Washington DC -- Today Clean Water Action released its Clean Water Scorecard for the 116th Congress. The Scorecard found that support for common sense legislation to protect our water, environment, and human health split down partisan lines. The majority of Democratic members of the US House voted to protect our water and health more than 94% of time while House Republicans averaged 6%. In the Senate, 40 of the 47 Democratic and Independent members scored a perfect 100% while the majority of Republican members scored less than 40%.
Clean Water Action President and CEO, Bob Wendelgass, released the following statement:
“Safeguarding our water, health, and environment shouldn’t be a partisan issue but, unfortunately, it has become one. Republicans in Congress have abandoned any pretense of putting people first. Their leadership acts like a wholly-owned subsidiary of the fossil fuel industry and other corporate special interests -- when they act at all. The Senate under Mitch McConnell has been more concerned with confirming the President’s judicial and other nominations than actually legislating. In two years we only found 5 Senate votes we could score. It's pathetic.
Fortunately the story is different in the House. After sweeping into the majority during the 2018 mid-terms, House Democrats got to work. They presented a vision of what it means to put the needs of people before the profits of corporations. The House passed bills to restore and strengthen our democracy, invest in our crumbling infrastructure, protect people from dangerous chemicals, hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for its pollution and more. The House’s activity since 2018 proves the old adage -- elections matter.
We can’t afford to let Mitch McConnell keep operating a legislative ‘graveyard’ in the Senate -- we need to act on climate, protect our water, and end environmental racism now. Voters have an opportunity to not only end the Trump administration, but also end the obstruction in the Senate and ensure a Congress that will work for the people, not the special interests who fund their campaigns.”
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Since our founding during the campaign to pass the landmark Clean Water Act in 1972, Clean Water Action has worked to win strong health and environmental protections by bringing issue expertise, solution-oriented thinking and people power to the table. We will protect clean water in the face of attacks from a polluter friendly Administration.