Reid and Bryan vote decidedly green

Wednesday, March 1, 2000 | 10:26 a.m.

Nevada's senators score well in their votes to protect the environment, according to the nonprofit, bipartisan League of Conservation Voters.

The group Tuesday released an environmental scorecard tracking green votes in Congress that showed 37 senators -- more than a third of the members -- failing to cast a single vote favoring the environment.

The nonprofit, bipartisan League of Conservation Voters said it was the highest number of negative Senate votes in the history of its report, published annually since 1970.

Sens. Richard Bryan and Harry Reid, both Democrats, however, were well above average in environmental protection. Bryan voted 78 percent of the time in support of the environment, while Reid received a 67 percent rating.

The higher the score, the more favorable congressional members were toward the environment. Ten senators achieved a perfect score of 100 percent.

The Senate has increased its attacks on the environment, league president Deb Callahan said Tuesday.

"The American public clearly believes that Congress should be working to pass and fund the enforcement of stronger, not weaker, environmental and public health protection," Callahan said.

Nevada senators' negative marks were because of votes for the mining industry's efforts to avoid tightening pollution rules, specifically waste disposal practices. And they also voted in favor of mountaintop mining. Nevada is a leading state in mining.

According to the league's scorecard, Reid also voted against tougher energy efficiency standards.

In the House, Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., ranked 75 percent in favorable votes to protect the environment, while Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., received a 13 percent rating.

Gibbons supported environmental positions on fossil fuel research and international family planning, but voted against environmental protection on 14 other issues.

Mining, timber, oil and similar polluting industries generously funded political coffers, the league said.

In 1999, the scorecard said, special interests actively sought to expand the use of public lands for dumping mining wastes, to allow the oil industry to avoid paying $66 million to $100 million in oil royalties per year for drilling on public lands, and to increase taxpayers subsidies for logging.

On balance, Democrats outscored Republicans by more than 60 points in each chamber. However, 29 Republicans outperformed the national average in the House or Senate.

Sen. Robert Smith, R-N.H., recently appointed chairman of the Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee, earned a zero percent, causing the league particular concern.

For the fifth consecutive year congressional environmental scores averaged below 50 percent, the scorecard said. In the Senate the average was 41 percent and in the House 46 percent.

Senate majority leadership failed for the third year in a row to cast a single vote in favor of conservation. The Senate minority leaders dropped to a 63 percent average from 78 percent in 1998.