June 11, 2019

U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

RE: Vote YES on H.R. 2740, the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Legislative Branch, Defense, State, Foreign Operations, and Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2020

Dear Representative,

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) works to turn environmental values into national priorities. Each year, LCV publishes the National Environmental Scorecard, which details the voting records of members of Congress on environmental legislation. The Scorecard is the nationally accepted yardstick used to rate members of Congress on environmental, public health, and energy issues and is distributed to LCV members, concerned voters, and the media.

We write in support of H.R. 2740, the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Defense, State, Foreign Operations, and Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2020, which would reject Trump’s irresponsible budget cuts and increase investments to fight climate change and boost clean energy.

In particular, the Energy and Water division is rightly focused on using the federal government’s resources to help fight climate change. The bill’s significant increases for renewable energy, energy efficiency, and scientific research respond to rising concerns about climate change and support for action to address the crisis. We also support the bill’s rejection of the administration’s request to fund the risky and unwanted Yucca Mountain nuclear repository.

The State and Foreign Operations division contains substantial investments for international climate efforts. The bill funds overseas adaptation, renewable energy, forestry, and multilateral climate programs in recognition that the United States should not be shirking our responsibility to fight climate change. We strongly oppose any amendments that aim to remove or stall these important efforts or investments to mitigate climate change and its effects.

LCV urges you to support H.R. 2740 and oppose any anti-environmental amendments and will consider including votes on this funding package in the 2019 Scorecard. If you need more information, please call my office at (202) 785-8683 and ask to speak with a member of our government relations team.

Sincerely,

Gene Karpinski
President