League of Conservation Voters Releases National Scorecard For Nevada Delegation

Scores Show Nevada’s Democratic Leaders Champion Our Environment and Democracy 

LAS VEGAS, Nev, – Today, the Nevada Conservation League released state delegation scores for the League of Conservation Voters’ 2022 National Environmental Scorecard, highlighting Nevada Democratic leaders’ tremendous action to protect our environment, protect our democracy, and build a clean energy future. Since 1970, LCV’s Scorecard has been the primary yardstick for evaluating the environmental records of members of Congress. It is available for download in English here, in Spanish here, and online in both languages at scorecard.lcv.org. 

2022 was a historic year for climate action in Congress with the passage of the landmark Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that invests roughly $369 billion in advancing clean energy, creating good jobs, and fighting climate change and environmental injustice. This clean energy plan was finalized against a backdrop of devastating and costly climate-fueled extreme weather and oil and gas companies’ exploitation of Putin’s unlawful war on Ukraine. Every Democrat in our state’s delegation came together to make the country’s first transformational climate law a reality. Unfortunately, not a single Republican voted for this popular, affordable clean energy plan. 

“We are proud to have representatives that will stand up for our state’s health and environment,” said Nevada Conservation League Executive Director Paul Selberg. “Senators Cortez Masto and Rosen and Representatives Titus, Horsford, and Lee worked everyday to build a clean energy future that cuts pollution with clean transportation, creates good-paying, family-sustaining jobs, lowers energy costs for families, and strengthens our resilience by mitigating the effects of drought for all Nevadans. We know the work is not done. The future of our planet and our democracy are at stake. Nevada must build on this tremendous success and ensure we implement and invest these dollars so it benefits every community.”

“What a year of historic progress! In 2022, pro-environment majorities in the House and Senate showed the world what’s possible when leaders are committed to delivering the action on climate, clean energy, jobs and justice voters demand,” said LCV Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld. “In a year that saw more suffering from the climate crisis and more pain at the pump as oil and gas companies raised energy costs, environmental champions in Congress took transformative climate action to begin to insulate the U.S. from volatile fossil fuel prices and build an affordable clean energy future. This year, we are all in to support the swift, effective, and equitable implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, work with Nevada’s champions in Congress to continue to fight for popular action on climate and environmental justice and block attempts to roll back environmental safeguards, and support the Biden-Harris administration’s finalization of critical health and climate protections across the agencies.”

The 2022 Scorecard includes 23 votes in the Senate and 19 votes in the House, with the vote on the IRA counting twice in both chambers. 

We are proud to see Nevada’s own lawmakers trailblazing the way for pro-environment legislation. A central pillar of the IRA was a package of clean energy tax incentives that would invest billions in reducing emissions while centering climate justice. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto’s Tribal Energy Loan Improvement Act, which will make it easier for Indigenous communities in Nevada to launch critical energy development projects like solar and geothermal, was an important piece of the IRA. 

The 2022 Environmental Scorecard measures votes cast during the second session of the 117th Congress. Nevada’s Senate delegation earned a score of 96 percent, one of the highest delegation scores in the nation. Representatives Titus, Lee, and Horsford earned a score of 95 percent or greater. In 2022, Representative Amodei was given a score of 5 percent, which brought down the House average to 75 percent. 

Devastating wildfires, extreme temperatures, and drought that continue to affect our communities require an all-of-government approach that Congress helped deliver, despite relentless attempts by the fossil fuel industry and other entrenched interests to put their profits over Nevadans. 

The 2022 Scorecard includes dozens of votes on other impactful climate and environmental bills, as well as a number of votes in both chambers on legislation that would strengthen democracy including the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the DISCLOSE Act. To safeguard equity, LCV’s 2022 Scorecard included votes in both chambers to protect same-sex and interracial marriages as well as reproductive rights. 

For the first time this year, the Scorecard includes a new section highlighting the high-scoring leadership of the Tri-Caucus. Leadership of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) scored an average 98 percent on the 2022 Scorecard and were instrumental to passing bold, pro-environment legislation, championed strong pro-democracy policies, and worked to address environmental injustice.

LCV has published a National Environmental Scorecard every Congress since 1970. The Scorecard represents the consensus of experts from more than 20 respected environmental and conservation organizations who selected the key votes on which members of Congress should be scored. LCV scores votes on the most important issues of the year, including energy, climate change, environmental justice, public health, public lands and wildlife conservation, democracy, and spending for environmental programs. The v \otes included in the Scorecard presented members of Congress with a real choice and help distinguish which legislators are working for environmental protection. More information on individual votes and the Scorecard archive can be found at scorecard.lcv.org.

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