NCLCV Announces Delegation Scores from LCV 2019 Environmental Scorecard

Tillis, Burr, most of House delegation continue sub-10% lifetime LCV scores

RALEIGH, N.C.— Today, the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters (NCLCV) released the state delegation’s scores on the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) 2019 National Environmental Scorecard. The Scorecard is the primary yardstick for evaluating the environmental records of every member of Congress. You can download the full scorecard here (PDF), dig deeper into the North Carolina delegation’s scores here, or see the full interactive 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 and senators to fight for us. Thankfully, we can count on Representatives Adams, Butterfield, and Price, who have pushed back against Trump’s regulatory rollbacks. But we’re more determined than ever before to hold members of Congress accountable for putting polluters ahead of our families, who expect better going forward.”

The 2019 Scorecard measures votes cast during the first session of the 116th Congress. In North Carolina, only three members of the delegation earned a score of even 30 percent or greater, while seven House members earned an abysmal score of 10 percent or less. The average House score for the delegation was 28 percent, skewed heavily by the near-perfect scores of the three Democrats. Aside from those three, the highest lifetime score is 14 percent, from a member who has only a few votes under his belt. The rest have scored 9 percent or lower. The full delegation’s 2019 and lifetime scores are:

Burr and Tillis both voted to confirm Andrew Wheeler as EPA Administrator and David Bernhardt as Secretary of the Interior. The two agency chiefs have proven true the concerns they would do the bidding of their former fossil fuel lobbying clients, and they have accelerated Trump’s rollbacks of common-sense public health protections. Tillis and Burr also voted against a resolution to overturn Trump’s Dirty Power Scam, which would do “nothing to fight climate change or protect communities from toxic pollution, and … could lead to more pollution in many parts of the country than if there were no standard at all.”

“We are grateful to Speaker Pelosi and her pro-environment majority for prioritizing climate action and protections of our air, water, lands, wildlife, and democracy,” said LCV Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld. “While pro-environment leaders supported policies that will protect communities across the country, especially low-income communities and communities of color, from the negative impacts of climate change-fueled extreme heat, natural disasters, and toxic pollution last year, Senate Majority Leader McConnell’s refusal to act on hundreds of important House-passed bills put the health of our children and families at risk for the benefit of his corporate polluter friends.”

The 2019 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.