SENATE VOTES for 2024 VOTER’S GUIDE
Blocking Forced Approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline
Senate Roll Call Vote 145
Issues: Dirty Energy, Climate Change, Clean Water, Environmental Justice, Justice & Democracy
Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) sponsored an amendment to H.R. 3746, the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, to strike a provision mandating approval of permits for the completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a fracked gas pipeline that threatens our climate, public health, environmental justice, and the region’s land, water, and ecosystems. At a time when we should be rapidly moving away from fossil fuels, this fossil gas pipeline would lock us into decades of 90,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, which is the equivalent of 26 coal-fired power plants or 19,000 passenger cars. The company pushing the pipeline has already racked up millions of dollars in fines for nearly 400 water quality violations, posing a threat to drinking water and to public health and safety more broadly in the communities that lie along its path, which include low-wealth, Indigenous and communities of color already overburdened by pollution. In addition to the risks of the pipeline itself, the inclusion of this provision blindly mandating approval of a project and shielding it from judicial review in a completely unrelated must-pass bill set a dangerous precedent that allowed Congress to circumvent and thereby undermine crucial environmental review and community engagement processes required by congressionally-passed statutes. On June 1, the Senate rejected the Kaine amendment by a vote of 30-69. The Senate passed H.R. 3746 on June 1, which included the Mountain Valley Pipeline approval, and on June 3, the president signed it into law.
YES is the pro-environment position.
Link: https://scorecard.lcv.org/roll-call-vote/2023-145-blocking-forced-approval-mountain-valley-pipeline
Obstructing Money-Saving Energy Efficiency Codes
Senate Roll Call Vote 267
Issues: Clean Energy, Climate Change, Appropriations
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) sponsored an amendment to H.R. 4366, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, which would block updated energy codes that reduce energy costs and the total cost of living for families who are most burdened by rising prices – those in government supported housing. This amendment is the opposite of what people need as fossil fuel companies rake in record profits. Adopting the proposed energy code would save an average of $14,536 over the life of a single-family home, and over $5,000 per multifamily unit compared to current code requirements. The additional cost of the new code requirements is only 2% of the average cost of a new home under the programs, paying for itself in less than 3 years. On October 25, the Senate rejected the Rubio amendment by a vote of 47-51 (Senate roll call vote 267).
NO is the pro-environment position.
Link: https://scorecard.lcv.org/roll-call-vote/2023-267-obstructing-money-saving-energy-efficiency-codes
Blocking Limits on Pollution from Trucks
Senate Roll Call Vote 98
Issues: Clean Air, Transportation, Climate Change, Environmental Justice
Ranking Member Deb Fischer (R-NE) sponsored S.J. Res. 11, a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval, which would repeal the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final rule establishing crucial limits on health-harming pollution from heavy-duty trucks and any substantially similar regulations. The CRA is an extreme and blunt tool that is being used by anti-environmental members of Congress who want to permanently strip away protections for our environment, communities, wildlife, and natural heritage. These rules are vital in reducing emissions, safeguarding the environment, and protecting public health. Heavy-duty vehicles like long-haul trucks and diesel buses account for about 25% of greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector and release dangerous air pollutants, including nitrogen oxides and particle pollution. Pollution from heavy-duty vehicles harms everyone but is especially dangerous for low-wealth communities and communities of color who live closest to major highways, freight hubs, and high-traffic areas. On April 26, the Senate approved S.J. Res. 11 by a vote of 50-49 (Senate roll call vote 98). The House approved S.J. Res. 11 on May 3; however, the president vetoed it on June 14, and on June 21, the Senate failed to override the president’s veto.
NO is the pro-environment position.
Link: https://scorecard.lcv.org/roll-call-vote/2023-98-blocking-limits-pollution-trucks
Ignoring Climate Risks to Retirement Savings
Senate Roll Call Vote 35
Issues: Climate Change, Dirty Energy, Other
The Senate considered Representative Andy Barr’s (R-KY) H.J. Res. 30, a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval, which would repeal the Department of Labor’s (DOL) rule to protect people’s retirement savings from all types of financial risk, including financial risks due to climate change. The CRA is an extreme and blunt tool that is being used by anti-environmental members of Congress who want to permanently strip away protections for our environment, communities, wildlife, and natural heritage. For decades, the DOL set forth rules that required retirement plan managers to prudently consider all relevant factors while remaining neutral on investment types. The Trump administration deviated from this longstanding approach by issuing rules that discouraged consideration of so-called environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors – even when these factors affect investment risk and return. The Biden-Harris administration rule returns to neutrality, in which plan managers can consider all relevant factors to assess investment risk, does not mandate, prohibit, encourage, or discourage any particular type of investment, and is clear that retirement plan managers must base their decisions on financial risk-return factors. Overturning this rule with a CRA resolution would return to the Trump-era standard that disregards the financial risks of dirty energy investments – standards that are being implemented in extremist Republican-led states across the country at a significant financial loss for their pension funds. On March 1, the Senate approved H.J. Res. 30 by a vote of 50-46 (Senate roll call vote 35). The House approved H.J. Res. 30 on February 28; however, it was vetoed by the president on March 20, and on March 23, the House failed to override the president’s veto.
NO is the pro-environment position.
Link: https://scorecard.lcv.org/roll-call-vote/2023-35-ignoring-climate-risks-retirement-savings
HOUSE VOTES for 2024 VOTER’S GUIDE
Establishing Anti-Environment and Anti-Democracy House Rules
House Roll Call Vote 23
Issues: Climate Change, Clean Energy, Clean Air, Clean Water, Environmental Justice, Appropriations, Justice & Democracy, Other
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) sponsored H.Res. 5, a resolution adopting the rules of the House of Representatives for the 118th Congress and for other purposes, which, in addition to organizing the chamber for the new Congress, imposed strict budget cuts on future appropriations. The provision capped spending at Fiscal Year 2022 levels, which would translate into a 22% cut for environmental programs from FY23 levels thereby undermining critical agency staffing and funding for programs that address the legacy of toxic pollution and the climate crisis. The rules package also removed a provision that required land transfers to be budget neutral, making it easier to give away our nation’s public lands. At a time of significant concern about the influence of polluters and other special interests in politics, and just two years after an insurrection that some House members supported, this package also hobbled the bipartisan Office of Congressional Ethics by imposing arbitrary term limits to eject Democratic ethics board members and effectively prohibiting it from hiring new staff, making it much harder to hold unethical officials accountable. On January 9, the House approved H.Res. 5 by a vote of 220-213 (House roll call vote 23). The House approves its own rules package and it takes effect immediately upon passage, though the rules may be, and often are, waived by a majority vote.
NO is the pro-environment position.
Preventing Climate Emissions Reporting
House Roll Call Vote 642
Issues: Appropriations, Climate Change, Public Right to Know, Other
Representative Claudia Tenney (R-NY) sponsored an amendment to H.R. 4664, the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act of 2024, which would prevent the General Services Administration (GSA) and other agencies from finalizing a rule requiring “major” federal contractors receiving more than $50 million in annual contracts to publicly disclose direct (Scope 1) and indirect (Scopes 2 & 3) upstream and downstream climate emissions, disclose climate-related financial risks, and set science-based emissions reduction targets. While only making up 13% of federal contractors, these major contractors are responsible for over 85% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the federal supply chain. Without these disclosures, the U.S. cannot substantiate or track progress against its own commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement, nor protect the federal government from climate and clean energy transition risks. On November 9, the House approved the Tenney amendment by a vote of 220-202 (House roll call vote 642). The House did not conduct a final passage vote on H.R. 4664.
NO is the pro-environment position.
Link: https://scorecard.lcv.org/roll-call-vote/2023-642-preventing-climate-emissions-reporting
Undermining Federal Agency Authority
House Roll Call Vote 271
Issues: Clean Air, Clean Water, Climate Change, Justice & Democracy, Other
Representative Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI) sponsored H.R. 288, the Separation of Powers Restoration Act (SOPRA), which would modify the scope of judicial review of agency actions. This bill would end the bedrock administrative law doctrine of Chevron deference, under which federal courts defer to federal regulatory agencies’ reasonable interpretations of ambiguous provisions in the statutes they administer. SOPRA would instead empower the courts to come up with their own interpretations notwithstanding the reasonableness and specialized expertise of the agencies. This bill would represent a massive shift of power from experts at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other agencies, as well as from the elected branches, to unaccountable, life-tenured judges, many of whom are anti-environment ideologues. It could chill and delay needed safeguards, create uncertainty, increase litigation, thwart congressional intent, undermine enforcement, and upend the balance of power among the three branches of government. On June 15, the House approved H.R. 288 by a vote of 220-211 (House roll call vote 271). The Senate took no action on this legislation.
NO is the pro-environment position.
Link: https://scorecard.lcv.org/roll-call-vote/2023-271-undermining-federal-agency-authority
Blocking the EPA Cleaner Cars and Trucks Standards
House Roll Call Vote 703
Issues: Clean Air, Transportation, Climate Change
Representative Tim Walberg (R-MI) sponsored H.R. 4468, the so-called Choice in Automobile Sales Act, which would undermine the Clean Air Act and prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from setting cleaner cars and trucks standards. The transportation sector is the largest source of U.S. climate pollution and is a major threat to public health. Exposure to pollution from cars, SUVs, and heavy trucks can increase the risk of asthma attacks, strokes, heart attacks, cancer, and premature death. Low-wealth communities and communities of color are disproportionately exposed to such pollution, and our country’s harmful history of housing segregation has forced such communities towards high-traffic areas and freight hubs. These standards would help provide consumers with a broader range of internal combustion engine, hybrid, and electric vehicle options. On December 6, the House approved H.R. 4468 by a vote of 221-197 (House roll call vote 703). The Senate took no action on this legislation.
NO is the pro-environment position.
Link: https://scorecard.lcv.org/roll-call-vote/2023-703-blocking-epa-cleaner-cars-and-trucks-standards