Contact: Chuck Porcari (cell: (240) 286-7566) or Mark Sokolove (cell: (703) 599-7656) or (202) 785-8683
WASHINGTON D.C. - The League of Conservation Voters (LCV), the national political voice of the environmental and conservation community, today named Representative Rick Renzi (R-AZ) to its 2004 "Dirty Dozen" list. RenziÆs record shows a blatant bias toward corporate polluters and special interests over Arizona families.
"Rep. Rick Renzi has repeatedly voted to let corporate polluters off the hook, earning an abysmal 5% LCV voting score and a place on our æDirty DozenÆ list," said LCV Senior Vice President for Political Affairs Mark Longabaugh. "Renzi has sided with special interests over the health and safety of Arizona families by supporting measures such as the House energy bill which Senator John McCain describes as the æleave no lobbyist behindÆ bill."
In both 2003 and 2004, Rep. Renzi voted for deeply flawed energy legislation that provides billions in tax giveaways to corporate polluters and special interests while threatening the health and safety of Arizona families and costing the stateÆs taxpayers nearly $550 million. Renzi has also voted for exemptions to the Clean Water Act for oil and gas exploration, threatening water resources for farmers and ranchers.
For the first time ever, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) today also included the President of the United States on its election year "Dirty Dozen" list of anti-environment policy makers. The group cited President BushÆs consistent anti-environmental record and his unabashed support for energy legislation representing a taxpayer giveaway to wealthy corporate interests. Vice President Cheney, whose secret Energy Task Force meetings helped formulate the legislation, and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), who is trying to force the bill through Congress are also included on the Dirty Dozen list.
Through the "Dirty Dozen" campaigns, LCV identifies those holding or seeking public office - Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike -- who consistently vote against the environment, as part of its ongoing effort to educate voters about voting records. LCV targets selected members of this list for independent campaigns in competitive races.
For more information on LCVÆs Dirty Dozen, </Campaigns/CampaignsList.cfm?c=1>
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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.
