Letter: Meehan isn’t representing our values on environment

To The Editor,

I am a constituent in Pennsylvania’s District 7, and Pat Meehan is my congressional representative. I am very concerned that Meehan isn’t representing my values, particularly when it comes to his voting record on the environment. So, I helped create and signed this open letter to Meehan about the environment. We will be delivering this letter to his office in person. I encourage anyone else in District 7 who feels the same way to sign the letter at http://tinyurl.com/ycub4udr

AN OPEN LETTER TO CONGRESSMAN MEEHAN

June 2017

Dear Representative Meehan:

We, your constituents, appreciate that you spoke out against the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Accord. We agree that withdrawal diminishes the United State’s impact on the world stage.

However, speaking out is not enough. We also need our senators and representatives to vote in the environment’s favor. We have noticed that your voting record shows more votes against the environment than for it.

Here are several examples from the last six years:

Issue	# of bills	# of your pro-environmental votes	Examples of your anti-environmental votes
Climate change	34	3	H.R. 3408, 2012 H.R. 2, 2014 H.R. 5538, 2016
Air	19	1	H.R. 2401, 2011 H.R, 2279, 2013 H.R. 4775, 2016
Toxic/public’s right to know	12	1	H.R. 872, 2011 H.R. 935, 2014 H.R. 5538, 2016
Drilling	20	0	H.R. 1229, 2011 H.R. 1965, 2013 H.R. 2406, 2016

These votes, to quote your reaction to the withdrawal, “call into question our commitment to preserving and protecting the environment.”

The current administration is only worried about short-term goals, like pushing for seismic tests for Atlantic oil drilling. But, these short-term goals hurt the environment over the long-term, putting our planet in danger.

We believe in balancing short-term and long-term goals. What good will our financial wealth be when the oceans rise and put cities underwater, and emissions ruin the air quality?

We have two specific requests for you:

(1) We ask that you call on Governor Wolf, and on Pennsylvania mayors, city and borough council members, township supervisors, and county commissioners to follow the terms of the Paris Accord.

(2) We ask that when voting on environmental issues in the future, you make it a priority to, as you told a constituent in a March 2017 letter, “protect these resources for today and be able to ensure clean air and water for our children and grandchildren.”

We need representatives who will consider the big picture and the long-term wellbeing of our Commonwealth. We hope that you will be one of these representatives.

Thank you,

Lisa Jaremka,

New Garden