WASHINGTON, DC—The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Action Fund, which works to elect candidates who will implement sound environmental policies, announced today its endorsement of Dr. Peter Clemens for Congress (UT-1). Clemens will be a tireless advocate for Utah’s magnificent public lands and clean energy and outdoor recreation economies.

“Dr. Peter Clemens has a deep and personal understanding of the public health threats posed to Utah families by dirty air and water,” said LCV Action Fund President Gene Karpinski. “In Congress, he will bring his expertise and passion to the efforts to protect Utah’s air, land and water for our kids and grandkids. He also sees the great potential to grow Utah’s economy and create good-paying jobs in the clean energy and outdoor recreation industries.” 

“Clemens offers a stark contrast to his opponent, Congressman Rob Bishop, who works to sell off our public lands and line the pockets of Big Polluters,” continued Karpinski. “Congressman Rob Bishop, Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee has voted time and time again against our interests. The latest outrage to come from Congressman Rob Bishop is his so-called Public Lands Initiative, which the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance calls a ‘disaster for Utah’s wild places.’ Utah families deserve better.” 

“Our beautiful state is an international destination for tourists who support our vibrant and growing recreation sector as they enjoy world-class ski resorts and Utah’s “greatest snow on earth”, hiking and biking on some of the most beautiful alpine and desert trails anywhere, climbing in our unparalleled red rock canyons, or visiting the state’s five National Parks,” said Clemens. “Utah deserves a congressman who wants to protect these amazing assets for everyone and not selling off this precious birthright to the highest bidder for shortsighted fossil fuel development. Once these precious lands are gone, they are gone forever.”

Dr. Peter Clemens earned his bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University after serving a two-year religious service mission in West Germany. In 1986, he graduated from the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences and completed his residency at the University of Missouri Kansas City Truman Medical Center. Dr. Clemens spent fourteen years practicing medicine among low-income rural areas in North Carolina and Ohio before returning with his family to Utah in 2003. He currently practices in Ogden, with a focus on treating diabetes-related illnesses and threatened limbs. Dr. Clemens has served as a volunteer physician traveling to Haiti and Ethiopia with international aid agencies to bring medical services to communities impacted by human and natural disasters. He is also a retired Captain in the United States Army Reserves.

Congressman Bishop has an extreme voting record. Congressman Bishop does the bidding for Big Polluters instead of working to protect Utah’s air, land and water. In fact, he received nearly $360,000 in campaign contributions from the oil & gas industry throughout his career, and has consistently votes to give handouts to the fossil fuel industry. Moveover, Bishop has earned an abysmal 3 percent lifetime score on LCV’s National Environmental Scorecard.  The non-partisan Scorecard is the nationally accepted yardstick used to rate members of Congress on environmental and clean energy issues. Based on key environmental votes in the House and Senate, it is often used by the media to quickly describe a Member’s record. For more information, visit https://scorecard.lcv.org.

To find out more about Congressman Bishop’s extreme record check out LCV Action Fund’s memo here. 

Clemens is featured on LCV Action Fund’s GiveGreen website, the only bundling website devoted exclusively to raising money for environmental champions for federal office. 

About LCV Action Fund

The League of Conservation Voters Action Fund (LCVAF), the connected federal political action committee (PAC) of the League of Conservation Voters, works to elect candidates who will implement sound environmental laws and policies, and defeat those who stand in the way of progress. Since the 1994 election cycle, LCVAF has helped elect and re-elect 69 U.S. Senators and 306 members of the U.S. House of Representatives.  In the 2013-2014 election cycle, LCVAF endorsed over 70 candidates and raised and donated almost $6 million dollars via GiveGreen. Over the last several years, our efforts have also helped elevate climate change and clean energy as critical issues in key elections. 

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Paid for by the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund and authorized by Clemens for Congress.