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Profile: John Kerry
 Born: December 11, 1943; Denver CO
Education: Yale University, A.B. 1966; Boston College, LL.B 1976
Family: Wife, Teresa Heinz; children from a previous marriage and 3 stepchildren
Website: www.johnkerry.com
Political Experience: Lieutenant Governor, 1982-84
Professional Experience: Attorney, 1981-82; Assistant District Attorney, Middlesex County, 1976-81; Organizer, Vietnam Veterans Against the War
Military Experience: Naval Reserve, 1972-78; Navy, 1966-70 (Vietnam)
Senator Kerry, currently serving his fourth term in office as Massachusetts junior Senator, was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1984. Formerly a Massachusetts county prosecutor and Lt. Governor, Kerry is a decorated Vietnam War veteran, having received the Silver Star, a Bronze Star with Combat V medal and three awards of the Purple Heart. He touts an excellent environmental record and is outspoken on the issues of campaign finance reform and energy security.
Environmental Record:
Kerry's environmental record is excellent. In 1970, he worked to organize Massachusetts' first Earth Day. As Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts he was active in efforts to curb the threat of acid rain to the Northeast. Senator Kerry served as official U.S. delegate to the Earth Summit in 1992, the Kyoto climate talks in 1997 and the Hague climate talks in 2000. He advocated for the U.S. to take the lead in the international effort to cut global warming pollution, reverse ozone depletion, protect tropical forests, preserve biological diversity and press for sustainable development around the world.
Clean Air and Water
Kerry advocates strict enforcement of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and other environmental laws. In 2003, he voted to counter Administration attempts to weaken the Clean Air Act through increases in the level of pollution aging power plants are allowed to emit (S20030012). During debate of the 2003 energy bill, he opposed attempts to allow garbage incineration to be defined as a renewable energy source, a process that emits large quantities of lead, mercury, and other toxic air and groundwater pollutants (S20020084). He is a co-sponsor of the Clean Power Act, designed to require utilities to control multiple pollutants - carbon dioxide, mercury, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides.
In 2002, Kerry opposed attempts to delay the regulation of hydraulic fracturing, a damaging new form of oil and gas drilling that poses a serious pollution threat to surrounding ground and surface water supplies (S20020043). Kerry also voted in 2003 to eliminate subsidies for large-scale factory farms that pollute ground and surface water and voted in support of a water conservation amendment to the farm bill (S20020015, S20020024).
In 1999, Kerry opposed an anti-environmental rider to the 2000 Omnibus Appropriations bill that exempted coal mining operations from the Clean Water Act and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. He voted in 1995 to protect Environmental Protection Agency rules that safeguard drinking water rules from S. 343, an anti-environmental bill that attempted to undermine a number of federal agency regulations. In 1987 Kerry voted against an anti-environmental amendment to reduce Clean Water Act enforcement funding. In 1990, Kerry co-authored an amendment to strengthen Clean Air Act enforcement and protect the right of citizens to sue when regulations are inadequately enforced.
In 1994, he voted in support of an anti-environmental amendment to the Safe Drinking Water Act requiring cumbersome cost benefit analysis.
Energy and Global Warming
Kerry advocates a national initiative to achieve American energy independence within 10 years through increases in fuel economy, improved efficiency standards, and the development of clean, renewable energy. In his Earth Day Speech presented on February 9, 2003, at the John F. Kennedy Library in Cambridge, Massachusetts he stated,
"We can create a market for clean, domestic, reliable energy with a national standard for renewable power in the electricity sector. I believe we should set a national goal of having 20% of our electricity come from domestic alternative and renewable sources by the year 2020. Twenty-twenty - I think it's a vision worthy of America; a goal I believe our citizens are ready to embrace. We can reform the tax code to end the federal largess given to polluting fuels and invest instead in the technologies that will make our homes and businesses and transportation more efficient and bring renewable energy to market. We can cut our dependence on foreign oil by building more efficient cars and SUVs and creating a national market for the biofuels grown on farms across the nation."
During debate of the energy bill in 2002, he co-authored a compromise to increase the fuel economy of cars and light-trucks to 36 miles per gallons by 2015, a move that would save 2 million barrels of oil per day by 2020 (S20020047). During that debate he also voted in support of an effort to reduce the oil consumption of cars and light-trucks without setting a specific fuel economy standard and against an anti-environmental measure to exempt light trucks from meeting future increases in fuel economy standards.
Kerry voted in support of efforts to increase energy efficiency standards for electrical appliances as well a measure to require 20% renewable energy production by 2020 (S20020089, S20020050). He also supported a later attempt to include a renewable energy standard of 10% and opposed a measure to undermine the development of clean, renewable energy by potentially allowing garbage incineration to be defined as a renewable energy source (S20020058, S20020084). He also supported attempts to remove from the energy bill an unnecessary liability exemption for untested and potentially harmful renewable fuels (S20020087).
In 1999 and 1994 Kerry voted in support of efforts to increase funding for renewable energy programs in the respective year's Energy and Water appropriations bill. In 1990, Kerry voted in support of considering a bill to improve fuel economy standards and reduce carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming.
Public Lands Protection and Wildlife
Kerry is a leader in protecting America's public lands. He consistently voted to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from damaging oil and gas drilling and led important filibuster efforts to keep drilling out of the 2002 energy bill (S20020071, S20000058). In 2002 he voted against an energy bill amendment to significantly weaken environmental requirements for endangered salmon, other fish species, and federal lands during damn relicensing (S20020081).
In 2001, 1996, and 1995 Kerry voted in support of Endangered Species Act protections and enforcement. He voted against efforts to open America's National Monuments and off-shore coastal areas to damaging oil and gas drilling in 2001, 1992, and 1989. In 2000, Kerry supported an amendment to the Agriculture appropriations bill to increase protections for public lands from the toxic pollution that results from mining operations (S20000224). Kerry also voted to reduce harmful subsidies for commercial logging, to reduce overgrazing on public lands, and against weakening public lands protections in 2001, 2000, 1998, 1996, 1993, and 1992.
His anti-environmental votes include a 1986 vote in support of a 10-mile stretch of highway bordering a wilderness area in Hawaii.
Nuclear Waste and Power Production
Kerry opposes the creation a nuclear waste depository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada and voted in 2002 against site approval (S200020167). Kerry also voted in 2000 against a measure that would have allowed the shipment of some nuclear waste to the site prior to its completion for interim storage (S20000008). He voted in 2002, 1996, 1994, and 1993 against unfair and unnecessary taxpayer subsidies for the nuclear power industry that would have encouraged the construction of new nuclear plants and the production of more nuclear waste (S200020042). In 1992 Kerry supported efforts to improve nuclear safety programs by creating an independent Nuclear Safety Investigations Board.
Administrative Nominations
Kerry has consistently opposed the nomination of anti-environmental candidates for judicial and federal agency appointments. He opposed the 2002 nomination of Miguel Estrada to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, the 2001 nomination of John Graham to head the Information and Regulatory Affairs Office in the Office of Management and Budget, and the 2001 nomination of Gale Norton as Secretary of the Interior.
International Trade
In 2002 Kerry offered an unsuccessful amendment to include environmental and worker safety protections in "fast track" trade legislation. Despite the fact that the amendment was defeated and not included in the fast-track bill, he then voted in support of the overall legislation. In 2003, he voted for trade agreements with Chile and Singapore that gave special rights to foreign corporations, potentially undermining environmental protections, and laying the groundwork for an expansion of such provisions in future trade agreements.
Family Planning
He consistently supports international family planning, voting six times in favor of funding between 1991 and 2003.
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