U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-6th, of Easttown, scored high in the Pennsylvania delegation’s scores of the 2020 National Environmental Scorecard, sponsored by the League of Conservation Voters.

The same cannot be said of retiring U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican who represents Pennsylvania. 

The scorecard is the primary yardstick for evaluating the environmental records of every member of Congress.

“President Biden has wasted no time putting climate at the top of his agenda to protect our future. But Sen. Toomey continues to side with corporate polluters over Pennsylvania’s health and environment,” said Conservation Voters of PA’s Political Director Katie Blume. “Thankfully we have representatives like Delaware County’s Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon, Chester County’s Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan, and Sen. Bob Casey, who have stood up for Pennsylvania’s values and put our future first. There has never been a more important time for our delegation to work together and pass comprehensive climate change legislation to protect every Pennsylvanian”

The 2020 Scorecard measures votes cast during the second session of the 116th Congress. In Pennsylvania, 10 House members and Senator Casey earned a score of 80 percent or greater, while 5 House members and Senator Toomey earned an abysmal score of 10 percent or less. The average House score for Pennsylvania was 58 percent and the average Senate score was 50 percent.

The Chester & Delaware County scores for 2020 are:

Senator Bob Casey (D) - 92 percent; Senator Pat Toomey (R) - 8 percent; Representative Scanlon (D-05) - 100 percent; and Representative Houlahan (D-06) - 100 percent.

The 2020 Scorecard includes 21 House votes that advanced pro-environmental and pro-democracy bills, provisions, and government funding. In the Senate, for the fourth year in a row, the majority of the 13 scored votes were extreme and partisan nominations both to the federal bench and the Trump administration.

For the first time, the 2020 National Environmental Scorecard includes votes on removing public monuments to racism and policing and criminal justice reform. The same damaging system—racism—is at the root of climate injustice, environmental injustice, and police brutality. The 2020 Scorecard therefore includes votes that reflect LCV’s belief that these struggles are intertwined and must be addressed together.

LCV has published a National Environmental Scorecard every Congress since 1970. The Scorecard represents the consensus of experts from more than 20 respected environmental and conservation organizations who selected the key votes on which members of Congress should be scored.LCV scores votes on the most important issues of the year, including energy, climate change, environmental justice, public health, public lands and wildlife conservation, democracy, and spending for environmental programs.

The votes included in the Scorecard presented members of Congress with a real choice and help distinguish which legislators are working for environmental protection.

Earlier this month, LCV released a new report examining the environmental records of members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), collectively referred to as the Tri-Caucus. Using data from LCV’s National Environmental Scorecard, the report details how members of the Tri-Caucus were champions of strong environmental policies that address environmental injustice, helped chair a record number of hearings about climate change, and led on many of the critical pro-environmental bills during the 116th Congress.