Dear Senator:

On behalf of our millions of members, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) works to turn environmental values into national, state, and local priorities. Each year, LCV publishes the National Environmental Scorecard, which details the voting records of members of Congress on environmental legislation. The Scorecard is distributed to LCV members, concerned voters nationwide, and the media.

We urge you to oppose the nomination of Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State. Tillerson has a deeply disturbing record on issues of U.S. foreign policy, human rights and environmental protection as an executive and CEO at ExxonMobil. He has consistently put his stakeholders’ interests ahead of national policy, public health and safety. He is unfit to serve as our lead diplomat and representative of America’s interests around the world. He would bring unprecedented conflicts of interest and concerns over corporate influence in our government without substantial foreign policy experience.

Climate change is one of the most critical threats facing our nation and world, and it must be addressed by the global community. Previous Secretaries of State have achieved critical climate and environmental protection agreements with other nations, including the historic Paris climate agreement in December of 2015 that entered into force in November of 2016.

In contrast, Rex Tillerson’s ExxonMobil funded organizations that promoted climate science denial to the tune of $15.8 million between 1998 and 2007, and the company is currently under investigation following investigative reports showing it covered up its own climate change research and misled the public. In addition, Tillerson testified in favor of even more subsidies for Big Oil companies and opposed the development of renewable energies. No matter how he tries to distance himself from the company, Rex Tillerson and ExxonMobil are one and the same. Tillerson opposed U.S. sanctions on Russia at the same time ExxonMobil was making millions in oil deals.

Tillerson’s record of putting financial interests ahead of public health, safety and U.S. policy interests is disqualifying. We urge you to oppose his nomination and will strongly consider including this vote in the 2017 Scorecard. If you need more information, please call my office at (202) 785-8683 and ask to speak with a member of our Government Relations team.

Sincerely,

Gene Karpinski

President