For Immediate Release:
Thursday, March 12, 2020
Contact:
Lee Francis | Deputy Director
Virginia League of Conservation Voters
(804) 225-1902 | lfrancis@valcv.org
RICHMOND – Virginia LCV today released the Virginia delegation’s scores from 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 here, in Spanish here, and online at scorecard.lcv.org.
“As the Trump administration continues to roll back environmental protections and actively put our health at risk, a clear majority of Virginia’s congressional delegation stood up for Virginia’s air, water, land, democracy and our coast,” said Virginia LCV’s Executive Director Michael Town. “We are proud to have representatives in Congress who will fight for our environment. And here in Virginia, where we just made unprecedented progress in the climate fight, passing a bold plan that gets to 100 percent clean energy by 2045, we will continue to build our clean energy future and secure cleaner air for all Virginians.”
The 2019 Scorecard measures votes cast during the first session of the 116th Congress. In Virginia, seven House members and both Senators earned a score of 80 percent or greater. The average House score for Virginia was 64 percent and the average Senate score was a perfect 100 percent. The full delegation’s scores for 2019 are:
United States Senate
| Name | Party | 2019 Score | Lifetime Score |
| Tim Kaine | D | 100 | 95 |
| Mark Warner | D | 100 | 88 |
United States House of Representatives
| Name | Party | District | 2019 Score | Lifetime Score |
| Rob Wittman | R | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| Elaine Luria | D | 2 | 97 | 97 |
| Bobby Scott | D | 3 | 97 | 91 |
| Don McEachin | D | 4 | 100 | 90 |
| Denver Riggleman | R | 5 | 17 | 17 |
| Ben Cline | R | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Abigail Spanberger | D | 7 | 97 | 97 |
| Don Beyer | D | 8 | 97 | 96 |
| Morgan Griffith | R | 9 | 7 | 5 |
| Jennifer Wexton | D | 10 | 97 | 97 |
| Gerry Connolly | D | 11 | 97 | 97 |
“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.”
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.
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.
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