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JD, Usha Vance visit Greenland as Trump administration eyes territory; Maine nurses, medical workers call for improved staffing ratios; Court orders WA to rewrite CAFO dairy operation permit regulations; MS aims to expand Fresh Start Act to cut recidivism.

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The Dept. of Health and Human Services prepares to cut 10,000 more jobs. Election officials are unsure if a Trump executive order will be enacted, and Republicans in Congress say they aim to cut NPR and PBS funding.

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Rural folks face significant clean air and water risks due to EPA cutbacks, a group of policymakers is working to expand rural health care via mobile clinics, and a new study maps Montana's news landscape.

Low marks for NC Congress members in 2024 conservation scorecard

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Friday, February 28, 2025   

North Carolina lawmakers in Congress received mixed marks in the new League of Conservation Voters scorecard.

The scorecard ranks members of Congress on their 2024 votes. North Carolina's senators received zero grades. House members fared better, at 47%.

Dan Crawford, director of governmental relationship at the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters, said 2024 was the tale of two leaders for the state in Congress.

"You have ones that care about clean air, clean water and protecting the North Carolina natural landscape," he said, "and then you have other types of leaders that want to protect the profits of polluters and choose not to support democracy."

Votes considered in the scorecard broke down into five categories: climate, conservation, democracy, 'dirty' energy and healthy communities. The organization looked at other votes such as judicial confirmations, including that of Nicole Berner in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which includes North Carolina.

Tiernan Sittenfeld, senior vice president for government affairs at the League of Conservation Voters, said the 117th Congress in 2021 and 2022 was historically productive on environmental issues, including passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. However, the 118th Congress in 2023 and 2024 was among the least productive in recent history.

"Over and over, House Republican leadership catered to the most extreme members of their caucus," she said, "even as 2024 was the hottest year on record for the second year in a row, and communities suffered from climate-fueled deadly and devastating heat waves, wildfires and storms."

Crawford said prospects for legislation on climate change and other issues look grim in the near future, even though building climate-resilient communities would be beneficial in North Carolina.

"Some of these members continue to have their heads stuck in the sand and choose to ignore the problem instead of doing something about it," he said. "It's penny-wise and pound-foolish to have to come in and keep rebuilding some of these areas that are being affected by climate."

Disclosure: League of Conservation Voters contributes to our fund for reporting. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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