PARTISANSHIP, IDEOLOGY, AND CONSTITUENCY DIFFERENCES ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: 1973-78

ABSTRACT Three cross‐sectional data sets for the U.S. House of Representatives are analyzed for 1973 to 1978. The conclusions are: (1) Political support for environmental legislation has remained stable and has not diminished in the face of economic problems and energy shortages. (2) The East is the region most supportive of environmental issues while the South is by far the least supportive. (3) Clear partisan differences exist with the Democrats consistently more pro‐environmental than Republicans. (4) The most important factor associated with environmental support is ideology. Although interrelated with party, it is more salient than either party or constituency factors. (5) Support for pro‐environmental voting is strongest in urban and suburban constituencies and weakest in rural and mixed districts.