Members announce environmental scorecard

The full delegation’s scores for 2020 are: U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, 92 percent; U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, 85 percent; U.S. Rep. John Larson, 100 percent; U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, 100 percent; U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, 100 percent; Rep. Jahana Hayes, 100 percent; Rep. Jim Himes, 100 percent.

HARTFORD — The Connecticut League of Conservation Voters has released the Connecticut delegation’s scores on the League of Conservation Voters’ 2020 National Environmental Scorecard.

The scorecard is the primary yardstick for evaluating the environmental records of every member of Congress and is available for download in both English and Spanish at scorecard.lcv.org, according to a statement.

“President Biden has wasted no time putting climate at the top of his agenda. We are proud to have representatives that will fight for our future alongside this new administration,” said CTLCV Executive Director Lori Brown.

“Our entire House and Senate delegation — Senators Blumenthal and Murphy, and Representatives DeLauro, Himes, Courtney, Larson and Hayes — have all stood up for our health and our environment. They worked every day to protect our communities from toxic PFAS pollution, to secure full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and to fight repeated efforts to weaken our nation’s core environmental laws,” Brown said.

“But the federal government cannot do this alone. Now with partners in the White House and Congress, there has never been a more important time to build support for clean energy to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and to put an end to new fossil fuel infrastructure. Our state leaders can help put us on the path to a clean energy future,” said Brown.

The 2020 scorecard measures votes cast during the second session of the 116th Congress. In Connecticut, all five House members earned 100 percent, and senators scored high marks among their peers, according to the statement. The full delegation’s scores for 2020 are: U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, 92 percent; U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, 85 percent; U.S. Rep. John Larson, 100 percent; U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, 100 percent; U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, 100 percent; Rep. Jahana Hayes, 100 percent; Rep. Jim Himes, 100 percent.

“During an incredibly difficult and unprecedented year and with the most anti-environmental president ever, pro-environment members of the 116th Congress paved the way for transformational action on climate and environmental justice,” said LCV Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld.

The 2020 Scorecard includes 21 House votes that advanced pro-environmental and pro-democracy bills, provisions, and government funding. In the Senate, for the fourth year in a row, the majority of the 13 scored votes were extreme and partisan nominations both to the federal bench and the Trump administration. For the first time, the 2020 National Environmental Scorecard includes votes on removing public monuments to racism and policing and criminal justice reform, according to the statement.

The same damaging system, racism, is at the root of climate injustice, environmental injustice, and police brutality. The 2020 Scorecard therefore includes votes that reflect LCV’s belief that these struggles are intertwined and must be addressed together, according to the statement.

According to members, 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.

Earlier this month, LCV released a new report examining the environmental records of members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, collectively referred to as the Tri-Caucus. Using data from LCV’s National Environmental Scorecard, the report details how members of the Tri-Caucus were champions of strong environmental policies that address environmental injustice, helped chair a record number of hearings about climate change, and led on many of the critical pro-environmental bills during the 116th Congress, according to the statement.