The environmental group accuses DeLay of attempting to abolish existing environmental legislation and describes him as “the greatest threat in Congress to environmental interests.”

“Tom DeLay doesn’t just vote against environmentally friendly laws – he actively attempts to take away key environmental protections already in place,” said Sharon Tucker, who heads the Friends of the Earth (FoE) project. “We’re talking about someone with a lifetime voting record that is anti-environment 92 percent of the time.”

Congressman DeLay represents the 22nd District of Texas. As House Majority Whip in the House Republican Conference he is responsible for ensuring that the Republican legislative agenda is completed. He also serves on the powerful Appropriations Committee, the committee that produces all spending legislation for the House of Representatives. A committed fiscal conservative, DeLay has consistently voted to reduce federal spending.

FoE Action says DeLay attempted to eliminate the Clean Air Act and to cut the US EPA’s budget by one third. DeLay is said to have called the EPA the ‘Gestapo’ of US government and mocked scientists who won the Nobel prize for their research on depletion of the ozone layer.

“Tom DeLay appears to be in a state of denial regarding the growing dangers of polluting our air and water, ” said FoE Action President, Dr. Brent Blackwelder. “To make matters worse, he scoffs at countless scientific studies indicating the serious consequences associated with environmental toxins, including cancer, asthma, and even birth defects.”

FoE Action points to a Houston Chronicle article in which DeLay said that environmental regulations are not based on sound science. “If Tom DeLay were just an ordinary citizen, I suppose his strange beliefs about the environment really wouldn’t matter, ” said Tucker. “But as the third ranking Republican in the US House of Representatives, his legislative powers directly impact the health and well being of all Americans.”

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