©2025 League of Conservation Voters
1973 Scorecard Vote
21
63
15
Issues
National Emergency Energy Act of 1973 (S. 2589). The vote is on the Hansen amendment to waive the requirement for complete Environmental Impact Statements on the sale of leases on federal lands for oil, natural gas, and geothermal energy. These include the offshore oil leases on the Outer Continental Shelf with their potential for serious oil slicks. Hansen claimed that his amendment would speed up energy development, but environmentalists countered that delays were not caused by NEPA, but because federal agencies needed more time to gather geological and other scientific information. Russell Peterson, the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, testified in hearings that he did not think NEPA would cause any delay in the Outer Continental Shelf leasing program. The President supported the amendment. November 19, 1973. Rejected 21-64. No is the correct vote.
©2025 League of Conservation Voters