News

Press Release

February 28, 2024

Contact: Liz Deering, liz@conservationminnesota.org

League of Conservation Voters Releases National Scorecard for Minnesota’s Delegation

Minneapolis, MN– Today, Conservation Minnesota Voter Center released the Minnesota delegation’s scores for the League of Conservation Voters’ 2023 National Environmental Scorecard, highlighting which members chose to champion the environment. 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 and Spanish and online in both languages at scorecard.lcv.org.

The 2023 Scorecard shows a dramatic change from 2022, when climate champions led both the House and Senate, passing the most significant climate and clean energy investments in American history. In 2023, some in our state’s delegation supported legislation that benefits people and the planet. But, unfortunately, some actively worked against it. This type of Congressional gridlock and chaos led to one of the least productive Congress’ ever.

“Minnesotans should be proud of our leaders who continue to stand up to protect our environment,” said Paul Austin, Executive Director of CM Voter Center. “Despite the gridlock in Congress today, we know some of our leaders are working daily to protect the air we breathe and the water we drink.

“Following the most productive Congress in history for climate action, 2023 was not only the hottest year on record, it was one of the least productive legislative years ever because of MAGA House Republicans’ extreme leadership,” said LCV Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld. “The last Congress showed that transformational change that works for both our communities and our planet is possible when our elected leaders come together to pass meaningful legislation that will tackle the climate crisis and environmental injustice. In 2023, the near record number of House votes included underscores that the new House Republican majority did the bidding of Big Polluters and sought to undo the Biden-Harris administration’s historic leadership on climate change. We appreciate our allies in the House who consistently opposed these attacks and, thanks to champions in the Senate and the President’s steadfast leadership, these attempts to undermine the historic affordable clean energy plan were unsuccessful.”

The 2023 Scorecard includes 36 votes in the House, several of which were messaging amendments offered on major funding bills. The Senate, in contrast, approved 69-lifetime federal judges with exceptional environmental records.

The full delegation’s scores for 2023 are:

Senator Amy Klobuchar: 94%

Senator Tina Smith: 100%

Representative Brad Finstad: 0%

Representative Angie Craig: 97%

Representative Dean Phillips: 56%

Representative Betty McCollum: 100%

Representative Ilhan Omar: 100%

Representative Tom Emmer: 0%

Representative Michelle Fischbach: 0%

Representative Pete Stauber: 0%

LCV does allow excused absences for some obligations and health issues, all of which are explained in the footnotes of the scorecard and do not count towards the congressperson’s score. Other absences, including those for campaigning, count negatively against the congressperson’s score. For the Minnesota delegation, Angie Craig had an excused absence for illness, which did not count against her score. Dean Phillips missed 15 votes while campaigning for U.S. President, resulting in a score much lower than his Democratic colleagues.

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 votes 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.

###