1974 Scorecard Vote
Energy Transportation Security Act of 1974 (H.R. 8193). The vote is on the motion by Rep. du Pont to delete a section of the bill requiring vessels entering internal straits on the West Coast to be constructed with anti-pollution equipment. The Alaska Pipeline bill required the Coast Guard to issue standards to prevent spills from tankers leaving the Port of Valdez, but the standards were never promulgated. Yet studies by the Coast Guard itself showed that double bottoms would have been effective in preventing over 90% of the spills in the U.S. from 1969-1973. This would have saved 11,000 tons of oil pollution. Environmentalists have long advocated the need for double bottoms on all ships, and supported the bill's double bottom requirement as a first step in safeguarding U.S. waters from massive oil spills. The President took no position on the amendment. October 11, 1974. Rejected 95-261. NO is the correct vote.
pro-environment position