lamalfa's voting record: the environment

H.R. 1 – Lower Energy Costs Act (2023)

How he voted: Yea.

Bill Summary: This legislation aimed to reduce energy costs by promoting domestic energy production and reducing regulatory barriers.

Impact: Although the bill may lower energy costs, it encourages increased fossil fuel extraction, potentially leading to environmental degradation and adverse health effects in communities near energy production sites.

H.J.Res. 27 – Disapproval of EPA's Heavy-Duty Vehicle Emission Standards

How he voted: Yea

Bill Summary: This resolution aimed to disapprove of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) rule concerning California's heavy-duty vehicle emission standards.

Impact: By voting in favor, LaMalfa supported rolling back stricter emission standards, potentially increasing air pollution and health risks in his district, which includes areas with significant agricultural activity and associated air quality concerns.

H.J.Res. 28 – Disapproval of EPA's Advanced Clean Trucks Rule

How he voted: Yea

Bill Summary: This resolution sought to disapprove of the EPA's rule on California's Advanced Clean Trucks program.

Impact: Supporting this disapproval could hinder efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector, affecting air quality and contributing to climate change, which disproportionately impacts rural communities.

H.J.Res. 29 – Disapproval of EPA's California Vehicle Emission Standards

How he voted: Yea

Bill Summary: This resolution aimed to disapprove of the EPA's rule concerning California's vehicle emission standards.

Impact: By voting in favor, LaMalfa supported weakening emission standards, potentially leading to increased air pollution and associated health issues in his district.

H.J.Res. 30 – Disapproval of EPA's California Heavy-Duty Vehicle Standards

How he voted: Yea

Bill Summary: This resolution sought to disapprove of the EPA's rule on California's heavy-duty vehicle standards.

Impact: Supporting this disapproval could lead to higher emissions from heavy-duty vehicles, worsening air quality, and health outcomes in LaMalfa's district.

H.J.Res. 52 – Repeal of Endangered Species Protection for Longfin Smelt

How he voted: Yea.

Bill Summary: This resolution aimed to remove the Endangered Species Act protections for the longfin smelt in San Francisco Bay.

Impact: By voting in favor, LaMalfa supported weakening protections for a species crucial to the Bay's ecosystem. This action could lead to reduced water flow protections, negatively affecting water quality and availability for communities in his district.

California High Speed Rail project

Let’s get real about LaMalfa’s ongoing tirade against California’s high-speed rail project. He’s been a vocal critic since 2011, but what he conveniently forgets to mention is that this project hits home—literally. It could shake up his family business and those of his big-money donors. So, it isn't any surprise he’s pulling out all the stops to block it.

And let’s talk about the amazing environmental perks of high-speed rail. This system isn’t just about getting from point A to point B faster; it’s about cutting emissions, easing traffic, and siding with sustainable practices. But LaMalfa, the science denier, refuses to acknowledge these facts, dismissing them as “woke.”

Californians deserve the full story, not his politically-charged spin. So here are the facts:

Environmental Benefits of the high speed rail project in California

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction: The high speed rail system, operating on 100% renewable energy, is projected to reduce California's greenhouse gas emissions by 0.6 to 3 million metric tons annually, equivalent to removing between 142,000 and 700,000 cars from the road.

Contribution to Statewide Goals: By 2040, the high speed rail system is expected to help achieve a reduction of approximately 1.1 to 1.7 million metric tons in greenhouse gas emissions, aligning with California's climate objectives.

Additional Environmental Measures: To offset construction emissions, the project has planted over 7,100 urban trees since 2018, which are expected to sequester approximately 143,000 metric tons of CO₂ equivalent over their lifetimes.

ALL OF THESE AMAZING ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS AND LAMALFA CONTINUES TO OPPOSE THE PROJECT.

LaMalfa prioritizes his personal financial interests over California and even his constituents. His claim of "fiscal responsibility" is merely a facade and a tactic of purposeful ambiguity.

Read more about LaMalfa and the California High Speed Rail Project here.

Doug LaMalfa: Congress’s Climate Saboteur

Doug LaMalfa isn’t just ignoring climate change—he’s fanning the flames. As California’s forests burn and reservoirs shrink, LaMalfa votes like he represents the fossil-fuel lobby, not a fire-scorched district. He cheered when the EPA moved to repeal Obama-era CO₂ emissions rules, calling the rollback a “victory for consumers” (LaMalfa, 2025). Translation: deregulate pollution and pretend it’s freedom.

According to the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), LaMalfa’s lifetime environmental score is an abysmal 4 percent—a score so low it practically requires scuba gear to find it (LCV, n.d.). He’s voted to gut the Clean Water Act, open public lands to oil and gas leasing, oppose methane-emission standards, and torpedo funding for renewable energy (LCV, n.d.). When other members of Congress talk about resilience, LaMalfa talks about regulation burdens.” When others discuss clean air, he talks about 'overreach.”

And when he’s not voting against the planet, he’s mocking science. LaMalfa once dismissed human-caused climate change as “bad science,” claiming the Earth has “been changing since God created it” (Wikipedia, 2025). During a congressional hearing, he even cracked jokes conflating “autumn” with climate change—because apparently wildfires, droughts, and crop collapse are punchlines.

In 2025, LaMalfa introduced a Congressional Review Act measure to strip endangered-species protections from the longfin smelt, a native fish critical to the San Francisco Bay-Delta ecosystem (Duggan, 2025). His stated goal was to “increase water reliability for agriculture.” Translation again: choose agribusiness profits over ecological survival. Environmental scientists and conservation groups warned that the resolution undermined decades of habitat restoration and endangered-species precedent (Duggan, 2025).

The Consequences Hit Home

LaMalfa’s environmental nihilism doesn’t just look bad on paper—it’s lethal for Northern California. Counties in his CA-01 district—Shasta, Lassen, and Tehama—sit at the epicenter of California’s wildfire crisis. Between 2020 and 2024, wildfire smoke caused record respiratory illness, and drought drained communities of both clean water and income (California Air Resources Board [CARB], 2024; Feng et al., 2024). Instead of fighting for climate adaptation funding or clean-energy investment, LaMalfa fought against them.

His voting record ensures his own constituents will pay the price. Every time he blocks emissions controls or undermines federal environmental oversight, rural Californians lose another safeguard against wildfire, water contamination, and economic collapse.

He doesn’t just represent California’s past; he’s trying to bury its future under ash, dust, and political denial. For the people of CA-01, climate change isn’t “bad science”—it’s bad leadership.

References

California Air Resources Board. (2024). Wildfire smoke and climate impacts in Northern California. https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/

Duggan, T. (2025, May 1). House Republicans pass resolution to remove endangered-species protections for longfin smelt. SFGate. https://www.sfgate.com/climate/article/longfin-smelt-endangered-sf-bay-20301394.php

Feng, X., Mickley, L. J., Kaplan, J. O., Kelp, M., Li, Y., & Liu, T. (2024). Large role of anthropogenic climate change in driving smoke exposure across the western United States from 1992 to 2020. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.03733

LaMalfa, D. (2025, July 29). LaMalfa applauds EPA move to repeal Obama-era CO₂ finding and restore consumer choice [Press release]. U.S. House of Representatives. https://lamalfa.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/lamalfa-applauds-epa-move-repeal-obama-era-co2-finding-and-restore

League of Conservation Voters. (n.d.). Doug LaMalfa — National Environmental Scorecard. https://scorecard.lcv.org/moc/doug-lamalfa

Wikipedia. (2025, September 29). Doug LaMalfa. In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_LaMalfa

lamalfa's voting record: the environment

H.R. 1 – Lower Energy Costs Act (2023)

H.J.Res. 27 – Disapproval of EPA's Heavy-Duty Vehicle Emission Standards

H.J.Res. 28 – Disapproval of EPA's Advanced Clean Trucks Rule

H.J.Res. 29 – Disapproval of EPA's California Vehicle Emission Standards

H.J.Res. 30 – Disapproval of EPA's California Heavy-Duty Vehicle Standards

H.J.Res. 52 – Repeal of Endangered Species Protection for Longfin Smelt

California High Speed Rail project

Doug LaMalfa: Congress’s Climate Saboteur

References

This is not a complete list of lamalfa's voting record

This is not a complete list of lamalfa's voting record

This is not a complete list of lamalfa's voting record

This is not a complete list of lamalfa's voting record

This is not a complete list of lamalfa's voting record

This is not a complete list of lamalfa's voting record

lamalfa's voting record: the environment

H.R. 1 – Lower Energy Costs Act (2023)

H.J.Res. 27 – Disapproval of EPA's Heavy-Duty Vehicle Emission Standards

H.J.Res. 28 – Disapproval of EPA's Advanced Clean Trucks Rule

H.J.Res. 29 – Disapproval of EPA's California Vehicle Emission Standards

H.J.Res. 30 – Disapproval of EPA's California Heavy-Duty Vehicle Standards

H.J.Res. 52 – Repeal of Endangered Species Protection for Longfin Smelt

California High Speed Rail project

Doug LaMalfa: Congress’s Climate Saboteur

References

This is not a complete list of lamalfa's voting record

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