WASHINGTON, DC— Today the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Action Fund, which works to elect candidates who will implement sound environmental policies, announced today its endorsement of Catherine Cortez Masto for U.S. Senate. Cortez Masto will advocate for investing in clean energy and responsibly managing our public lands while protecting our environment and the health of all Nevadans.  

“On the campaign trail, Catherine Cortez Masto has been promoting Nevada’s clean energy economy and the protection of the state’s beautiful landscapes,” said LCV Action Fund SVP Tiernan Sittenfeld. “There is a lot at stake in this election, and we need Catherine Cortez Masto in the Senate to help expand our investments in solar, geothermal, wind, and preserve Nevada’s natural treasures for future generations.”

“As Attorney General, Catherine Cortez Masto fought tirelessly for all Nevadans and for our environment, and we know she will bring this same leadership to the U.S. Senate,” said Andy Maggi, Executive Director of the Nevada Conservation League. “Cortez Masto will be a staunch supporter of creating clean energy jobs, addressing climate change, and safeguarding Nevada’s special places like Lake Tahoe, Red Rock Canyon, and Great Basin National Park.”

“I’m honored to have the support of LCVAF, an organization dedicated to preserving our environment for future generations,” said Cortez Masto. “As Nevada’s Attorney General, I focused on solving problems like fighting the dangerous Yucca Mountain project that would ship nuclear waste to Nevada and holding the polluters who contaminated Lake Mead accountable. While my opponents, Sharron Angle and Congressman Heck, have abysmal environmental records and support taxpayer giveaways to the Big Oil companies, I will work across the aisle to protect Nevada’s public lands and create good-paying jobs through Nevada’s clean energy economy.”

As Attorney General, Cortez Masto represented the state of Nevada in several key environmental cases, including an effort to get the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to deny a license for nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain.  Her office also worked with the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection to secure an approximately $1 billion settlement from the Anadarko Petroleum Corporation to remediate and eradicate perchlorate contamination in Lake Mead.  On the campaign trail, Cortez Masto has been outspoken on the economic, environmental, and public health benefits clean energy provides for Nevada and has vowed to fight for them and to support efforts to address climate change.  

Cortez Masto’s strong environmental leadership stands in stark contrast to the records of her potential opponents.  Congressman Joe Heck (NV-03) has earned an abysmal 8 percent lifetime score on LCV’s National Environmental Scorecard, including a 6 percent score for 2015. Heck recently supported an energy bill that favors fossil fuels over investments in solar, wind, and geothermal resources. He has voted multiple times to block the EPA’s landmark Clean Power Plan while supporting the continuation of taxpayer subsidies to the oil and gas sector. Former Nevada Assemblywoman Sharron Angle has denied the scientific consensus on climate change, called for the elimination of the Environmental Protection Agency and earned a lifetime score of just 15 percent from the Nevada Conservation League during her tenure in the state legislature. 

The non-partisan National Environmental Scorecard is a nationally accepted yardstick used to rate members of Congress on environmental and clean energy issues. Based on key environmental votes in the House and Senate, it is often used by the media to quickly describe a Member’s record. For more information, visit https://scorecard.lcv.org.  

LCV Action Fund’s GiveGreen program has raised and contributed over $167,000 for Cortez Masto. GiveGreen is the only bundling website devoted exclusively to raising money for environmental champions for federal office.

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Paid for by the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund and authorized by Catherine Cortez Masto for Senate.