2015 National Environmental Scorecard First Session of the 114Th Congress

2015 NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL SCORECARD FIRST SESSION OF THE 114TH CONGRESS LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS scorecard.lcv.org LCV BOARD OF DIRECTORS * JOHN H. ADAMS GEORGE T. FRAMPTON, JR. REUBEN MUNGER Natural Resources Defense Council Covington & Burling, LLP Vision Ridge Partners, LLC PAUL AUSTIN WADE GREENE, HONORARY BILL ROBERTS Conservation Minnesota & Rockefeller Family & Associates Corridor Partners, LLC Conservation Minnesota Voter Center RAMPA R. HORMEL LARRY ROCKEFELLER BRENT BLACKWELDER, HONORARY Enlyst Fund American Conservation Association Friends of the Earth JOHN HUNTING, HONORARY THEODORE ROOSEVELT IV, THE HONORABLE SHERWOOD L. John Hunting & Associates HONORARY CHAIR BOEHLERT MICHAEL KIESCHNICK Barclays Capital The Accord Group CREDO Mobile KERRY SCHUMANN THE HONORABLE CAROL BROWNER, MARK MAGAÑA Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters CHAIR GreenLatinos LAURA TURNER SEYDEL Center for American Progress PETE MAYSMITH Turner Foundation BRENDON CECHOVIC Conservation Colorado TRIP VAN NOPPEN Western Conservation Foundation WINSOME MCINTOSH, HONORARY Earthjustice CARRIE CLARK The McIntosh Foundation KATHLEEN WELCH North Carolina League of Conservation Voters WILLIAM H. MEADOWS III Corridor Partners, LLC MANNY DIAZ The Wilderness Society REVEREND LENNOX YEARWOOD Lydecker Diaz Hip Hop Caucus LCV ISSUES & ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE * BRENT BLACKWELDER RUTH HENNIG KERRY SCHUMANN Friends of the Earth The John Merck Fund Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters THE HONORABLE CAROL BROWNER MARK MAGAÑA TRIP VAN NOPPEN Center for American Progress GreenLatinos Earthjustice DAVID GOLSTON REUBEN MUNGER Natural Resources Defense Council Vision Ridge Partners, LLC LCV SCORECARD ADVISORY COMMITTEE * CAROL ANDRESS MARTY HAYDEN JOSHUA SAKS Environmental Defense Fund Earthjustice National Wildlife Federation ANNA AURILIO ALLISON HAYS ERIK SCHNEIDER Environment America Union of Concerned Scientists National Audubon Society KRISTEN BRENGEL CRAIG LASHER BEN SCHREIBER National Parks Conservation Association Population Action International Friends of the Earth ROBERT COWIN MELINDA PIERCE CINDY SHOGAN Union of Concerned Scientists Sierra Club Alaska Wilderness League ROBERT DEWEY ALAN ROWSOME SCOTT SLESINGER Defenders of Wildlife The Wilderness Society Natural Resources Defense Council * Organizations are shown for identification purposes only he nonprofit League of Conservation Voters (LCV) has CONTENTS published a National Environmental Scorecard every Congress since 1970, the year it was founded by leaders of 1. ANALYSIS the environmental movement following the first Earth Day. TLCV works to turn environmental values into national, state and local Overview of the 1st priorities. Session of the 114th This edition of the National Environmental Scorecard provides objec- Congress 3 tive, factual information about the most important environmental legis- Voting Summary 6 lation considered and the corresponding voting records of all members of the first session of the 114th Congress. This Scorecard represents the consensus of experts from about 20 respected environmental and con- 2. SENATE SCORES servation organizations who selected the key votes on which members of Congress should be scored. LCV scores votes on the most important issues Vote Descriptions 10 of the year, including energy, climate change, public health, public lands Senate Votes 16 and wildlife conservation, and spending for environmental programs. The votes included in this Scorecard presented members of Congress with a real choice and help distinguish which legislators are working for environ- 3. HOUSE SCORES mental protection. Except in rare circumstances, the Scorecard excludes Vote Descriptions 28 consensus action on the environment and issues on which no recorded votes occurred. House Votes 38 Dedicated environmentalists and national leaders volunteered their time to identify and research crucial votes. We extend special thanks to Cover images from left to right and top to bottom: our Board of Directors, Issues & Accountability Committee, and Score- Flickr/Backbone Campaign (altered); Istock princess- dlaf; AP Images /Alex Brandon; Flickr/US Department card Advisory Committee for their valuable input. of State(altered); Flickr/Sheila Sund (altered); © White House Photo / Alamy Stock Photo; Istock/ bjdlzx; LCV/ Staff; Architect of the Capitol. IMAGE FROM FLICKR/BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT (ALTERED). IMAGE FROM FLICKR/OREGON DEPARTMENT OF FISH & WILDLIFE (ALTERED). 2005 OVERVIEW 2015 OVERVIEW Without a doubt, 2015 was a historic year for the environment and public health. To start with the good news—and there is a lot of it—President Obama demonstrated incredible leadership on many 1. ANALYSIS fronts, especially when it came to confronting the climate crisis. In August, he finalized the Clean Pow- er Plan to cut carbon pollution from power plants—the single largest step our nation has ever taken to address climate change. In September, he welcomed Pope Francis to Washington to deliver powerful remarks on the moral imperative to act on climate change. In November, after Secretary of State John Kerry found that the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline was not in our country’s national interest, Presi- dent Obama rejected this dirty and dangerous pipeline once and for all. In December, thanks in large part to the president’s commitment to addressing the climate crisis at home and abroad, nearly 200 countries came together in Paris to forge a truly game-changing international climate change agree- ment. President Obama also finalized the Clean Water Rule to protect the drinking water that one in three Americans rely on, designated six national monuments including California’s Berryessa Snow Mountain and Nevada’s Basin and Range, finalized management plans that lay the groundwork for protecting sagebrush habitat in eleven western states, began to address methane pollution from the oil and gas sector and coal-mining on public lands, cancelled Arctic Ocean lease sales following Shell’s abandonment of its drilling efforts, and so much more. What makes all of this administrative progress not control of the Senate shifted to climate change denier just so impressive but also so necessary is that President Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Obama accomplished it while simultaneously battling Majority Leader McConnell wasted no time getting to the most anti-environmental Congress in our nation’s work on behalf of his polluter allies, making the Senate’s history. While the extreme Republican leadership in the very first order of business a bill to approve the Keystone U.S. House of Representatives has already been waging XL pipeline. Choosing to start the new Congress with this war on the environment and public health for years, the harmful legislation was unfortunate; however, the debate U.S. Senate, led by then-Majority Leader Harry Reid (D- and amendments offered on the bill provided an opportu- NV), had served as a backstop against the vast majority nity for senators to take a stand on climate change, clean of these attacks and prevented them from ever reaching energy, clean water, public lands, wildlife and other im- the president’s desk. But as is often said, elections have portant environmental issues. In fact, for only the second consequences, and that was thrown into sharp relief when time in LCV history, we issued a Special Edition Scorecard 2015 National Environmental Scorecard · LCV | scorecard.lcv.org 3 for a single piece of legislation in February of 2015 as soon when it is clearer than ever that we need to keep dirty fu- as the Senate completed debate on the bill. els in the ground and under the ocean and accelerate our As it turned out, the Keystone debate was just the transition to clean energy. opening salvo in Leader McConnell’s war on the environ- Fortunately, in virtually every instance, our allies in ment, and over the course of the year the Senate cast an as- Congress were able to block these nefarious bills and tounding number of votes on the environment and public amendments except for a couple of Congressional Re- health. Indeed, the 2015 National Environmental Score- view Act resolutions of disapproval—an extreme and card includes 25 Senate votes, the second highest number rarely-utilized procedural maneuver—that only required of Senate votes ever included (the record was 26 votes in a simple majority vote in the Senate and thus passed the 1977) and significantly more Senate votes than are typi- Congress and were vetoed by President Obama. Not only cally included in the Scorecard, reflecting the breadth and did environmental champions in Congress block an as- depth of attacks both on our cornerstone environmental tonishing array of attacks, they also spoke out more force- protections and on the Obama administration’s signifi- fully than ever—whether on the House and Senate floor, cant progress. in their districts and states, or in the press—about the ur- While the Senate portion of the 2015 Scorecard is night gent need to protect the environment and act on climate. and day from the Senate Scorecards of the last several While there was very little actual legislating over the years, the House portion looked all too similar to the course of the year, one exception was the year-end bud- Scorecards of the last few years. For the fourth time in five get and tax package, which was a real mixed bag for the years, the House included an astounding 35 votes—once environment. LCV strongly opposed lifting the crude oil again earning the dubious distinction of a tie for the larg- export ban—a

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