Wilton’s U.S. Congressman Jim Himes had a nearly perfect score on the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters’ 2019 scorecard.
Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut MediaWILTON — Wilton’s U.S. Congressman Jim Himes (D-4th) has received a score of 97 percent from the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters in its 2019 scorecard measuring votes cast during the first session of the 116th Congress.
Connecticut’s U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, both Democrats, each received a score of 100. The rest of the state’s representatives — John Larson, Joe Courtney, Rosa DeLauro and Jahana Hayes — also Democrats, all received scores in the 90s.
The 2019 Scorecard includes 29 House votes on climate-related bills; protections for air, water, land, and wildlife; and pro-democracy legislation. In the Senate, for the third year in a row, the majority of the 14 scored votes are confirmation votes on appointees by President Trump seen by the league as anti-environmental, including Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Connecticut’s delegation scored among the highest in the nation, the league said. The scorecard may be viewed at https://bit.ly/2QfgLYX.
The average score for the full Senate was 53 percent, 56 percent for the House of Representatives.
Of the 29 House votes, Himes voted against the league view just once, when he voted for the USMCA Trade Deal (HR 5430). This was the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act, which ratified Trump’s trade deal with those countries. The league opposed it because it says it fails to mention climate change and continues to support fossil fuel development. The bill passed the Senate and was signed into law Jan. 29.
A number of bills that were considered pro-environment passed the House but were not taken up in the Senate including bills to ban the sale of shark fins, a ban on mineral extraction around Grand Canyon National Park, and reversing the sale of oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Murphy and Blumenthal joined the majority in voting for a public lands package (S. 47) that protects more than 2 million acres of public land and water. It includes the Every Kid Outdoors Act which provides free access to public lands for fourth graders and their families. The House also approved the bill and it was signed to law March 12, 2019.