DATE: 6/4/01
 
BACKGROUND: U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), a national environmental organization, just released their scorecard of congressional votes for the 106th Congress. PIRG tracks votes on such things as the transportation of radioactive waste and oil drilling royalties to campaign finance reform. According to PIRG, one hundred thirty-seven members of the House or Senate voted in the "public interest" at least 80 percent of the time with 20 members scoring 100 percent. PIRG will distribute scorecards on all congressmen and senators to one million households this summer as part of its plan to "stop the rollback of the nation's environmental and public health protections."
 
TEN SECOND RESPONSE: PIRG is an environmental organization with a political agenda. Its interest is not what is best for the public or the environment but what gives PIRG power.

THIRTY SECOND RESPONSE: Like many other environmental organizations, PIRG's interest is in pursuing its political agenda rather than working with everyone in the community to develop answers to problems. Rather than castigating those who disagree with them on how to effectively solve problems, we should try to work together, taking all opinions into account to arrive at solutions.

DISCUSSION: To access the scorecard go to: http://www.pirg.org/score2001 and click on your state to find the ratings of your congressman or senator. Votes on specific bills are listed and a rating given at the end. Members who received 100% on the PIRG scorecard are: 

 
by Gretchen Randall, Director of Energy and Regulatory Affairs