League of Conservation Voters National Scorecard details Michigan congressional voting records
Scorecard highlights lawmakers’ records on clean air, climate change, drinking water protections
LANSING – The League of Conservation Voters today released an analysis of the environmental voting records of Michigan’s congressional delegation in its 2019 National Environmental Scorecard. The national scorecard’s results demonstrate the need for lawmakers to make drinking water quality a top priority in 2020.
“As President Trump’s administration continues to make things worse by rolling back environmental protections and actively putting our health at risk, members of our Michigan delegation are the ultimate backstop in protecting our Great Lakes, drinking water, and families,” said Lisa Wozniak, executive director of the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. “Michigan has representatives in Congress who fight relentlessly for Michigan’s communities and water — and it shows up in our national Scorecard. We saw tremendous bi-partisan action to save the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative three different times when President Trump tried over-and-over to obliterate it. Many in our delegation are leading Congress in tackling toxic PFAS chemicals in our water — all in the face of opposition from the White House.”
The 2019 Scorecard measures votes cast during the first session of the 116th Congress. Below are highlights from the Michigan delegation’s scores:
- Sen. Peters – 100%
- Rep. Levin – 100%
- Rep. Slotkin – 97%
- Rep. Stevens – 93%
- Rep. Dingell – 97%
- Rep. Kildee – 97%
- Rep. Laurence – 90%
“When Congress fails to protect our fundamental rights to clean air and safe drinking water, our communities are the ones most impacted,” said National Director of LCV’s Chispa program, Johana Vicente. “We are incredibly thankful for the environmental champions in both chambers of Congress who stood up and fought for us in 2019. We will not forget the senators who voted against the health of our families when they sided with President Trump and polluters time and again.”
The 2019 Scorecard includes 29 House votes on climate related bills, protections for our air, water, lands, and wildlife, and pro-democracy legislation. In the Senate, for the third year in a row, the majority of the 14 scored votes are confirmation votes on President Trump’s anti-environmental nominees.
LCV has published a National Environmental Scorecard for 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.
Last year, Michigan LCV launched its first-ever digital accountability suite that tracks lawmakers in the State Legislature as well as the Governor and Attorney General. The interactive tool gives citizens easy, one-click access to all votes that impact our air, land and water and the tool is continually updated as new votes are taken. The tool can be accessed at https://michiganlcv.org/how-green-are-your-lawmakers/.