FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For further information contact:
John Robinson, Chief of Staff, AHSA: (c) 202-262-3252
NRA LEADERSHIP STILL SELLING HUNTERS DOWN THE RIVER:
New NRA Grades Show They Support Members Who Support a Radical Anti-Conservation Agenda, AHSA gives NRA Leadership an F
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Bethesda, MD --- A new analysis by American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA) of the 2008 grades and endorsements the National Rifle Association (NRA), released over the weekend, show that the NRA continues to overwhelmingly support Members of Congress who have terrible records when it comes to protecting the environment.
In the 2008 ratings, the NRA gave an average "A" rating to the 161 House Members who have poor conservation records - a score of 25 or below from the League of Conservation Voters - and an average rating of a "D" to the 210 House Members with strong records on environmental conservation - 75 or above from the League of Conservation Voters. The NRA gave an average rating of an "A" to the 10 Senators who are running for re-election with poor conservation records and an average rating of a "D -minus" to the 6 Senators who are running for re-election with strong conservation records.
"The ratings and endorsements NRA released over the weekend confirm what American Hunters and Shooters first reported a month ago: the NRA leadership overwhelmingly supports Members of Congress who put the interests of Washington corporate lobbyists ahead of the interests that hunters and sportsman have in protecting America's public lands," said AHSA President Ray Schoenke. "It's time for gun owners, hunters, and all Americans to repudiate the NRA's slash and burn culture war politics and join the movement to protect our gun rights and the lands we love - and do it in a way that unites Americans instead of dividing them."
Schoenke added: "That's why we give them an F."
The AHSA analysis released today supplements a report it released in August: "SLASH AND BURN: Why Does the National Rifle Association Support Congress's Biggest Opponents of Conservation?" The Slash and Burn report shows that NRA's political campaign money and endorsements have dramatically favored Washington's biggest opponents of wilderness conservation on issues ranging from protecting public hunting lands from corporate development to acknowledging the real danger that climate change presents for the great American outdoors.
Here are some additional findings in the analysis AHSA released today:
- NRA supports Senators and House Members who oppose the Roadless Area Conservation Act to protect America's National Forests from corporate loggers and clear-cutters. The 144 House Members who have co-sponsored Roadless Area Conservation Act received a "D-minus" on average from the NRA, while the 291 House Members who have failed to co-sponsor this conservation legislation received a "B-plus" on average. The NRA gave an average rating of an "F" to the 5 Senators who are running for re-election and co-sponsored the Roadless Conservation Act and a "B-plus" on average to the 23 Senators who are running for re-election who failed to co-sponsor this legislation.
- NRA supports House Members who voted for the Pombo-Gibbons Amendment that would have enabled the sale of public wilderness lands to corporate mining interests at far below market value. NRA gave an "A" on average to the 172 House Members who supported the Pombo-Gibbons Amendment (H.R. 4241), while giving only a "D-plus" on average to the 195 House Members who opposed the Pombo-Gibbons Amendment.
- NRA supports Congress's climate change deniers. In the Senate, the NRA gave an "A" average to the 13 Senators who are running for re-election and voted against the so-called "Katrina Amendment" (S.1094), which recognizes the impact of climate change in future flood-control and other water resources projects, while giving only a "D" on average to the 11 Senate supporters of the Katrina Amendment who are running for re-election. Meanwhile in the House, the NRA gave an "A" average to the 149 Representatives who voted for the Barton Amendment, which stripped language acknowledging the impact of climate change from H.R. 2643, while giving a "C-minus" to the 263 Representatives who voted against the Barton Amendment.
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