Overview of the National Environmental Scorecard

Since 1970, the National Environmental Scorecard has been providing objective, factual information about the most important environmental legislation considered and the corresponding voting records of all members of Congress. The Scorecard represents the consensus of experts from about 20 respected environmental and conservation organizations who select the key votes on which members of Congress should be scored. LCV scores votes on the most important issues of the year, including energy, global warming, public health, public lands and wildlife conservation, and spending for environmental programs. The Scorecard is the nationally accepted yardstick used to rate members of Congress on environmental, public health, and energy issues. 

Overview of the 2012 National Environmental Scorecard

From an environmental perspective, the best that can be said about the second session of the 112th Congress is that it is over. Indeed, the Republican leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives continued its war on the environment, public health, and clean energy throughout 2012, cementing its record as the most anti-environmental House in our nation’s history. This dubious distinction is all the more appalling in light of the climate crisis unfolding around the world: much of the country experienced extreme heat waves and severe drought throughout the summer of 2012 while the Arctic sea ice reached its lowest extent on record. Hurricane Sandy brought even more devastation and destruction, and was followed by the news that 2012 was the hottest year on record in the United States. The 2012 National Environmental Scorecard includes 35 House votes, which is the same number as in the 2011 Scorecard, but far more than were ever included in any Scorecard before that. 

The good news is that while the U.S. House voted against the environment with alarming frequency, both the U.S. Senate and the Obama administration stood firm against the vast majority of these attacks. There are 14 Senate votes included in the 2012 Scorecard, many of which served as a sharp rebuke of the House’s polluter-driven agenda. Furthermore, the Obama administration achieved a great deal in 2012 through administrative actions such as finalizing fuel efficiency and global warming standards for cars, proposing the first-ever rule to reduce carbon pollution from new power plants, and designating three national monuments.

Read the full overview of the 2012 National Environmental Scorecard here.