Friends of the Earth? Partisanship, Party Control of Congress, and Environmental Legislation in Congress

Abstract

Broad, bipartisan support for environmental protection in the 1960s eroded in subsequent decades as environmental issues became more polarized, particularly along party lines with Democrats lending greater support to environmental causes than Republicans. Yet, party differences and the general influence of partisanship on member behavior may vary over time as changes occur in Congress. Specifically, this article posits that the Republican takeover of the House and Senate in the 1994 elections and the accompanying increase of power vested in leaders enhanced the significance of partisanship. Using League of Conservation Voters’ scores for members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate for the years 1993–2002, this article examines the role of partisanship and other factors on environmental support. While this article confirms the enduring importance of partisanship, we found that both partisanship and other determinants, like constituency characteristics, of members’ support for the environment exhibit considerable variation. This article concludes by suggesting that future research should examine the sources of this variation.