and water, lands and wildlife protections, investments in clean energy, and so much more. In the Senate, the majority of the 14 votes scored are confirmation votes on Trump’s anti-environmental nominees.

LCV has published a National Environmental Scorecard every Congress since 1970. The Scorecard represents the consensus of experts from about 20 respected environmental and conservation organizations who selected the key votes on which members of Congress should be scored. LCV scores votes on the most important issues of the year, including energy, climate change, public health, public lands and wildlife conservation, and spending for environmental programs. The votes included in the Scorecard presented members of Congress with a real choice, and help distinguish which legislators are working for environmental protection. More information on individual votes and the Scorecard archive can be found at scorecard.lcv.org.