the penalty for violations of the legislation. Applegate co-sponsored legislation to reorganize Ohio's state cabinet to establish a state Department of Environmental Protection which would combine the Department of Natural Resources, Department of Health, Water Pollution Control Board, and the Air Pollution Control Board. He opposed sulphur dioxide emissions controls imposed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency on the use of Ohio coal in 1977, stating that "If adopted, this plan would cause economic disaster in the Ohio Valley." He voted in favor of reducing the EPA's budget by $133 million in 1978. Applegate was given a score of 35% by the League of Conservation Voters in his first year in office in 1977, and his last year in 1994, with a lifetime score of 46%. His lowest score from the organization was 25% in 1988, and his highest score was 75% in 1990. The Sierra Club gave him a score of 44% in 1984. Equality Applegate voted in favor of an amendment to a defense appropriations bill which prohibited the usage of the money on abortions except for when the life of the mother is at risk. Noel Vaughn, the chair of the Freedom of Choice Coalition, stated that Applegate was one of Ohio's congressmen who had introduced and supported anti-abortion legislation. He voted in favor of an amendment to legislation in 1981, to prohibit the usage of federal employee medical insurance to pay for abortions unless the life of the mother was at risk. He and six other anti-abortion member of the house filed an amicus curiae in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services. In the 1980s he considered changing his anti-abortion views and voted against the Hyde Amendment in 1989. Applegate voted against extending the deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in 1978. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights gave him a rating of 80% in 1984. Foreign policy Applegate voted in favor of legislation to remove the government of Zaire as the distributor of rice from the United States in the country and instead have the rice distributed by private relief organizations. He supported the creation of a Liaison Office with Taiwan and opposed permanent normal trade relations with China. In 1980, he voted against an amendment to move the United States' embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He supported legislation to create a radio station to broadcast programs