WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL)’s anti-environmental votes in the Senate Appropriations Committee markup of the FY16 Interior Appropriations bill, the League of Conservation Voters issued the following statement from Sara Chieffo, Vice President of Government Affairs:

“Senator Kirk made crystal clear with his votes today on the Interior spending bill that he cares more about polluters than the health of his constituents. He was the deciding vote to undermine the Clean Power Plan, the single biggest step in our nation’s history to address climate change. As we pointed out earlier this year following his remarks denying the science of climate change, Sen. Kirk’s once-strong environmental record has plummeted in recent years, in fact his score on LCV’s annual National Environmental Scorecard fell from 70% in 2010 to 20% in 2014.  

While Senator Kirk voted to at least acknowledge the reality of man-made climate change as part of amendments to this year’s Keystone XL bill and Budget Resolution, the real question is whether he would support action on climate change.  Today, Senator Kirk sided with polluters to undermine the EPA’s Clean Power Plan and a central pillar of the Clean Air Act.  In the coming weeks and months, Senator Kirk will continue to face additional important votes on this issue.  Given Illinoisans’ support for climate action, Senator Kirk puts himself in great peril by siding with Big Oil and other polluters and all indications are that he will continue to pay a political price for his actions.”

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