Why Congress Will Miss Rep. Jim Moran

I'm sorry to hear Rep. Jim Moran is retiring, a hard-working, underrated fighter for progressive values, especially for our environment & public health.

My favorite Jim Moran moment: I was leading one of my first Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment stream cleanups at Four Mile Run and was told to expect Rep. Moran to attend. I expected him to show up in a suit, make some brief remarks, hold up a few pieces of pre-collected trash for the camera, and be off to his next event.

Instead, Rep. Moran showed up in hip waders, grabbed a trash bag, and took off down the rocks into the stream. Within minutes he was downstream & out of sight around a bend. Moran didn't return until he'd filled the bag with trash & was dragging a bigger piece of junk that wouldn't fit in. As he left, he apologized profusely that he had to leave before others had finished.

The more you work with members of Congress, the more you respect politicians who genuinely care passionately about solving problems, as opposed to those who just know what they're supposed to say. (Bizarrely, it's the latter who are more hailed as "moderate" heroes by the Beltway media.) Rep. Moran has a fire for the solutions he truly believes will improve the lives of average citizens, and that's sorely lacking in Congress these days.

Rep. Moran: Congress Has "Moral and Ethical Obligation" to Confront Climate Change

With global warming-fueled wildfires sweeping through New Mexico, Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) is urging Congress to face up to the growing problem:

Congressman Jim Moran, Northern Virginia Democrat and Ranking Member on the Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, today introduced a resolution calling on Congress to take action on climate change. The Moran resolution is supported by a range of religious and faith groups.

“Climate change is already having a profoundly adverse impact on our environment and will affect our national security and the longevity and health of our children. Thus, there is a moral and ethical obligation to responsibly address this growing threat,” said Rep. Moran. “I am proud to join religious leaders and organizations calling for Congress to take timely and responsible action on climate change.”

The resolution acknowledges the impact of climate change on food stability, national security and welfare of future generations and the moral responsibility to be stewards of the environment.

But instead of tackling the climate crisis, Congressional Republican leadership is actually fighting to make it worse, trying to block the Environmental Protection Agency's effort to limit carbon pollution from the oldest, dirtiest coal-fired power plants.

Read Rep. Moran's full resolution here (PDF) and tell the EPA you support limits on industrial carbon pollution.

Virginia Republicans Flunk Latest Congressional Conservation Scorecard

The latest Congressional scorecard from the League of Conservation Voters flunks every single Virginia Republican, including House members like Scott Rigell, Rob Wittman and Frank Wolf who'll be trying to sell themselves as moderate in November. Committed opponents of clean air & water, public health, and wildlife like Eric Cantor, Randy Forbes, Bob Goodlatte, Morgan Griffith and Robert Hurt all scored in the teens. Meanwhile, Virginia House Democrats Gerry Connolly, Jim Moran and Bobby Scott all scored 100%.

What drew the LCV's ire? Every single Republican voted for the House Republican budget resolution to gut the Clean Air Act & Clean Water Act, to protect billions in tax giveaways for oil corporations that banked $137 billion in profits in 2011, and to weaken offshore drilling safety rules even as they pushed to bring oil drilling to the Virginia coast. 

On the Senate side, both Sen. Mark Warner and Jim Webb scored 100%, though given that both support oil drilling off Virginia's shores and Webb has opposed clean air regulations, neither is perfect on conservation.

Here's the Virginia House scorecard:

White House Getting Ready to Sell Out on Clean Air & Water?

Is the White House getting ready to trade away protections for clean air, the Chesapeake Bay, and Appalachian Mountains & their streams in an attempt to appease Congressional Republicans and their polluter friends? (UPDATE: A friend points out I'm wrong here - "'Trading away' would assume some sort of savvy quid-pro-quo where we actually GET something.")

The Associated Press updates budget negotiations:

The White House said Vice President Joe Biden and budget director Jacob Lew planned to meet Wednesday evening at the Capitol with Senate Democratic leaders.

A Democratic lawmaker familiar with a meeting Wednesday between Obama and members of the Congressional Black Caucus said the administration made it clear that some House GOP proposals restricting the Environmental Protection Agency's regulatory powers would have to make it into the final bill. In order to characterize the White House's position, the lawmaker insisted on anonymity because the meeting was private.

It's not clear which proposals the White House might accept, but those backed by Republicans would block the government from carrying out regulations on greenhouse gases, putting in place a plan to clean up the Chesapeake Bay and from shutting down mountaintop mines it believes will cause too much water pollution.

Sadly, I don't think progressives will find this news all that surprising. These days, from tax cuts for the wealthy to oil drilling, it seems like there's no issue on which the White House will stand up for what it believes in.

UPDATE 3/31 8:10am: In this morning's Environment & Energy Daily (sub. req.), Rep. Jim Moran asks the White House to take a stand:

The chief House Democratic appropriator for EPA and the Interior Department echoed environmentalists' wary response to the speech. It was up to Obama "and his speechwriters" to decide if EPA merited a mention yesterday, Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia quipped before adding that calling the CR riders "totally unacceptable" should be a top priority.

"I hope he understands that promoting more energy -- even more sustainable forms of energy -- is not the same as protecting the environment in all cases," Moran said of Obama. "I just don't see any room for compromise on those riders, and I would hope that he would take a definitive position in that regard."

Sign the Sierra Club's petition asking the White House not to compromise away our clean air & water.

UPDATE 3/31 11:45am: According to Politico Pro (sub. req.), "A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment." Bye bye, environmental protections.

Jim Moran's "Opponent" on Environment: I Ruined It! On Purpose! (Video)

Saturday: Canvass for Climate Champs Connolly & Moran

Northern Virginia Congressmen Gerry Connolly & Jim Moran were two of the American Clean Energy & Security Act's biggest supporters, helping them earn the Sierra Club's endorsement. On Saturday, the Sierra Club will join with Arlington Young Democrats, Organizing for America & others to say thanks:

Date: Saturday, October 9, 2010
Time: 2:30 PM
Location: Woodrow Wilson Library, 6101 Knollwood Dr, Falls Church, VA

Let's go door to door and spread the word about what this election means for our country, our environment and our future!

Hope you can spare a couple of hours to help out! RSVP at MyBO or on Facebook.

GOP Candidates Fall Flat in Arlington

How badly are GOP challengers doing in Arlington? Even conservative Arlington Sun Gazette editor Scott McCaffrey scored Democratic incumbents Rep. Jim Moran & County Board Member Chris Zimmerman ahead of their Republican opponents in their performances at this week's Arlington Civic Federation forum.

Rep. Moran: Responsibility to Act on Global Warming

Yesterday, the Environmental Protection Agency held a public forum on its recent finding that global warming poses a threat to public health & welfare under the Clean Air Act. For my day job with the National Wildlife Federation, I covered a news conference of environmental groups praising the EPA's decision and calling on Congress to pass comprehensive climate & energy legislation this year.

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) joined the event, with Rep. Moran delivering an especially forceful call to action:

Tonight: Town Hall Meeting on Coal and Clean Energy

Just as Dominion starts some new shenanigans trying to keep Virginia hooked on coal, climate activists will gather in Alexandria tonight to talk about moving Virginia forward:

Join Congressman Jim Moran and Alexandria Vice Mayor Del Pepper on Tuesday, February 5th for a town hall meeting to discuss the antiquated use of coal in Virginia and our clean energy future. The event will focus on the connection between two coal-fired power plants in Virginia — the Mirant Plant in Alexandria and the proposed Dominion power plant in Wise County — and our connection to mountaintop removal coal mining.

There is a better way to provide Virginians with energy that doesn’t pollute our air and water, that doesn’t destroy our mountains, and that doesn’t contribute to global warming. Come to the town hall meeting to hear about the consequences of Virginia’s reliance on coal, our clean energy future, and how you can be part of the solution.

Hear experts, politicians and activists talk about Virginia coal and clean energy. The talk is to be directly followed by a question and answer session to let you speak your mind about coal, global warming, and renewable energy.

DATE: Tues., Feb. 5th, 7pm-9pm (tabling & schmoozing from 6:30pm-7pm)

LOCATION: Lyles Crouch Elementary School, 530 South Saint Asaph Street, Alexandria, VA

COST: Free!

Speakers Include:
* Alexandria Vice Mayor Del Pepper
* Rep. Jim Moran, 8th District of Virginia
* Kathy Selvage, Vice President, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
* Ana Prados, Sierra Club Mt. Vernon Group, Air Quality Issues Chair
* Rev. Dr. Janet Parker, Pastor, Parish Life Rock Spring

Event Sponsors:
The Chesapeake Climate Action Network, The Sierra Club, NOTICe, Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment, GWIPL, VIPL, PDA, Green Sanctuary Task Force of Mt. Vernon Unitarian Church, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology Environmental Impact Club

I have to get to the CRM Monthly Meetup in Shirlington tonight, but I'll be at this Town Hall Meeting for the schmoozing early on. Look for me in this t-shirt. Hope to see you there!

Fixing Four Mile Run

As reported in the Sun-Gazette, Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) recently made this federal funding announcement:

$700,000 for the Four Mile Run project, to enable the Army Corps of Engineers to complete its study of the options to replace the current cement channel with a more natural stream bed. Completion of the study would give Arlington and Alexandria a green light to implement the first phase of the master plan to transform Four Mile Run into a habitat more suitable for wildlife and recreation.

Congressman Moran has been a leading advocate of renovating lower Four Mile Run, following through on the project for years now.

You can see a little history of Four Mile Run's channelization at the Northern Virginia Regional Commission's website. It's worked perfectly from a flood-control standpoint, but much like the Army Corps of Engineers' well-intentioned flood-control efforts on the Mississippi, the channelization had a devastating environmental impact.

But the restoration efforts could lead to the best of both worlds -- flood control and an aesthetically pleasing, environmentally friendly river. Arlington County's website has some tantalizing images of what the restored channel could look like.

Right now, if you live on South Glebe near Four Mile Run, you're essentially living next to a big concrete drain pipe. But once the restoration is complete, you'll be living next to a natural stream. That can only lead to new development and higher property values, so this project isn't just the right environmental move, it's the right economic move.