Yesterday, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) sent the below letter to the House of Representatives urging members to oppose anti-environmental amendments in the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

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June 12, 2024

United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Re: Oppose anti-environmental amendments in the FY25 NDAA

Dear Representative,

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) believes that everyone has a right to clean air, clean water, public lands, and a safe climate protected by a just and equitable democracy. Each year, LCV publishes the National Environmental Scorecard, which details the voting records of members of Congress on environmental legislation. The Scorecard is distributed to LCV members, concerned voters nationwide, and the media.

The below slate of extreme anti-environmental amendments within the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025 prioritize polluters over people, threaten public health, and undermine climate action. These dangerous proposals seek to limit environmental review, reduce the government’s climate change response resources, and minimize consideration of climate and environmental impacts to local communities. Therefore, LCV urges you to vote NO on the following: 

VOTE NO

Amdt. 22. Greene (56) prohibits any Department of Defense funds from being used towards electric vehicles or electric vehicle charging infrastructure. EVs are helping our military transition to clean energy and protect the environment by lessening harmful emissions.

Amdt. 23. Biggs (441) seeks to exempt defense-related activities from the Endangered Species Act. This amendment would carve out a massive loophole in the ESA, undermine science, and ignore the longstanding partnership of DOD, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and state wildlife agencies to conserve species and resources on DOD designated lands that support the preservation of ecologically important native habitats for fish, wildlife, and plant species including over 400 threatened and endangered species.

Amdt. 24. Roy (1556) would prohibit funding to implement executive orders that help reduce harmful pollution, tackle the climate crisis, advance environmental justice, jumpstart clean energy innovation and deployment, and accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy. The damaging effects of this amendment would include hobbling our government’s ability to prepare for and respond to the very real threat of climate change.

Amdt. 26. Smith (796) is a bad faith amendment that unnecessarily requires the Secretary of Defense to certify that offshore wind projects in the North Atlantic Planning area will not compromise radar and sonar capabilities, and directs the Inspector General to audit these practices and findings in a manner beyond the IG’s area of expertise. Navigation and sonar capabilities are fully considered in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s wind energy area identification process, lease area identification, and project-specific reviews pursuant to NEPA. This amendment is designed to unnecessarily delay the deployment of clean offshore wind energy and the creation of good paying, union jobs in the clean energy industry.

Amdt. 92. Obernolte (198) is an amendment that calls for a report identifying domestic places where rare earth elements mining should be done. However, the identification is based on the potential of deposits and not the impacts to local communities or the environment. With a mining law from 1872 that does not protect local people and places from the environmental impacts of mining, ensuring such considerations are in a report is critical.

The following amendments go against LCV’s commitment to racial justice and equity – we urge opposition to these or similar amendments: 41. Banks (188), 42. Norman (476), 43. Higgins (742) 

Congress should be prioritizing supporting communities and protecting the planet, not helping industry advance their extreme agenda that is exacerbating the climate crisis and harming communities across the country and the world. It is critical that Congress focus on promoting an equitable and environmentally responsible transition to affordable and reliable clean energy solutions.

For all these reasons, we strongly urge you to oppose all anti-environmental amendments. We will strongly consider scoring votes on these amendments and any other anti-environmental provisions in the NDAA the 2024 Scorecard. If you would like more information, please reach out to a member of our government relations team.

Sincerely,

Gene Karpinski
President 

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