Shaheen Joins Legislation to Help Small Businesses Become More Energy Efficient

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) joined Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) to introduce legislation to help small business owners make energy efficiency upgrades to their businesses and reduce their energy costs. The Main Street Energy Efficiency Act would establish a Small Business Energy Efficiency Grant program to provide funds to incentivize small businesses to take on energy efficiency projects – particularly in underserved, rural and economically disadvantaged communities.  

“As small businesses recover from the pandemic, we have an opportunity to rebuild with an eye towards sustainability,” said Shaheen. “This bill is a win-win: businesses can get help with critical energy efficiency upgrades that will boost their long-term resilience, while taking important action to combat the climate crisis. Rural and underserved communities deserve access to capital to make much-needed upgrades, and I’ll continue to work closely with our small businesses to ensure they can reduce their carbon footprints and thrive.”  

Senator Shaheen is a leader in the Senate for safeguarding our environment, combating the effects of climate change and investing in energy efficiency policies. Senator Shaheen is one of the authors of the bipartisan infrastructure framework which would make historic investments in America’s clean energy economy, upgrade its power infrastructure and combat the climate crisis. The framework also includes significant portions of her legislation with Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness (ESIC) Act. The ESIC Act will improve energy efficiency in three key sectors – buildings, industrial and the federal government – to reduce emissions, protect the environment and create jobs.  

As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Shaheen traveled to Paris to participate in high-level discussions at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference that led to the international Paris Climate Accord. Shaheen is a founding member of the bipartisan Senate Climate Solutions Caucus, which brings together an equal number of Republicans and Democrats to craft and advance bipartisan solutions to address climate change. 

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