NCLCV Announces NC Delegation Scores from LCV's 2010 National Environmental Scorecard

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 17, 2011

CONTACT: Kate Geller, (202) 454-4573 or kate_geller@lcv.org; Dan Crawford, (919) 839-0020 or dan@nclcv.org

Raleigh, NC - Today, the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters joined the national League of Conservation Voters in releasing the 2010 National Environmental Scorecard, revealing scores for the North Carolina delegation in the second session of the 111th Congress. The 2010 Scorecard was released amidst the greatest attack on the EPA's budget in 30 years and current assaults on the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and wildlife protections in Congress.

"We applaud those members of the North Carolina delegation who fought in 2010 to protect public health and the environment and reduce our nation's dangerous dependence on oil, such as Congressmen Brad Miller and Mel Watt," said Dan Crawford, director of governmental relations for NCLCV. "The 2010 Scorecard clearly exposes Senator Richard Burr, Congressman Patrick McHenry, and others for what they really are: willing to put corporate polluters and other special interests ahead of the health and well-being of North Carolinians."

The 2010 Scorecard includes 6 Senate and 9 House votes on issues ranging from clean energy to public health protections to wildlife conservation. Given the disastrous impact of the resolution offered by Senator Murkowski (R-AK), LCV double scored the vote on her bill, which would have blocked the Environmental Protection Agency from moving forward with commonsense steps to reduce dangerous carbon pollution. Additionally, LCV took the unusual step of scoring co-sponsorship of Dirty Air Act legislation in the House. These steps bring the Senate total to 7 and the House total to 10. In North Carolina, five House members and no senators earned a perfect 100 percent score in 2010, while four House members and one senator earned an abysmal 0 percent. The average House score in 2010 for North Carolina was 62 percent and the average Senate score was 21 percent.

"Unfortunately, the most important votes of 2010 are the ones that didn't happen: the Senate failed to even begin debate on a comprehensive clean energy and climate bill and also failed to respond to the greatest environmental disaster in our nation's history - the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico," said LCV President Gene Karpinski. "The 2010 National Environmental Scorecard clearly illustrates that there is much work to be done, and LCV will be there at every step of the way in 2011 and beyond, working to protect the environment and public health while transitioning our nation to a clean energy economy."

Representatives Butterfield, Etheridge, Kissell, McIntyre, Miller, Price, Shuler, and Watt voted for the CLEAR Act to respond to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, while Representatives Coble, Foxx, Jones, McHenry, and Myrick voted against it. Senator Hagan opposed and Senator Burr supported Senator Murkowski's Dirty Air Act resolution.

North Carolina's Congressional Delegation 2010:

• Sen. Richard Burr, 0%
• Sen. Kay Hagan, 43%
• Rep. G.K. Butterfield, 100%
• Rep. Bruce Etheridge, 90%
• Rep. Walter Jones, 40%
• Rep. David Price, 100%
• Rep. Virginia Foxx, 0%
• Rep. Howard Coble, 0%
• Rep. Mike McIntyre, 90%
• Rep. Larry Kissell, 100%
• Rep. Sue Myrick, 0%
• Rep. Patrick McHenry, 0%
• Rep. Heath Shuler, 90%
• Rep. Mel Watt, 100%
• Rep. Brad Miller, 100%

For 40 years, the National Environmental Scorecard issued by LCV has been the nationally accepted yardstick used to rate members of Congress on environmental, public health and energy issues.

The full 2010 National Environmental Scorecard can be found at www.lcv.org/scorecard

North Carolina League of Conservation Voters (formerly Conservation Council of NC) is a statewide conservation organization dedicated to protecting the health of our communities and natural resources. We advocate for sound environmental policies and work to hold our decision-makers accountable for their environmental decisions. NCLCV established its non-partisan Conservation Political Action Committee (CPAC) to support candidates who will protect the health and future of North Carolinians by being good stewards of our air, water, and land resources.