WASHINGTON, DC – League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski released this statement in reaction to Senator Joni Ernst delivering the Republican response to President Obama’s State of the Union Address this year:

“It’s troubling that Republican leaders have chosen a climate science denier like Joni Ernst to represent their party and deliver their State of the Union response. Senator Ernst has advocated for closing the Environmental Protection Agency, which would threaten enforcement of bedrock environmental laws like the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. She represents the Big Oil-backed wing of her party and is far out of step with the average American.”

During the campaign, Sen. Ernst proposed giving polluters a pass by shutting down the Environmental Protection Agency, which would threaten enforcement of the Clean Water, Safe Drinking Water, and Clean Air Acts.  She’s also a climate science denier who claims that “global temperature shifts are a result of long-term cyclical patterns rather than the result of man-made activities.” In fact, when asked to name “business-damaging laws, regulations, or policies,” Ernst identified the Clean Water Act, even though it’s essential to protect rivers and lakes from water pollution.

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