Clean Water Action Endorses Jennings

Written by: Tegan R on Aug 5, 2008 2:25 PM EDT

Linked to campaigns: Christine Jennings for FL-13

(Disclaimer: This post is from a Christine Jennings campaign press release. I do not work for Christine Jenning's campaign, but I am an intern at Democracy for America.)

SARASOTA, FL – July 22, 2008 – Today, the campaign of Christine Jennings announced she has received the endorsement of Clean Water Action. In its endorsement letter, Clean Water Action praised Jennings for her “commitment to protecting the environment, especially our lakes, rivers, streams and drinking water sources,” and continued on to say that their “endorsement sends a message of [her] strong support and commitment to environmental issues.”
 
The group, made up of more than 1.2 million members, provides leadership on crucial issues of environmental health, ecosystem protection and community quality of life. Clean Water Action has been a leader for vital environmental legislation including the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Superfund for toxic cleanup.
 
“Christine Jennings is unmistakably committed to protecting our environment, and we are pleased that Clean Water Action has recognized her commitment,” said Jennings spokesperson Melissa Smith. “Unfortunately, her opponent does not seem to share that same commitment, as evidenced by his silence on far too many issues of environmental importance. Even worse, while Rep. Buchanan will not share details of his plan to address global warming, he is focused on ‘greenwashing’ his record through taxpayer-funded mailings sent out through his office.”
 
 Rep. Buchanan has still refused to make his positions on the environment clear, declining to fill out Greenpeace’s global warming questionnaire, as Jennings has done. Buchanan also did not attend a forum on global warming sponsored by Greenpeace and local environmentalists in April on Lido Beach. Furthermore, in its most recent legislative scorecard, the League of Conservation Voters gives Buchanan low marks, with a rating of 25 percent on key environmental issues. 

Rep. Buchanan has also not signed on with a bi-partisan group of more than 176 members of the House of Representatives in co-sponsoring the Clean Water Restoration Act. The bill (H.R. 2421/S. 1870) strengthens the Clean Water Act, passed in 1972, reaffirming its application to all waters of the United States. The Clean Water Act, a key program to ensure the safety of American waters for drinking, fishing and swimming, has been weakened under the Bush Administration; the Clean Water Restoration Act would re-establish the protections needed to achieve clean water in all waterways.
 
“Such legislation is especially important here in Florida, where vast estuaries play a vital role in our ecological system,” continued Smith. “These estuaries are particularly threatened by pollutant runoff, and this legislation will help protect these and other bodies of waters across the country for generations to come. Yet Rep. Buchanan has refused to support this important legislation.”
 
Other pieces of key environmental legislation that Buchanan has not supported include:
 
•    The Safe Climate Act, which is co-sponsored by 152 members of Congress and calls for an 80% emission reduction by 2050 (from 1990 levels) and would create a “cap and trade” system offering  industries an incentive to reduce emissions, among other provisions designed to lead to energy independence; and
•    The Renewable Energy bill (H.R. 3221) that mandated a 15% renewable energy standard by 2020, which Buchanan voted against in August 2007. 
Jennings is on the record as supporting both bills. 
 
“In Florida, the environment is so critical to our economy, our health and our lifestyle, and clean water is a huge component of that,” said Jennings. “These issues deserve more than just talk. They deserve real commitment and leadership, and that’s why I’m proud to have the endorsement of Clean Water Action and the Sierra Club and to support the Clean Water Restoration Act, among other key pieces of environmental legislation.”

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