SENATE VOTES for 2026 VOTER’S GUIDE
Zeldin Confirmation (EPA Administrator)
Senate Roll Call Vote 24
Issues: Clean Air, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Confirmations
The Senate considered President Donald Trump’s nomination of Lee Zeldin to serve as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA is tasked with protecting human health and the environment, and leading efforts to ensure Americans have access to clean air, safe water, and a healthy environment. As a member of Congress, Zeldin voted against the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the largest investment in climate action in history. He opposed legislation to secure our democracy, expand voting rights, and protect public lands, our air and water, and more—all reflected in his abysmal 14% lifetime score on LCV’s
National Environmental Scorecard
Given his lack of relevant experience and his track record voting against actions that safeguard our environment, it was clear his priorities would not protect our families, especially those living on the frontlines of pollution and the fossil-fueled climate crisis—disproportionately communities of color. Instead of ensuring everyone has clean water to drink and air to breathe, Zeldin has committed to Trump’s anti-climate, anti-environment, pro-polluter agenda. On January 29, the Senate confirmed Lee Zeldin to be administrator of the EPA by a vote of 56–42 (Senate roll call vote 24). NO IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE.
Link: https://www.lcv.org/roll–call–vote/zeldin–confirmation–epa–administrator/
Terminating the Sham Energy Emergency
Senate Roll Call Vote 95
Issues: Clean Energy, Climate Change, Dirty Energy, Public Engagement & Right to Know
Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Ranking Member Martin Heinrich (D-NM) sponsored S.J.Res. 10, a joint resolution that would end President Donald Trump’s energy emergency declaration. Trump’s declaration is undermining American jobs, driving up costs, eroding U.S. economic competitiveness, taking away clean energy choices, and harming the environment. The U.S. is the largest producer and exporter of oil and gas, and was in the midst of an affordable clean energy boom at the beginning of President Trump’s current term thanks to historic clean energy investments made by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This energy emergency declaration is a thinly-veiled attempt to ban cleaner and cheaper forms of energy and gut environmental protections alongside the many other anti-clean energy actions of this Congress and administration, all just to further enrich big oil and gas executives at the expense of our communities and clean air and water. On February 26, the Senate rejected S.J.Res. 10 by a vote of 47-52 (Senate roll call vote 95). YES IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE.
Link: https://www.lcv.org/roll–call–vote/terminating–the–sham–energy–emergency/
Sustaining the Residential Clean Energy Tax Credit
Senate Roll Call Vote 365
Issues: Clean Energy, Climate Change
Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO) sponsored an amendment to H.R. 1, the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which would extend the phase-out period for the residential clean energy tax credit, allowing more households to more affordably purchase and install solar panels and backup batteries. Extending the tax credit would help households save on their energy bills and reduce strain on the grid while protecting good-paying manufacturing and installation jobs in the U.S. solar industry. On July 1, the Senate rejected the Hickenlooper amendment by a vote of 48-52 (Senate roll call vote 365). YES IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE.
Link: https://www.lcv.org/roll–call–vote/extending–the–residential–clean–energy–tax–credit/
Rolling Back the Methane Polluter Fee
Senate Roll Call Vote 97
Issues: Clean Air, Climate Change, Dirty Energy
The Senate considered Representative August Pfluger’s (R-TX) H.J.Res. 35, a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval, which repeals the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rule implementing the Methane Emissions Reduction Program’s Waste Emissions Charge, better known as the methane polluter fee. The CRA is an extreme and blunt tool that is being used by anti-environmental members of Congress who want to permanently strip away protections for our environment, communities, wildlife, and natural heritage. Rolling back implementation of this cost-saving program would increase energy waste, endanger public health, especially in low-wealth communities and communities of color living on the frontlines of oil and gas operations, and imperil America’s position as a global leader on reducing methane pollution. On February 27, the Senate approved H.J.Res. 35 by a vote of 52-47. (Senate roll call vote 97) NO IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE. The president signed it into law on March 14.
Link: https://www.lcv.org/roll–call–vote/rolling–back–the–methane–polluter–fee/
HOUSE VOTES for 2026 VOTER’S GUIDE
Gutting Environmental Review and Public Input
House Roll Call Vote 356
Issues: Clean Air, Clean Water, Climate Change, Dirty Energy, Public Engagement & Right to Know
Chair Bruce Westerman (R-AR) sponsored H.R. 4776, the so-called Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act, which would gut the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by stripping it of meaningful environmental and community impact analysis and reducing the review of major projects to a box-checking exercise. It would constrain federal agencies by limiting analysis to narrow, near-term impacts, prohibiting the use of new scientific information during reviews, and allowing project sponsors to deny agency requests for reasonable extensions to complete thorough environmental review. It would also undermine public accountability by restricting community input and legal recourse, cutting the statute of limitations from six years to 150 days and removing the court’s ability to challenge flawed agency environmental findings. Further favoring dirty energy, a last-minute amendment added to the bill would legitimize the Trump administration continuing to block offshore wind and other forms of clean energy while fossil fuel projects receive ‘white glove service’. On December 18, the House approved H.R. 4776 by a vote of 221-196 (House roll call vote 356). NO IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE. The Senate took no action on this legislation in 2025.
Link: https://www.lcv.org/roll–call–vote/speed–act/
Extending the Operation of Dirty, Expensive Power Plants
House Roll Call Vote 342
Issues: Clean Air, Clean Water, Climate Change, Dirty Energy
Representative Morgan Griffith (R-VA) sponsored H.R. 3632, the Power Plant Reliability Act, which would concentrate broad powers in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to delay the retirement of old, dirty power plants. The bill would allow FERC to delay retirements for up to ten years if they find that a utility’s interstate supply of electricity is likely to be insufficient in the five years following. It also requires utilities to provide five years notice of planned retirement of generation assets, potentially facilitating the prolonged operation of expensive and dirty fossil fuel power plants. Locking utilities into continuing to operate costly fossil fuel plants, while passing the costs of volatile fuel prices and expensive repairs onto consumers, is predicted to cost customers billions of dollars and continue harmful pollution. On December 16, the House approved H.R. 3632 by a vote of 222-202 (House roll call vote 342). NO IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE. The Senate took no action on this legislation in 2025.
Link: https://www.lcv.org/roll–call–vote/power–plant–reliability–act/
Fast-Tracking Fossil-Fuel Power over Clean Energy onto the Grid
House Roll Call Vote 279
Issues: Clean Air, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Dirty Energy, Environmental Justice
Representative Troy Balderson (R-OH) sponsored H.R. 1047, the Guaranteeing Reliability through the Interconnection of Dispatchable (GRID) Power Act, which would effectively require that fossil fuel-fired power plants cut in front of clean energy projects to get connected to our grids. This would raise costs for working families by prioritizing expensive polluting power that disproportionately harms the health and pocket books of low-wealth communities and communities of color. It would also hinder the clean energy transition and intensify the impacts of climate change-driven extreme weather disasters. On September 18, the House approved H.R. 1047 by a vote of 216-206 (House roll call vote 279). NO IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE. The Senate took no action on this legislation in 2025.
Link: https://www.lcv.org/roll–call–vote/fast–tracking–fossil–fuels–over–clean–energy–to–our–grid/
Rolling Back the Methane Polluter Fee
House Roll Call Vote 52
Issues: Clean Air, Climate Change, Dirty Energy, Environmental Justice
Representative August Pfluger (R-TX) sponsored H.J.Res. 35, a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval, which repeals the Environmental Protect Agency’s (EPA) rule implementing the Methane Emissions Reduction Program’s Waste Emissions Charge, better known as the methane polluter fee. The CRA is an extreme and blunt tool that is being used by anti-environmental members of Congress who want to permanently strip away protections for our environment, communities, wildlife, and natural heritage. Rolling back implementation of this cost-saving program increases energy waste, endangers public health, especially in low-wealth communities and communities of color living on the frontlines of oil and gas operations, and imperils America’s position as a global leader on reducing methane pollution. On February 26, the House approved H.J.Res. 35 by a vote of 220-206 (House roll call vote 52). NO IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE. The Senate approved H.J.Res. 35 on February 27, and the president signed it into law on March 14.
Link: https://www.lcv.org/roll–call–vote/rolling–back–the–methane–polluter–fee-2/