I recently received a letter from Rep. Scott Tipton responding to my concerns about rural and western Colorado’s environmental issues. His response welcomes dialogue and I appreciate his openness to listen. He stated, “Environmental stewardship is one of my top priorities, and I support efforts in Congress to analyze and put forth solutions to the threats posed by climate change.”
Due to the influx of new climate data, many Republican representatives and senators are taking a new look at climate change, so I don’t want to hold Rep. Tipton’s past voting record against him. However, we also should not ignore a trend and, thus, miss an opportunity to act.
In 2015, there were 35 opportunities in the House to vote pro-environment for clean air, clean water, clean energy, forest management, climate change, wildlife and the public’s right to know about toxic chemicals in the environment.
Of those 35 opportunities, Rep. Tipton voted against environmental stewardship 34 times and voted for a healthier environment only once (see http://scorecard.lcv.org/moc/scott-tipton).
I encourage dialogue with Rep. Tipton about this discrepancy. A town hall meeting that is not by invitation only, as is usually the case, but open to the general public would be a wonderful opportunity for Rep Tipton’s constituents to hear his views on this important and timely subject.
Another concern for many of us is the willingness of our representatives to work across the aisle on environmental issues. Rep Tipton stated in his response to me, “It is my sincere hope that Republicans and Democrats can work together in Congress to reach a solution to this problem so that we can preserve our natural environment for generations to come.”
Repeated invitations have been sent by Colorado constituents to Rep. Tipton to join Republican Rep. Carlos Curbello’s Climate Solutions Caucus, a bipartisan group of 18 house members working together on climate change solutions.
I encourage Rep Tipton to lead our district and represent Colorado’s strong values of outdoor recreation and environmental concerns by joining this caucus.
Susan Atkinson
Durango
