McHenry ranks low on environmental scorecard

U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, the congressman for the 10th District, which now includes most of Asheville, ranked low on an environmental scorecard released today by the N.C. League of Conservation Voters.

The Republican lawmaker got a 6 percent rating – second from the bottom among other N.C. representatives.

Environmental issues are important to voters in Asheville.

His campaign could not be reached immediatly.

The group said its scorecard “reflects the most anti-environmental session of the U.S. House of Representatives in history, featuring unparalleled assaults on our nation’s bedrock environmental and public health safeguards.”

“We applaud those members of the North Carolina delegation who opposed the countless attacks on vital public health and environmental protections in 2011, such as Representatives Watt and Miller, and Senator Hagan,” said NCLCV’s director of governmental affairs, Dan Crawford. “However, it’s deeply disappointing that Congressmen Foxx, McHenry, and Burr chose to put corporate polluters and other special interests ahead of the health and well-being of North Carolinians. This is very similar to what we saw on the state level in our recently released scorecard.”

The 2011 Scorecard includes 11 Senate and a record 35 House votes on issues ranging from public health protections to clean energy to land and wildlife conservation, the group said.

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