Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA, 5th District) is a Republican U.S. Representative for Washington’s 5th congressional district which includes much of eastern Washington. Rep. McMorris Rodgers received her bachelor’s degree from Pensacola Christian College before going on to earn an MBA from the University of Washington. She began her political career as a member of the Washington House of Representatives for 10 years before being first elected to the U.S. House in 2004. McMorris Rodgers has been a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce since 2010.
Rep. McMorris Rodgers on Climate Change
In 2012 Rep. McMorris Rodgers claimed that “Scientific reports are inconclusive at best on human culpability for global warming” (though she changed her stance in 2018 when she conceded human activity is “partially” responsible). Rep. McMorris Rodgers has used her position as a U.S. representative to consistently vote against bills designed to fight climate change. McMorris Rodgers has a lifetime environmental voting score of 4% as scored by the League of Conservation Voters. Her record includes voting against banning offshore drilling, voting against blocking the Alaska Pebble Mine, and voting for a bill amendment that would have prohibited the EPA from developing standards to reduce carbon emission.
McMorris Rodgers has also followed a similar trend with her impact on local environmental issues in Washington State. She was instrumental in making sure a series of dams on the Snake River in Washington would not be removed. These dams are extremely harmful local Salmon and Orcas, and their energy production could be replaced with just 2-4% of the local power company’s annual budget. On her website, McMorris Rodgers states: “I will continue to fight to stop extreme environmentalists and federal courts from tearing down the snake river dams.”
Rep. McMorris Rodgers and Friends
McMorris Rodgers consistently votes in line with fellow U.S. Representative from Washington State, Dan Newhouse, who also has a League of Conservation Voters lifetime score of 4%. In 2019 and 2020 alone McMorris Rodgers received $79,505 from big oil and gas.
See also:
Climate of Denial