NYLCV Announces Delegation Scores from LCV’s 2019 National Environmental Scorecard

New York, NY – The New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV) today released the New York delegation’s scores on the League of Conservation Voters’ 2019 National Environmental Scorecard. The Scorecard is the primary yardstick for evaluating the environmental records of every member of Congress, and is available for download online at scorecard.lcv.org.

“As the Trump administration continues to roll back environmental protections and actively put American’s health at risk, US Senator Charles Schumer and nine Congressional Representatives from New York State – the most of any state delegation this year – earned a perfect 100% voting record by standing up for our nation’s laws that protect our air, water, land, and wildlife,” said NYLCV President Julie Tighe. “We are proud to have a green delegation in Congress to defend our environmental values and advance a climate action and conservation agenda that is fair and just.”

The 2019 Scorecard measures votes cast during the first session of the 116th Congress. In New York State 21 of the 27 House members and both Senators earned a score of 80 percent or greater. The average House score for New York State was 84 percent and the average Senate score was 96 percent. The full delegation’s scores for 2019 are:

“We are grateful to Speaker Pelosi and her pro-environment majority for prioritizing climate action and protections of our air, water, lands, wildlife, and democracy,” said LCV Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld. “While pro-environment leaders supported policies that will protect communities across the country, especially low-income communities and communities of color, from the negative impacts of climate change-fueled extreme heat, natural disasters, and toxic pollution last year, Senate Majority Leader McConnell’s refusal to act on hundreds of important House-passed bills put the health of our children and families at risk for the benefit of his corporate polluter friends.”

“When Congress fails to protect our fundamental rights to clean air and safe drinking water, our communities are the ones most impacted,” said National Director of LCV’s Chispa program, Johana Vicente. “We are incredibly thankful for the environmental champions in both chambers of Congress who stood up and fought for us in 2019. We will not forget the senators who voted against the health of our families when they sided with Trump and polluters time and again.”

The 2019 Scorecard includes 29 House votes on climate-related bills, protections for our air, water, lands, and wildlife, and pro-democracy legislation. In the Senate, for the third year in a row, the majority of the 14 scored votes are confirmation votes on Trump’s anti-environmental nominees.

LCV has published a National Environmental Scorecard every Congress since 1970. The Scorecard represents the consensus of experts from about 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, public health, public lands and wildlife conservation, 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.