For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, March 1, 2023
Contact:
Lee Francis | Deputy Director
Virginia League of Conservation Voters
(434) 989-3197 | lfrancis@valcv.org
Scorecard recognizes legacy of late environmental champion Don McEachin
RICHMOND – Today, the Virginia League of Conservation Voters released the Virginia Congressional delegation’s scores from the League of Conservation Voters’ 2022 National Environmental Scorecard. The Scorecard is the primary yardstick for evaluating the environmental records of members of Congress since 1970 and is available for download here, in Spanish here, and online in both languages at scorecard.lcv.org.
2022 was the best year ever for climate action in Congress with the passage of the landmark Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that invests roughly $369 billion in advancing clean energy, creating good jobs, and fighting climate change and environmental injustice. This clean energy plan was finalized against a backdrop of devastating and costly climate-fueled extreme weather and oil and gas companies’ exploitation of Putin’s unlawful war on Ukraine. Every Democrat in our state’s delegation came together to make the country’s first transformational climate law a reality. Unfortunately, not a single Republican voted for this popular, affordable clean energy plan.
In stark contrast to previous sessions, 2022 was an exceptionally productive year for Congress. With the pro-environment-led House and Senate, Congress showed up and seized the opportunity to pass historic climate and clean energy policy.
“This past year was absolutely monumental for climate action as Congress passed the most ambitious measure in our nation’s history to address climate change and secure a clean energy future. But 2022 was also bittersweet, as Virginia lost one of its foremost leaders on environmental protection in Don McEachin, whose dedication to climate action and environmental justice has left behind a strong legacy that I hope all Virginia lawmakers recognize and honor in their votes and actions,” said Michael Town, Executive Director of Virginia LCV. “This past year also saw us working here at the state level to defeat the extreme attacks on climate led by Governor Glenn Youngkin – attacks that threaten our clean energy future here in Virginia but that also raised the stakes for strong, comprehensive federal action to expand clean energy and cut harmful pollution. As we continue to hold this Governor accountable, we will also urge Virginia’s delegation to continue prioritizing the necessary federal environmental protections we need to ensure a liveable future.”
The 2022 Scorecard includes 23 votes in the Senate and 19 votes in the House, with the vote on the Inflation Reduction Act counting twice in both chambers. The full delegation’s scores for 2022 are as follows:
U.S. Senate
| Member | Party | 2022 Score | Career Score |
| Tim Kaine | D | 100% | 97% |
| Mark Warner | D | 96% | 91% |
U.S. House of Representatives
| Member | District | Party | 2022 Score | Career Score |
| Rob Wittman | VA-1 | R | 5% | 10% |
| Elaine Luria | VA-2 | D | 95% | 97% |
| Bobby Scott | VA-3 | D | 100% | 92% |
| Don McEachin | VA-4 | D | 100% | 93% |
| Bob Good | VA-5 | R | 0% | 0% |
| Ben Cline | VA-6 | R | 0% | 1% |
| Abigail Spanberger | VA-7 | D | 89% | 95% |
| Don Beyer | VA-8 | D | 95% | 97% |
| Morgan Griffith | VA-9 | R | 0% | 6% |
| Jennifer Wexton | VA-10 | D | 100% | 99% |
| Gerry Connolly | VA-11 | D | 100% | 97% |
“What a year of historic progress! In 2022, pro-environment majorities in the House and Senate showed the world what’s possible when leaders are committed to delivering the action on climate, clean energy, jobs and justice voters demand,” said LCV Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld. “In a year that saw more suffering from the climate crisis and more pain at the pump as oil and gas companies raised energy costs, environmental champions in Congress took transformative climate action to begin to insulate the U.S. from volatile fossil fuel prices and build an affordable clean energy future. This year, we are all in to support the swift, effective, and equitable implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, work with Virginia’s champions in Congress to continue to fight for popular action on climate and environmental justice and block attempts to roll back environmental safeguards, and support the Biden-Harris administration’s finalization of critical health and climate protections across the agencies.”
The extreme storms and temperatures, and catastrophic floods that continue to affect our communities this year required an all-of-government approach that Congress helped deliver, despite relentless attempts by the fossil fuel industry and other entrenched interests to put their profits over Virginia.
As such, the 2022 Scorecard includes dozens of votes on impactful climate and environmental bills, as well as a number of votes in both chambers on legislation that would strengthen democracy including the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the DISCLOSE Act. To safeguard equity, LCV’s 2022 Scorecard included votes in both chambers to protect same-sex and interracial marriages as well as reproductive rights.
For the first time this year, the Scorecard includes a new section highlighting the high-scoring leadership of the Tri-Caucus. Leadership of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) scored an average 98% on the 2022 Scorecard and were instrumental to passing bold, pro-environment legislation, championed strong pro-democracy policies, and worked to address environmental injustice.
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.
About us:
The Virginia League of Conservation Voters serves as the political voice of the state’s conservation community, working to make sure Virginia’s elected officials recognize that our natural heritage is an environmental and economic treasure for all. Virginia LCV works with conservation leaders across Virginia and strives for a conservation majority in state government. We secure good public policies on the state level and hold public officials accountable for their positions on environmental issues. For more information, visit www.valcv.org.
###