Politifact: Was Joe Biden a climate change pioneer in Congress? History says yes

[MH1]

This article fact-checks a statement Biden is making on the campaign trail. But it's also an interesting (and sad) look back at how badly we as a nation have whiffed on the climate change issue; when people like Biden and Gore, and Jimmy Carter with the solar panels on the White House, have been raising the alarm for literally DECADES.

https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2019/may/08/joe-biden/was-joe-biden-climate-change-pioneer-congress-hist/

...

Paul Bledsoe, a former Clinton White House climate staff member who is now a strategic advisor at the Progressive Policy Institute, told us Biden deserves his due.

"Without question, Biden was among the earliest supporters of climate change action in Congress," Bledsoe said. "His 1987 bill was focused on forcing the Reagan Administration to establish a wide-ranging White House Task Force on Climate Change, a critical action that in fact was not taken until the Clinton Administration, so it was both prescient and influential on long-term policy."

Our ruling
Biden said, "I’m one of the first guys to introduce a climate change bill, way, way back in ‘87."

There had been some high-profile hearings about climate change on the Hill, as well as a non-binding resolution prior to Biden’s proposal. But he is credited with introducing the first climate change bill.

We rate this True.

Please go to the link to read the entire article.

Disclaimer: I truly am undecided and will support the Democratic nominee in the General Election.

[Peacetrain]

1. I knew that, because I am that old..

He has been in the forefront for decades.. by the way.. thanks for posting.. you tend to assume that people know this already and that is never a good thing to assume..

[MH1]

2. I somehow didn't know. I remember Carter's solar panels, and I own a copy of Earth in the Balance.

I **so** wanted Gore to run for President in 1992. In fact I thought he WAS running, but he didn't because of his son's accident.

I see Biden as being basically on board with the Democratic Party platform, with relatively slight deviations in some cases. So I expected him to be on board with the climate change issue and other environmental issues.

But I actually didn't know that he was on board and pushing this issue so early.

Yay, Joe!!

[Cha]

17. I didn't and am so

glad he posted this about Joe Biden!

[Kahuna7]

3. K&R nt

[LibFarmer]

4. K&R nt

[MineralMan]

5. I did not remember that. Good find!

Thanks for posting this.

[MH1]

10. You're welcome. :)

It showed up this morning in my Google News sidebar. I didn't see it posted here and thought it should be.

[mcar]

6. K&R

[Hortensis]

7. The League of Conservation Voters assigns members of

congress scores based, not just on climate issues, but on all environment-related legislation, species protection, water, ag, energy, nuclear waste, forestry, etc, starting in 1971. President Johnson sent his climate warning to congress in 1965.

The more recent a career -- for Democrats -- the higher the score is going to average. The numbers were actually higher back in the early 1970s for Republicans but have been increasingly in the toilet for decades as Big Energy and the rest packed congress with obedient agents.

Biden's record in congress goes back to 1973, long before most people began to believe this problem was real. For climate change, which is only counted on specific bills starting in 1990, and for him stopping with 2007 when he was elected VP, Biden's score is 100%. Current score for all issues is 100%, lifetime 83%. That last is far, far above congress's average for that period. Scanning all years on all issues shows a very strong domination of green checks.

Mitch McConnell's record only goes back to 1985, by which time science had proven and measured conclusively that climate change was real and man-made. His score is 7%. Dairyman Devin Nunez's is 3%, but at that they're higher than many Republicans who are at 0%.

Bernie Sanders' record only goes back to 1991, and his lifetime score is 92%, 2018 100%. Nancy Pelosi's 2018 is 100% along with many in her caucus and the senate; her lifetime is 94%.

Overview of the 2018 scorecard: Overall, the 2018 scores reveal fairly stark polarization between the parties. Seven Republican senators received a score of zero percent in 2018, meaning they voted against the environment and public health at every opportunity. In sharp contrast, 35 Democratic senators and one independent senator earned a perfect score of 100 percent. In the Senate, Democrats, and the independents who caucus with them, averaged 95 percent, while Republicans averaged eight percent. On the House side, 77 Republicans earned a zero percent and 29 Democrats earned a perfect score of 100 percent. The House Democratic caucus averaged 90 percent, whereas the House Republican caucus averaged eight percent.

As we begin 2019, we couldn’t be more excited to work with the new, pro-environment House majority to hold the Trump administration accountable and make real progress in the 116th Congress. Under the strong, proven leadership of Speaker Pelosi, this exciting new majority looks more like the country as a whole, campaigned on a message of action on climate, healthy communities and protection of public lands, and now clearly has a mandate to stop the corporate polluters’ agenda in its tracks.

http://scorecard.lcv.org/

[MH1]

8. Thanks! I've used the LCV scorecard in the past.

But recently it hasn't made a difference to my vote - the two parties are so diametrically opposed on almost everything important to me - so it kind of fell by the wayside for me.

I once, many many years ago, voted for an R for Congress because they had a great LCV score and the D opponent didn't look clean on the environment. But I don't think that is likely to happen now and even if it did, I would be cross checking a lot of other issues as well.

But anyway it is good to see a highly credible source backing up Biden's environmental record.

[Hortensis]

11. It WAS different many years ago. Now to be Democrat

is to be green, to be Repubilcan is to have sold your soul and your children down a toxic river.

Except for the blue dog conservatives, but even they average far higher than if they were members of the Republican caucus. Just looked at coal country's Joe Manchin, and he's at 43%, lifetime 45. WV's Republican senator is 7% for 2018, 17% lifetime.

[Scurrilous]

9. K&R

[Duppers]

12. K & R

[Honeycombe8]

13. Well, that's a plus for him. nt

[NYMinute]

14. Now that is called being a visionary!

K&R

[Cha]

15. Good to know.. Thank YOu, MH!

[sarabelle]

16. I was there, I know all about this. Jimmy Carter was my hero on climate change..Biden too.

I read the Fed. report the was issued under Carter. Everything was right there, solar, wind, water, electric cars and .

The Democrats have been progressive on climate since I can remember.