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A head-to-head comparison of the candidates' environmental voting records
In the past
few years, our leaders in Congress have been called on to make some
critical decisions for our environment, on issues ranging from support
for renewable energy to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge.
We looked
at 22 key environmental votes in the Senate between June, 2005 and
February, 2008. We found that Barack Obama made the right choice for
the environment 87 percent of the time, while John McCain recorded a
score of 27 percent.
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HEAD-TO-HEAD
SCORE
86% |
HEAD-TO-HEAD SCORE
27% |
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H.R. 5140 (Roll Call #8)
2/6/08
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Energy:
Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) introduced an amendment including clean energy
incentives to the Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the
American People Act of 2008. The Senate rejected a motion to invoke
cloture on Sen. Reid's (D-NV) amendment by a 58-41 vote.
PRO ENVIRONMENT VOTE: YES |
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MISSED
VOTE
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H.R. 6 (Roll Call #425)
12/13/07
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Energy:
The renewable energy production tax credit, the solar energy production
tax credit and other clean energy investments are set to expire in
2008. The Senate rejected a motion to invoke cloture on an energy bill
that combines renewable tax incentives and fuel economy standards 59-40.
PRO ENVIRONMENT VOTE: YES |
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MISSED
VOTE
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H.R. 6 (Roll Call #416)
12/7/07
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Energy:
A national Renewable Electricity Standard will substantially reduce
global warming pollution while sparking a clean energy boom across the
country. The Senate failed to invoke cloture on an energy bill that
included a RES, renewable tax incentives and increased fuel economy
53-42.
PRO ENVIRONMENT VOTE: YES |
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MISSED
VOTE
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H.R. 6 (Roll Call #225)
6/21/07
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Energy: The Senate voted to invoke cloture on the Energy bill that included an increase in CAFE standards 62-32.
PRO ENVIRONMENT VOTE: YES |
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MISSED
VOTE
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H.R. 6 (Roll Call #226)
6/21/07
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Energy: The Senate passed an Energy bill that included an increase in CAFÉ standards 65-27.
PRO ENVIRONMENT VOTE: YES |
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MISSED
VOTE
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H.R. 6; S. Amdt. 1704 (Roll Call #223)
6/21/07
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Energy:
The Energy Advancement and Investment Act of 2007 was added as an
amendment to the energy bill. It reduced tax breaks to oil and gas
companies by $13 billion and extended $21.8 billion in tax credits to
energy efficiency and renewables. The Senate failed to invoke cloture
57-36.
PRO ENVIRONMENT VOTE: YES |
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MISSED
VOTE
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H.R. 6; S. Amdt. 1628 (Roll Call #213)
6/19/07
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Energy:
Converting coal to a liquid transportation fuel is a dirty process that
creates more than twice the greenhouse gas emissions of conventional
oil. The Senate defeated an amendment by Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) to
the energy bill that would have mandated 6 billion barrels of liquid
coal by 2022 by a vote of 39-55.
PRO ENVIRONMENT VOTE: NO |
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MISSED
VOTE
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H.R. 6 (Roll Call #211)
6/14/07
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Energy:
The Senate rejected an amendment by Sen. Mitch McConnell for Sen. Peter
Domenici that would have introduced a Renewable Electricity Standard
that included nuclear, fossil fuels and other dirty energy sources in
its definition of renewables. The Senate voted to table the amendment
56-39.
PRO ENVIRONMENT VOTE: YES |
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MISSED
VOTE
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H.R. 6 (Roll Call #212)
6/14/07
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Oceans:
Sen. John Warner (R-VA) attempted to modify the offshore drilling
moratorium by allowing the Governor of Virginia to petition the
Secretary of the Interior to allow natural gas exploration at least 50
miles from the coast. The amendment was defeated 43-44.
PRO ENVIRONMENT VOTE: NO |
MISSED
VOTE
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MISSED
VOTE
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H.R. 1495 (Roll Call #166)
5/15/07
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Global Warming:
Sens. John Kerry (D-MA), Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Susan Collins (R-ME)
offered an amendment to require the Army Corps of Engineers to consider
the short- and long-term effects of global warming in planning water
resource projects. The amendment failed 51-42 (need 60 votes to pass).
PRO ENVIRONMENT VOTE: YES |
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MISSED
VOTE
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H.R. 2863 (Roll Call #364)
12/21/05
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Arctic Refuge:
Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) inserted drilling language into the Defense
Appropriations bill. The must-pass bill included funds for both U.S.
troops and hurricane relief. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and other
drilling opponents led an effort to remove the drilling language from
the Defense bill and filibustered. The Senate voted 56-44 to end debate
on the bill, short of the 60 votes necessary to move the bill forward.
The House and Senate then approved a revised conference report that
included other drilling provisions but left ANWR intact.
PRO ENVIRONMENTAL VOTE: NO |
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S. 2020 (Roll Call #332)
11/17/05
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Energy:
In 2005, the oil industry enjoyed record profits because of high oil
and gasoline prices. At the same time, the Congressional Research
Service has stated that the oil industry pays taxes at a rate
significantly lower than any other industry. Senator Dianne Feinstein
(D-CA) offered an amendment to the tax reconciliation bill to repeal a
tax break worth $2.4 billion over five years to the oil and gas
industry. The Senate voted 48-51 against the amendment.
PRO ENVIRONMENT VOTE: YES |
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S. 1932 (Roll Call #303)
11/3/05
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Arctic Refuge:
In March 2005, the Senate voted to include language in the Senate
Budget resolution that counted revenue from oil and gas leasing and
drilling in the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge. The Senate voted
52-47 to approve the budget reconciliation package, which included this
“assumption of revenue” language.
PRO ENVIRONMENT VOTE: NO |
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H.R. 3010 (Roll Call #270)
10/26/05
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Energy:
Even before Hurricane Katrina hit, natural gas prices were climbing.
After Katrina, natural gas prices skyrocketed to the highest in more
than a decade. During consideration of the Senate budget resolution,
Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Susan Collins (R-ME) offered an amendment
to increase low income heating assistance by $2.92 billion. Opponents
of the amendment raised a procedural issue to require a two-thirds
majority vote. The Senate voted 54-43 to approve the amendment, which
was not enough to overcome the procedural hurdle. PUBLIC INTEREST VOTE:
YES |
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S.J. Res.20 (Roll Call #225)
9/13/05
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Clean Air:
Mercury can affect the way children think, learn, and grow, causing
problems ranging from learning disabilities to mental retardation. In
March 2005, the Bush administration finalized new rules to give power
plants, the largest U.S. source of mercury emissions, until 2018 to
reduce their mercury emissions. Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Susan
Collins (R-ME) introduced a rare Congressional Review Act resolution to
overturn the Bush rule. The Senate rejected the resolution by a 47-51
vote.
PRO ENVIRONMENT VOTE: YES |
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H.R. 6 (Roll Call #213)
7/29/05
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Energy:
After the House passed its energy bill, the Senate passed a slightly
better energy bill that included a requirement to increase renewable
energy production and acknowledged the need for a mandatory limit on
global warming pollution. However, when the House-Senate energy
conference committee convened in the summer of 2005, it abandoned these
few positive Senate provisions. The Senate approved the weaker
conference report by a vote of 74-26.
PRO ENVIRONMENT VOTE: NO |
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H.R. 2361 (Roll Call #164)
6/29/05
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Preservation:
In June 2005, the Senate voted on a bill to build taxpayer subsidized
roads in the Tongass National Forest in southeast Alaska, the world’s
largest remaining old-growth temperate rainforest. The construction of
roads is a prelude to logging and development. During consideration of
the Interior Appropriations bill, Senators John Sununu (R-NH) and Jeff
Bingaman (D-NM) introduced an amendment to end taxpayer subsidies for
new commercial logging roads in the Tongass. Their amendment failed by
a 39-59 vote.
PRO ENVIRONMENT VOTE: YES |
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H.R. 6 (Roll Call #155)
6/23/05
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Energy:
The Senate energy bill contained $8.8 billion in subsidies for the
nuclear industry, $5.6 billion for the coal industry and $7.4 billion
for the oil and gas industry. These subsidies disproportionately
benefit capital intensive industries such as coal and nuclear power.
Sens. John Sununu (R-NH) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) offered an amendment to
strip these subsidies from the energy bill. The Senate rejected the
amendment 21-76 .
PRO ENVIRONMENT VOTE: YES |
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H.R. 6 (Roll Call #157)
6/23/05
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Global Warming and Energy:
During consideration of the Senate energy bill, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)
proposed an amendment to raise the CAFE standard for cars and light
trucks to 40 mpg by 2016. The Senate rejected the amendment by a vote
of 28-67.
PRO ENVIRONMENT VOTE: YES |
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H.R. 6 (Roll Call #146)
6/22/05
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Energy:
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals pose potential safety hazards for
local communities; an explosion at an LNG facility could kill and
injure people within three-quarters of a mile. In its original form the
energy bill contained a provision that preempted all state authority
and made the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission the main decision
maker for siting these facilities. By a 52-45 vote the Senate voted to
table an amendment offered by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to strike
the provision.
PRO ENVIRONMENT VOTE: NO |
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H.R. 6 (Roll Call #149)
6/22/05
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Global Warming:
Global warming is one of the most pressing issues our country faces,
but the federal government does not limit global warming emissions. As
part of its 2005 energy bill deliberations, the Senate considered a
non-binding “Sense of the Senate” resolution calling for a mandatory
program to “slow, stop, and reverse” global warming emissions. The
motion to table failed by a vote of 44-53.
PRO ENVIRONMENT VOTE: NO |
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H.R. 6 (Roll Call #141)
6/16/05
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Energy:
A renewable energy standard requires power companies to generate an
increasing percentage of electricity from clean renewable sources, such
as solar and wind. During Senate consideration of the energy bill,
Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) offered an amendment to set a national
renewable energy standard of 10 percent by 2020. The Senate adopted the
amendment by a vote of 52-48.
PRO ENVIRONMENT VOTE: YES |
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