The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) praised the efforts of the White House and Congress with the release of its 2009 National Environmental Scorecard on Tuesday.
The scorecard rates members of Congress on environmental, public health and energy issues.
“The 2009 National Environmental Scorecard illustrates the extent to which the Obama administration and the 111th Congress began to move our nation towards a clean energy future that will create new jobs, make America more energy independent and curb global warming pollution,” said LCV President Gene Karpinski. “The successes of the first session of the 111th Congress, including passage of comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation in the U.S. House, clearly demonstrated a down payment on the change that voters sought in 2008.”
The six new senators endorsed by LCV in 2008 earned a perfect 100% in 2009. In sharp contrast, the six senators they replaced had an average lifetime score of 23%. In the House, the 22 LCV-endorsed members of the class of 2008 earned an average score of 90% in 2009, whereas the members they replaced had an average lifetime score of 34%. This year, 51 senators earned a perfect 100% score, more perfect scores than the past three years combined. In the House, there were 140 members who earned a perfect 100% score in 2009, almost three times the average for the past five years.
The 2009 Scorecard includes 11 Senate and 13 House votes dominated by clean energy and climate but also encompassing other environmental issues such as public lands, water and wildlife conservation. This includes the landmark American Clean Energy and Security Act that passed the House in June by a vote of 219-212, which in an extraordinary step has been double-scored in the 2009 Scorecard. It also includes the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the single largest investment in clean energy in history–more than $80 billion for energy efficiency, renewable energy, public transit, high-speed rail and clean energy jobs.
“We applaud those members of the 111th Congress who fought for legislation in 2009 that will revive our economy, improve our national security, and protect the planet,” said LCV Legislative Director Tiernan Sittenfeld. “However, the Scorecard also makes clear that there is still much work to be done, first and foremost to finish the work started in the House by swiftly passing a comprehensive clean energy and climate bill in the Senate.”
LCV released its Presidential Report Card in January, assigning President Obama a solid B+ for his clean energy and global warming accomplishments during his first year in office.
The full 2009 National Environmental Scorecard can be found at the link below.
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