©2026 League of Conservation Voters
1979 Scorecard Vote
58
38
3
Issues
S. 1308. The vote is on the Johnston motion to table the Muskie-Ribicoff substitute to limit the powers of the Energy Mobilization Board (EMB). The bill reported by the Senate Energy Committee gave this board the power to exempt big energy projects from future environmental laws, and to take over the decision-making powers of state, local and federal agencies if they did not meet the EMB deadlines for deciding whether to give a permit to an energy project. The Muskie-Ribicoff substitute would have sped up decision making without giving the Board such sweeping powers, and directed EMB to use the courts to enforce its deadlines for decisions. Conservationists lobbied hard against giving a few presidential appointees the power to ride roughshod over health and environmental laws they had fought for decades to put in place. The Carter Administration supported the motion to kill the Muskie-Ribicoff amendment. October 3, 1979. Tabled 58-39. NO is the correct vote.
©2026 League of Conservation Voters