League of Conservation Voters Releases National Scorecard for Michigan Delegation
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Today, Michigan LCV released the Michigan delegation’s scores on the League of Conservation Voters’ 2021 National Environmental Scorecard highlighting how some members chose to champion the environment and protect our democracy, while others failed to do so. The Scorecard is the primary yardstick for evaluating the environmental records of members of Congress since 1970 and is available for download here, in Spanish here, and online at scorecard.lcv.org.
“We are proud to have several environmental champions that fight for our future and our way of life in Michigan,” said Bentley Johnson, federal government affairs director for the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. “We have nine Congressional members who have fought against threats to our air, land and water at every turn, but unfortunately, we have many other members of Michigan’s delegation who have sided with corporate polluters rather than the people of Michigan. Our scorecard provides a clear, impartial way for Michiganders to understand what side their lawmaker falls on. It is a tool to hold our elected leaders accountable.”
In the past 50 years, LCV has never felt it necessary to score the basic votes that uphold our country’s peaceful transfer of power and electoral outcomes. This year was different. With the unprecedented January 6th insurrection and so many attacks by some Republican members of Congress on the fundamental tenets of our country’s governance, LCV scored these votes, in both chambers. Specifically, Michigan Representatives Jack Bergman, Lisa McClain, and Tim Walberg were the three Michigan members of Congress who voted to disallow presidential electors and effectively overturn certified election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania.
“While 2021 was an incredibly difficult year for our democracy and our climate, it was a sea change from the Trump presidency,” said LCV Senior Director of Government Affairs Matthew Davis. “Our pro-environment, pro-democracy trifecta made strides toward an equitable clean energy future in 2021. Michigan has clear champions for our environment and democracy and others who are not delivering for their communities at a critical time. We see the last year as the foundation for accomplishing the transformational change we need in 2022. The Biden-Harris administration took bold steps towards tackling the interwoven climate and racial justice crises, the House passed the Build Back Better Act and democracy reforms, and now it’s up to the Senate to pass the transformational investments needed to combat the climate crisis and protect our democracy.”
The 2021 Scorecard includes 22 House votes, half of which were justice and democracy-related votes such as the vitally important voting rights bills. The 34 Senate votes include six justice and democracy votes. This reflects the need to safeguard the fundamentals of our governance from numerous federal judiciary and state and local policy attacks on our democracy and voting rights which primarily target people of color.
The full delegation’s scores for 2021 are:
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D) – 100 percent
Senator Gary Peters (D) – 100 percent
Representative Debbie Dingell (D) – 100 percent
Representative Dan Kildee (D) – 100 percent
Representative Brenda Lawrence (D) – 100 percent
Representative Andy Levin (D) – 100 percent
Representative Elissa Slotkin (D) – 100 percent
Representative Haley Stevens (D) – 100 percent
Representative Rashida Tlaib (D) – 95 percent
Representative Fred Upton (R) – 48 percent
Representative Peter Meijer (R) – 43 percent
Representative Bill Huizenga (R) – 30 percent
Representative John Moolenaar (R) – 22 percent
Representative Tim Walberg (R) – 13 percent
Representative Jack Bergman (R) – 9 percent
Representative Lisa McClain (R) – 9 percent