Frelinghuysen's environmental record has advocates worried with EPA budget looming
Scott Fallon
Now he’s the subject of protests by advocates who criticize his recent voting record and fear he may uphold some of President Donald Trump's severe cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget.
Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen sits at the crossroads of his environmental record. As chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, the 12-term Republican congressman from Morris County is one of the most important figures in determining EPA’s future.
Trump has called for the agency's budget to be cut by almost a third, saying EPA has inhibited economic growth through overreaching regulation. But Congress controls the federal government's purse strings. The Appropriations Committee has slowly been rolling out spending bills in recent weeks. And at the center of that is Frelinghuysen.
"He can be the difference maker when it comes to the EPA budget," said David Pringle, a longtime New Jersey environmental advocate and campaign director of Clean Water Action. "He is in the top five of decision makers if EPA is gutted, if EPA's budget goes through modest cuts or if it is relatively maintained."
The son of a congressman and one of the wealthiest members of Congress, Frelinghuysen, 71, had been considered a pillar of the moderate wing of New Jersey's Republican Party over much of his 43 years in elected office. But his record has shifted more conservative in recent years, helping him rise through the ranks to become one of the most powerful Republicans in a right-leaning Congress.
Frelinghuysen’s environmental voting record – as scored by the League of Conservation Voters – has plummeted since 2008. He cast for pro-environment votes more than 50 percent of the time in 10 of 14 years from 1995 through 2008. Since then his highest rating was only 23 percent. And he fell to 3 percent in 2015 and 8 percent in 2016.
"We’ve long had strong bipartisan support for environmental issues in this state, but we have certainly lost that support from Frelinghuysen," said Ed Potosnak, executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters. "It’s clear he’s putting the most recent Republican caucus position ahead of the interests in his state."
Steve Wilson, a Frelinghuysen spokesman, dismissed the ratings calling it "very partisan" even though the League of Conservation Voters had endorsed Frelinghuysen in the past, saying he has an "exceptional pro-environment record in Congress" in 2002.
That endorsement came at a time when Frelinghuysen was securing millions of dollars for open space preservation. He is credited with helping save Sterling Forest, the Great Swamp Wildlife Refuge and properties along the flood-prone Passaic River.
One of his crowning achievements was the federal Highlands Conservation Act of 2004 that Frelinghuysen sponsored and helped shepherd through Congress to preserve large tracts of land in one of the most environmentally-sensitive regions of New Jersey. At the time, he was showered with praise by environmental groups from the Highlands Coalition to the Friends of the Palisades Interstate Park. Frelinghuysen is also known for an annual tour of his district's Superfund sites.
But advocates say that outside open space and Superfund sites, Frelinghuysen's environmental record has always been weak. They point to the late 1980s when Frelinghuysen was in the Assembly one of the biggest opponents of the the Clean Water Enforcement Act that sought tougher penalties against polluters.
Frelinghuysen did not discuss the proposed EPA budget cuts during a "telephone town hall" with constituents last week.
In his few public statements on the EPA's future, he has both praised and criticized the agency. At a similar telephone event in March, Frelinghuysen called the EPA "an absolutely necessary federal agency" but said some EPA regulations make it difficult for businesses to be successful. He said he didn't think some of the "large cuts" would get through the House although he didn't specify which ones.
"There are going to be some major reductions to the Environmental Protection Agency," he said. "We want to do it in a way that doesn't obviously affect clean water and clean air."
During a Congressional hearing last month with EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, who famously fought the agency while he was Oklahoma Attorney General, Frelinghuysen said that he shared "some of the animus" directed at the EPA. But later at the hearing, he seemed to indicate that he thought Trump's proposed 30 percent cut to the Superfund program was too steep.
"He has stated publicly that he does not expect the draconian cuts to the EPA budget proposed by President Trump to be sustained in the House," said Wilson, who did not specify what programs need to be fully funded.
Although his district leans Republican, Frelinghuysen may face a substantial challenge from Democrats when his seat is up in 2018, with former prosecutor and Navy pilot Mikie Sherrill of Montclair seeking the nomination. Assemblyman John McKeon of West Orange is also considering a run.
"He hasn’t had a competitive race arguably ever and that’s going to change," said Doug O'Malley of Environment New Jersey. "That may push him to make sure the EPA cuts don't go through. We are a state that has long made the environment a priority. So this is really the ultimate test of where Rodney stands."
Staff Writers Herb Jackson and William Westhoven contributed to this story.