Environmental scorecard for NJ Congresspeople

NJ Spotlight, Feb. 12, 2014

The National League of Conservation Voters released its 2013 Environmental Scorecard Tuesday and gave New Jersey’s congressional delegation a score of 52 percent for its House members and 67 percent for members of the U.S. Senate.

The Senate average is a bit misleading, however, since former U.S. Senator Jeffrey Chiesa, who was appointed to the post by Gov. Chris Christie to fill the term of the late U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg, garnered a rating of 33 percent while U.S. Senator Robert Menendez earned a 100 percent rating.

Members of the House delegation were rated pretty much along party lines, causing the NJ LCV to call the Republican rating in the delegation “abysmal.”

Democrats William Pascrell (D-Paterson-9th) had the highest rating of 96 percent, followed closely by Rob Andrews (D-1st) and Donald Payne (D-Newark-10th), both with 93 percent, and Ablio Sires (D-8th) with 89 percent. Rep. Rush Holt (D-Princeton-12th) had the lowest rating among Democrats with 64 percent.

The highest rating among New Jersey Republicans was garnered by Rep. Chris Smith (R-4th) with 29 percent, followed by Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-10th) with 25 percent, and Leonard Lance (R-7th) and Jon Runyan (R-3rd) at 18 percent.

Scott Garrett (5th) and Rodney Frelinghuysen (11th) were at the bottom with only 11 percent. NJ LCV Executive Director Ed Potosnak said Garrett and Frelinghuysen “put their polluting special-interest allies first.”