SHAHEEN AND PORTMAN RENEW EFFORTS TO CREATE NATIONAL ENERGY STRATEGY

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) will today renew their push for a national energy efficiency strategy by introducing an updated version of the Portman-Shaheen Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act (ESIC). The legislation has received widespread support from both Democrats and Republicans as well as industry leaders, energy-efficiency advocates and environmental stakeholders because it reduces pollution, saves consumers money and creates jobs.

“This bill has garnered such widespread support because of a simple fact – it is good for the economy and good for the environment,” Portman said. “By establishing a national energy strategy, we can create jobs, save taxpayers billions, make manufacturers more competitive, and protect the environment. Our bill is the equivalent of taking 37 million homes off the grid, and I look forward to renewing our efforts to promote this commonsense legislation.”

“Energy efficiency is the cheapest and fastest way to address our energy challenges,” Shaheen said. “Our bipartisan bill will create jobs, save consumers billions, and drastically reduce pollution in a smart, effective and affordable way – that’s why it enjoys broad bipartisan support. A vote to pass our legislation is long overdue and I hope the overwhelming support behind this bill will help carry it through the Senate.”

The Portman-Shaheen legislation uses a variety of low-cost tools to help energy users become more efficient while making the country’s largest energy user – the federal government – reduce its energy use through the use of energy-efficient technology. The deficit neutral bill incentivizes the use of efficiency technologies that are commercially available today, can be widely deployed across the country, and quickly pay for themselves through energy savings.  The reintroduced bill incorporates an additional ten bipartisan amendments that will help the United States transition to a more energy-efficient economy while driving economic growth and private sector job creation.

A study by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) estimates that this bill will create more than 190,000 jobs, save consumers $16.2 billion a year, and cut CO2 emissions and other air pollutants by the equivalent of taking 22 million cars off the road – all by 2030.

Portman-Shaheen is cosponsored by Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).