Contact: Chuck Porcari (cell: (240) 286-7566) or Mark Sokolove (cell: (703) 599-7656) or (202) 785-8683
WASHINGTON - Today on the 40th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), the political voice of the national environmental and conservation community, announced its endorsement of Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) for reelection in CaliforniaÆs 1st Congressional district.
"LCV is proud to endorse Mike Thompson because of his record of support for California families, farmers and a clean and healthy resource rich environment," said Betsy Loyless, LCV Vice President for Policy. "In particular, he has worked tirelessly to designate some of CaliforniaÆs pristine lands as wilderness areas."
Rep. Thompson introduced the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Act (HR 1501), which would designate nearly 300,000 acres of public lands as wilderness. This designation would conserve important fish and wildlife habitats and ancient forests in CaliforniaÆs 1st Congressional District.
Rep. Thompson has also worked tirelessly to find a solution to the water problems in the Klamath Basin in Northern California and Southern Oregon. He has introduced legislation that would authorize $200 million for water conservation projects in the Klamath Basin where farmers and salmon fishermen are fighting over the river's water.
Thompson has been a national leader in addressing the growing problem of electronic waste (e-waste) disposal. He authored the first national legislation addressing the need for e-waste recycling programs. The bill would require the EPA to set up a program which would encourage new e-waste recycling programs and provide incentives for computer manufacturers to create their own programs.
Rep. Thompson earned a 90 percent on LCVÆs 2003 National Environmental Scorecard. He is a member of the important House Budget Committee.
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The nonprofit League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is the political voice of the national environmental and conservation community. LCV, which is not a partisan organization, is the only national organization working full-time to hold Congress and the president accountable for their environmental actions. For more information, please visit us on the web at www.lcv.org.
