Climate Votes in the 119th Congress: Who Voted How
The 119th Congress convened in January 2025. In the months since, members have cast votes on energy policy, environmental regulations, and spending that affects climate programs. Here's what the record shows — and how to find exactly where your representatives stand.
What Counts as a "Climate Vote"?
The term "climate legislation" covers a broader range than most people realize. Roll call votes affecting climate and energy policy include:
- Direct climate bills — legislation explicitly addressing emissions, renewable energy mandates, or carbon policy
- Budget and appropriations votes — funding or defunding the EPA, Department of Energy programs, or climate research agencies
- Energy permitting — votes on expanding oil, gas, and coal extraction; pipeline approvals; offshore drilling
- Infrastructure — EV charging networks, grid modernization, clean energy tax credits
- Regulatory votes — resolutions to overturn or affirm EPA rules and other environmental regulations under the Congressional Review Act
A senator can vote against every direct climate bill while voting to gut the EPA's enforcement budget. Both matter. VoteClarity tracks all of them under the Climate & Environment issue category.
The 119th Congress: Early Patterns
The 119th Congress opened with a Republican House and Senate majority, setting up a different legislative environment than the 118th Congress that passed the Inflation Reduction Act.
Key areas where votes have emerged in the 119th Congress:
Energy permitting and extraction — Votes on permitting reform, offshore drilling expansion, and regulatory rollbacks have drawn clear party-line divisions, with notable exceptions from members in energy-producing states where the economic calculus shifts.
IRA and clean energy provisions — The Inflation Reduction Act's clean energy tax credits have faced challenges in budget reconciliation debates. Votes to preserve, modify, or eliminate these provisions show up in spending and reconciliation votes rather than stand-alone climate bills.
Environmental agency funding — Appropriations debates have featured fights over EPA enforcement, National Parks funding, and climate research budgets. How members voted on these amendments often tells you more about their actual climate priorities than any floor speech.
Congressional Review Act resolutions — The CRA allows Congress to overturn recent federal regulations with a simple majority. Resolutions targeting environmental rules have been a recurring mechanism in the 119th Congress.
How to Find Your Rep's Climate Voting Record
The most direct way to see your representative's climate voting record:
1. Use VoteClarity — Enter your ZIP, select "Climate & Environment" as one of your issues (weight it as high as you want), and you'll see an alignment score for each of your reps built from actual 119th Congress votes.
2. Browse the Climate & Environment issue hub — See the most active reps on climate votes and explore the vote data directly.
3. Review individual member profiles — Click any rep's name to see their full voting history broken down by issue, including every climate vote we've tracked.
The Pattern Worth Watching
Historical roll call data shows that stated positions and voting records frequently diverge on climate. Common patterns:
The "yes-and-no" member — Votes for a bill's final passage after successfully amending it to remove the strongest provisions. The bill passes, the member claims credit, and the mechanism is weaker than it looks.
The procedural blocker — Votes against cloture (in the Senate) or against bringing a bill to the floor, blocking it from ever getting a final passage vote. Never appears in the final vote tally, but effectively killed the legislation.
The swing-state moderate — May vote differently in years they're up for re-election versus off years. Comparing across election cycles reveals the pattern.
The energy-state exception — Members from coal, oil, or gas-producing states often break with their party on energy votes regardless of their stated climate positions. For constituents in those states, the specific votes matter more than party affiliation.
Why This Matters for 2026 Midterms
The 2026 midterm elections arrive against a backdrop of 119th Congress climate votes that will have accumulated over nearly two years. Voters who care about climate — whether they want more action or less — can now base their assessment on documented votes rather than campaign rhetoric.
The congressional record for the 119th Congress is being written right now. See how your representatives are voting on climate and every other issue you care about.