Michigan Representatives and Senators Ranked on Environmental Votes

The League of Conservation Voters–a nationwide environmental group that works to “advocate for sound environmental policies and to elect pro-environmental candidates”–has released its annual environmental scorecard ranking members of the United States House of Representatives and the Senate on key environmental votes. Overall, 2007 was a year of progress on the environment according to the League of Conservation Voters. The League’s president, Gene Karpinski said 2007, “marked a turning point for the environment, and proved that electing pro-environment candidates is a critical first step toward enacting sound environmental policies that will protect our planet and our future. ”

According to the League’s scorecard, legislators representing West Michigan–Representative Vern Ehlers and Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow–had a average rating of 68%. Overall, the average rating for a Michigan legislator was around 47%. The average was brought down by Representatives Dave Camp, Pete Hoekstra, Michael Rogers, and Tim Walberg who all received ratings between 0% and 5%. Of course, it is important to remember that while the 68% average ranking enjoyed by West Michigan’s representatives might look good in comparison to the aforementioned legislators or the average rating, it does mean that West Michigan’s legislators voted in defense of the environment less than 70% of the time.

In order to allow for more detailed review of their records, the candidates voting records are reprinted below:

Vern Ehlers

Name of Legislation		Voted		Score
Passed	CAFE & Clean Energy 12/06/2007	N
Passed	Hard Rock Mining Reform 11/01/2007	Y
Failed	Weakening Hard Rock Mining Reform 11/01/2007	Y
Passed	Clean Energy 08/04/2007	Y
Agreed To	Renewable Electricity Standard 08/04/2007	Y
Failed	Grasslands Protection 07/27/2007	Y
Failed	Farm Bill – Subsidy Reform 07/26/2007	Y
Passed	Environmental Funding 06/27/2007	N
Agreed To	Oil Shale 06/27/2007	Y
Agreed To	Tongass Logging Roads 06/27/2007	Y
Failed	Mexican Wolf Recovery 06/27/2007	N
Agreed To	Clean Air 06/27/2007	Y
Failed	Reducing Global Warming 06/27/2007	N
Failed	Offshore Drilling 06/27/2007	N
Failed	Population 06/21/2007	Y
Failed	Electric Transmission Corridors 06/20/2007	N
Failed	Global Warming and National Security 05/11/2007	N
Passed	Clean Water 03/09/2007	Y
Failed	Liquid Coal 02/08/2007	Y
Passed	Oil Subsides Repeal 01/18/2007	Y

Carl Levin

Name of Legislation		Voted		Score
Rejected	Eminent Domain 12/13/2007	N
Rejected	Oil Subsidies Repeal – Cloture 12/13/2007	Y
Rejected	Farm Bill – Subsidy Caps 12/13/2007	Y
Rejected	Farm Bill – Subsidy Reform 12/11/2007	N
Rejected	CAFE & Clean Energy – Cloture 12/07/2007	Y
Rejected	Population 09/06/2007	N
Passed	CAFE & Energy Efficiency – Passage 06/21/2007	N
Agreed To	CAFE & Energy Efficiency – Cloture 06/21/2007	N
Agreed To	Biofuels 06/20/2007	Y
Rejected	Liquid Coal 06/19/2007	N
Rejected	Virginia Offshore Drilling 06/18/2007	?
Agreed To	Undermining Renewable Electricity 06/18/2007	Y
Rejected	Oil Refineries 06/18/2007	N
Rejected	Water Resources – Global Warming 05/15/2007	Y
Rejected	Water Resources – Project Prioritization 05/15/2007	N

Debbie Stabenow

Name of Legislation		Voted		Score
Rejected	Eminent Domain 12/13/2007	N
Rejected	Oil Subsidies Repeal – Cloture 12/13/2007	Y
Rejected	Farm Bill – Subsidy Caps 12/13/2007	N
Rejected	Farm Bill – Subsidy Reform 12/11/2007	N
Rejected	CAFE & Clean Energy – Cloture 12/07/2007	Y
Rejected	Population 09/06/2007	N
Passed	CAFE & Energy Efficiency – Passage 06/21/2007	N
Agreed To	CAFE & Energy Efficiency – Cloture 06/21/2007	N
Agreed To	Biofuels 06/20/2007	Y
Rejected	Liquid Coal 06/19/2007	N
Rejected	Virginia Offshore Drilling 06/18/2007	N
Agreed To	Undermining Renewable Electricity 06/18/2007	Y
Rejected	Oil Refineries 06/18/2007	N
Rejected	Water Resources – Global Warming 05/15/2007	Y
Rejected	Water Resources – Project Prioritization 05/15/2007	N

Related Posts:

1. West Michigan Representatives and Michigan Senators Vote for Iraq Funding Bill
2. Levin, Stabenow, and Ehlers Ranked on Environmental Votes
3. Environmental Scorecard Ranks Michigan Government and Concludes the Environment is a “Second Tier” Issue for the Government
4. Michigan Senators Split Vote on Measure Killing Immigration Reform
5. Michigan Senators Levin and Stabenow Fail to Support Rapid Withdrawal from Iraq

Tags: debbie stabenow, environment, grand rapids, levin, michigan, vern ehlers