In a year when Maine communities were dealt costly storm damage, flooding, and record-breaking extreme temperatures, Mainers should be proud to have environmental leaders like Sen. Angus King and Rep. Chellie Pingree representing them in Washington. They both consistently stood up to big polluters and attacks on the environment.
Unfortunately, Rep. Golden’s score continued to drop this year. Working together, we must encourage him to do more to secure a healthy environment and protect the clean air and water that sustains us.
Finally, Sen. Susan Collins, who received a score of 0% on the Scorecard, failed to stand up for Maine values, supporting attacks on our democracy and environmental protections and an agenda that catered to Big Polluters and corporate interests.
This year, the 2024 Scorecard includes eight Senate votes, half of which were confirmations of qualified, diverse judges and other nominees and half were attacks on environmental protections. In the House, LCV scored 33 votes,14 of which were poison pill policy amendments on government funding bills or the extreme underlying bills themselves, two of which were using or further weaponizing the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to block environmental safeguards, and the rest undermined programs and laws that advance a safe climate, environment, and democracy.
LCV has published a National Environmental Scorecard every Congress since 1970. The Scorecard represents the consensus of experts from more than 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, environmental justice, public health, public lands and wildlife conservation, democracy, 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.
There’s never been a more important moment to keep holding our elected officials accountable and fighting to secure a healthy environment!
