Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) have received perfect scores of 100 percent from the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) on its National Environmental Scorecard for 2008.
LCV, a non-profit organization, has published its environmental scorecard every Congress since 1970. The National Environmental Scorecard is an analysis of key votes during a session of Congress as decided by experts from 20 environmental and conservation organizations.
“It is imperative that we preserve and protect the environment and our natural resources in Rhode Island and throughout the country,” said Reed. “I am pleased to once again receive a perfect score from the League of Conservation Voters, and I will continue to stand up to those who want to reverse important environmental laws such as the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts.”
Reed is a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior and Environment, which oversees federal spending on environmental programs. Senator Reed has secured millions of dollars to help preserve Rhode Island’s open spaces, clean up Narragansett Bay, and monitor the safety of our groundwater. He is also the author of the No Child Left Inside Act, a new $100 million a year initiative that seeks to reconnect more kids with nature and strengthen environmental education in America’s classrooms.
“In our Ocean State, few things are more important to us than our environment,” said Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee. “I’m proud to fight to keep America’s waters and open spaces clean and protected.”
In his first two years in the Senate, Whitehouse has established a strong record on environmental conservation and protection. He sponsored the Global Warming Wildlife Survival Act (S. 2204), to help wildlife adapt to and survive the impacts from global warming, and he was an original cosponsor of the Clean Water Restoration Act (S. 1870) to restore essential environmental protections ensuring communities and wildlife have access to clean and safe water supplies. He also sponsored successful amendments to the Climate Security Act (S. 2191), sponsored by Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and John Warner (R-VA), to ensure that coastal communities affected by climate change have the information they need to prepare for and adapt to global warming. As a member of the EPW Committee, Whitehouse has also helped lead the Committee’s investigation into political interference at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
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