American Energy Alliance 2020 Senate Scorecard

This week the American Energy Alliance released its American Energy Scorecard for the United States Senate.  The AEA scorecard scores voting and co-sponsorship decisions on legislation affecting energy and environmental policy, educating voters on how their representatives’ vote and holding members accountable for those decisions.  This year’s Senate scorecard compiles 23 votes and 1 co-sponsorship decision from the full 6-year terms of the Senators up for reelection in 2020.  15 Senators achieved better than a 90% score over their full term of office.

The American Energy Scorecard is guided by the following core principles:

• Promoting affordable, abundant, and reliable energy
• Expanding economic opportunity and prosperity, particularly for working families and those on fixed incomes
• Giving Americans, not Washington bureaucrats, the power to make their own energy choices
• Encouraging private sector innovation and entrepreneurship
• Advancing market-oriented energy and environment policies
• Reducing the role of government in energy markets
• Eliminating the subsidies, mandates, and special interest giveaways that lead to higher energy costs

All members are notified in advance that AEA plans to score an upcoming vote. The scored votes in the last three Congresses cover a range of energy and environmental policy issues: 

• Five votes were Congressional Review Act resolutions pertaining to federal regulatory overreach
• Six more votes sought to restrain regulatory adventurism or make clear Congressional authority over regulatory action.
• Four votes opposed wasteful subsidy programs (wind PTC, solar ITC, the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing, and the Export-Import Bank)
• Three votes pertained to efforts to limit resource development (Keystone pipeline, Alaska coastal plain drilling, and permanent funding for purchases of additional federal land)
• Two votes were taken on nominations (Scott Pruitt for EPA administrator and Brett Kavanaugh for Supreme Court)
• Two votes opposed efforts make energy more expensive (through a carbon tax and a national renewables mandate)
• And one vote pertained to the massive attempt to reorder society known as the Green New Deal.

One co-sponsorship decision was scored, in this case scored against (meaning not cosponsoring scored positively).  This was the resolution supporting a Green New Deal, which sought to control every aspect of the economy through controlling energy decisions.

To see a full list of how senators did over their six-year term click here.

AEA applauds the 15 Senators who demonstrated support for affordable energy and free markets over their six-year term.

For more information on how these issues impact the election check out AEA’s Vote Energy 2020 election hub.