CLCV: Issa no friend of the environment, but where are the solutions for his district?
The League of Conservation Voters rolled out their annual scorecard yesterday, with the California LCV zeroing in on the California delegation -- and Darrell Issa in particular. Their findings help quantify what we already know: Darrell Issa continues to take a pass on common sense solutions for his district in favor of harmful, conservative partisanship.
Issa has personified the GOP's all out push against the EPA over the last year, and has already teed up their regulations for particular scrutiny this year. And included in a flurry of dramatic votes today, the Republican-led House voted to block funding for the EPA's regulation of greenhouse gas emissions.
Focusing on Issa, CLCV said:
Among those who voted against the environment each and every time was Congressman Darrell Issa, who recently sent letters to over 150 trade associations and companies asking them for suggestions of which Obama administration regulations he should target as chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Environmental regulations and specifically the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emerged as a major target of these groups, and therefore, of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. On February 10, the committee spent several hours hearing testimony slamming EPA rules protecting the environment.
It doesn't have to be like this just because Darrell Issa is a California Republican. Not at all. Fellow San Diego Republican Congressman Brian Bilbray got a 30% score. So did Rep. Mary Bono Mack. Reps. David Dreier and even George Radanovich were able to avoid a zero rating. So it isn't just the price of doing business in the state GOP caucus.
This is part and parcel of Issa giving short shrift to the fundamental standards of living in his district. For example, he's a co-sponsor of HR 97 to prevent the EPA from reducing harmful industrial pollution. The result is dirty air that puts us all at risk for major health problems like asthma -- even as Issa represents 124,991 children and 314,977 adults suffering from asthma. It's one of the highest asthma rates in the California Republican caucus.
At a time when Issa's constituents -- like all Americans -- are desperately in need of new jobs, Issa has steadfastly stood in the way of new, green jobs. Even though California's green jobs sector has grown three times faster than the old, brown energy sector that Issa continues to support. And as gas prices again begin to march towards $4 a gallon, Issa still lines up with big oil instead of the green economy that reduce costs and create jobs.
While his constituents need safe and healthy communities for their families and jobs to provide their childrens a brighter future, Issa is on the other side of the equation.
This is what Darrell Issa believes in. When the state of California wanted cleaner vehicles, he opposed it. When businesses preferred fewer worker safety rules and environmental protections, Issa gave them his committee to make their case. When asked, he's questioned climate science. And as CLCV makes clear, he hasn't missed any of his other opportunities to stand opposed to a safe, healthy environment.
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posted by Lucas O’Connor at 5:50 pm