LCV Holding Our Reps Accountable

Voters Select North Carolina's Charles Taylor as 10th Member of "Dirty Dozen"

WASHINGTON, DC – The League of Conservation Voters (LCV), the independent political voice for the environment, today named Rep. Charles Taylor (NC-11) as the tenth member of the 2006 “Dirty Dozen,” following his selection for the dubious honor via an online poll. LCV’s Dirty Dozen list highlights members of Congress with the worst environmental records.

Rep. Taylor, whose lifetime LCV score is a paltry 5%, received 40% of the votes for the “winning” spot. Tying for second were Rep. Mike Sodrel (IN-9) and Rep. Deborah Pryce (OH-15) with 18% each and taking the “show” spot was Rep. Dan Boren (OK-2) with 16%. Rep. John Hostettler (IN-8) finished last with 8% of the vote.

“Rep. Taylor has worked hard for this distinction, unfortunately at the expense of his constituents in North Carolina and every American who values our environment,” LCV President Gene Karpinski said. “His abysmal voting record on the most basic of legislation to protect our air, water and land, as well as his refusal to vote to help create a new energy future based on renewable and clean technologies is more proof that Rep. Taylor is turning his back on solutions that would help his constituents and the American public.”

Karpinski also noted that Rep. Taylor, as chair of the House Interior Appropriations subcommittee, helped push through huge new taxpayer-funded subsidies and tax breaks for the oil and gas industry, while drivers in the 11th District were paying record high prices at the pump. Rep. Taylor voted against practical solutions to our energy problems, such as requiring that cars go further on a gallon of gas.

In the mid 1990s, Rep. Taylor earned the nickname “Chainsaw Charlie” by authoring a provision that allowed additional logging in national forests and gave logging companies the ability to sidestep environmental protections. In addition, Rep. Taylor is currently leading the effort to build the Road-to-Nowhere in Western North Carolina, which would cost an estimated $590 million in federal funds.

Having already selected the first nine members of the Dirty Dozen, LCV for the first time invited visitors to its web site (www.lcv.org) to help select the next member of the Dirty Dozen. Voters were asked to identify the member of Congress they felt had most egregiously blocked efforts to tackle America’s energy challenges and to take action onglobal warming.

Since its inception, more than half of all Dirty Dozen members have been subsequently defeated. LCV will announce the remaining members of the 2006 Dirty Dozen in the coming weeks.