Connecticut was one of eight states with perfect environmental scores in the Senate. Nationally, the average Senate score was 45 percent.
U.S. Rep. Jim Himes (D-4th), who represents much of coastal Fairfield County, received the lowest score of the Connecticut delegation at 89 percent. U.S. Reps. John Larson (D-1st), Joe Courtney (D-2nd) and Rosa DeLauro (D-3rd District, including Shelton and Stratford) earned a score of 97 percent. U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-5th) had a perfect score of 100 percent. She represents much of northwestern Connecticut, including Danbury, Bethel, Brookfield, New Fairfield, Newtown and Sherman. Nationally, the average House score was 41 percent.
The scorecard, which was issued last week, represents the consensus of experts from about 20 respected environmental and conservation organizations who selected the key votes on which members of Congress should be scored. Twenty-five Senate bills were taken into account that had to do with air quality, climate change, lands/forests, dirty energy, wildlife, clean energy, clean water, and other topics such as fast track of trade agreements, which the pro-environment camp said could have a negative effect on environmental policies and protections around the world. In the House, 35 bills were considered. Annual scores are based on a scale of 0 to 100 and are calculated by dividing the number of pro-environment votes cast by the total number of votes scored.
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