NC League of Conservation Voters scores state delegation; McHenry near bottom

Here’s the press release from the NC League of Conservation Voters:

RALEIGH, NC –NC League of Conservation Voters today unveiled scores for the North Carolina delegation released this morning as part of the national League of Conservation Voters 2012 National Environmental Scorecard. The Scorecard reflects the U.S. Senate’s work in defending against the U.S. House of Representatives’ unprecedented assault on our nation’s environmental and public health safeguards during the second session of the 112th Congress, a time when extreme weather events fueled by climate change were becoming all too common across the country.

“In the face of unprecedented attacks from corporate polluters and their allies in Congress, environmental allies like Representatives David Price and Brad Miller stood up for our values and put North Carolinians first,” said Dan Crawford, NCLCV director of governmental relations. “While Americans were seeing the historic impacts of extreme weather right outside their window, members like Representatives Howard Coble and Patrick McHenry continued to put the needs of special interests first.”

The 2012 Scorecard includes 14 Senate votes and, for the second consecutive year, a record 35 House votes, on issues ranging from public health protections to clean energy to land and wildlife conservation. These votes came at a time when much of the country experienced extreme weather fueled by climate change, including heat waves, severe drought and the devastating impacts of Hurricane Sandy. Fortunately, President Obama has defended against many of the House’s attacks and worked to make progress on critical issues like climate change through administrative action.

In North Carolina, 3 delegates earned a score of 90 percent or greater on the 2012 Scorecard, while 5 earned an abysmal score of 10 percent or less. The average House score in 2012 for NC was 40 percent and the average Senate score was 47 percent.

“The U.S. House of Representatives sided with Big Oil and corporate polluters time and time again in 2012, cementing its status as the most anti-environmental House in our nation’s history,” said LCV President Gene Karpinski. “The best that can be said about this session of the 112th Congress is that it’s over.”

North Carolina’s Congressional Delegation 2012:

Sen. Richard Burr, 14%
Sen. Kay Hagan, 79%
Rep. G.K. Butterfield, 89%
Rep. Renee Ellmers, 9%
Rep. Walter Jones, 23%
Rep. David Price, 97%
Rep. Virginia Foxx, 9%
Rep. Howard Coble, 6%
Rep. Mike McIntyre 26%
Rep. Larry Kissell, 23%
Rep. Sue Myrick, 3%
Rep. Patrick McHenry, 6%
Rep. Heath Shuler, 43%
Rep. Mel Watt, 91%
Rep. Brad Miller, 94%

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. LCV has released a new interactive National Environmental Scorecard this year, which allows users to easily see how every member of Congress voted since the launch of LCV’s first Scorecard in 1971. It can be found online at http://scorecard.lcv.org/.