Hudson Valley Democrats Score High on Environment

Democratic members of Congress from the Hudson Valley had high marks on the annual New York League of Conservation Voters 2011 National Environmental Scorecard release Tuesday.

Both Democratic senators—Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand—had top scores of 100, said Marcia Bystryn, president of the league.

"New Yorkers care a lot about our environment," she said. "It should not come as a surprise both of our senators had perfect scores in 2011."

In the House, Rep. Nita Lowey, D-Harrison, achieved a 97, while Rep. Eliot Engel, D-Bronx, scored a 94.

On the Republican side of the aisle in the House, Rep. Nan Hayworth, R-Mount Kisco, was given a grade of 43.

"While her score is nothing to write home about," Bystryn said, "her score in the fifth highest in the Republican House."

Alex Taurel, the league's legislative representative, said the league talks to Hayworth all the time about environmental issues.

"We are going to keep working with her," he said.

Taurel said first session of the 112th Congress was the most anti-environment in the nation's history.

"It's a sad testament to the radical nature of the first session," he said.

The 2011 Scorecard includes 11 Senate and a record 35 House votes on issues ranging from protecting public health to clean energy and land and wildlife conservation.

Taurel said that one of the good stories from 2011 is that a lot of the anti-environment legislation that made it out of the House was not taken up by the Democratic-controlled Senate or enough votes were not obtained to pass.

New York's average scores were 100 for the Senate and 72 for the House of Representatives, compared with national averages of 55 for the Senate and 45 for the House.

Only Connecticut, Delware, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode Island, Oregon and Vermont had better House averages than New York. 

The full 2011 National Environmental Scorecard can be found here.