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Nightcap Peak. Photo by Forrest Stanley
The League of Conservation Voters Scorecard shows
differences between California’s Senators and local Congressmen
For those of you who care about the central Sierra Nevada region, it may be useful to know how political decisions affect the forest, waters, wild places, and wildlife of this area. The key politicians who represent this region are California’s two Senators (Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer,) and our two local Congressmen (George Radanovich and Dan Lungren).
How did each of them vote in 2009 on issues that affect the environment?
The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is an independent bi-partisan non-profit organization that was established in 1970 with the goal of turning “environmental values into national priorities.” As part of their goal, every year the LCV publishes the National Environmental Scorecard, which presents how members of Congress voted on the most crucial environmental bills. This year these important issues included land and water conservation, global warming, creating a green economy, and more.
According to the LCV report, both Senator Feinstein and Senator Boxer voted in favor of the environment 100% of the time in 2009. For those concerned about environmental issues that affect our local region their votes couldn’t be any better. The League also reported that Representative Radanovich voted against legislation siding with the environment 94% of the time, and that Representative Lungren voted against the environment 97% of the time on the issues considered critical by the League.
There were 11 conservation votes reported on by the LCV for Congress, and 14 voted on by the House. Here is a brief description of a couple of the issues voted on by both the Senate and the House that most directly impact our region. (Note: both Lungren and Radanovich voted against the environment for all the issues presented by the LCV, but despite their vote the House majority voted in favor of the environment 100% of the time.)
Examples of Key Issues voted on by the Senate
- Clean Energy Recovery: The Senate voted in favor of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which will provide $80 billion in clean energy investments.
- Public Lands Protection: The Senate passed the historic Public Lands Management Act, designating 2 million new acres of wilderness in nine states, 3 new national park units, and much much more.
- Water Resources: Stepping up to defend the Bay-Delta Estuary, the Senate rejected an amendment that would have prohibited funding of court-mandated protections of biological resources in this important but compromised ecosystem.
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Examples of Key Issues voted on by the House
- Undermining Forest Management: This amendment to the FLAME Act of 2009 (an Act designed to make funding easier for wildfire management when dedicated funds run out) was rejected by the House, but would have permitted State foresters to not advertise timber sales and eliminated federal oversight of logging projects on National Forest Land.
- Greening Schools: The House voted in favor of H.R. 2187, authorizing $6.4 billion to be spent on school renovation and modernization between 2010-2015. A significant portion of the funds are required to be spent on projects that are consistent with green building rating systems: 50% in 2010 and increasing to 100% by 2015.
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To see how other legislators voted this year or to find out more about the specific pieces of environmental legislation that were tallied by the League, you can go to the League of Conservation Voters website at: www.lcv.org/scorecard/.
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